My saying of the month could be “If in July you want blueberries, in March get out your pebble shears”. Because it is the ideal month to prune and maintain these small bushes in order to obtain beautiful fruits in abundance during the summer. Here are some tips for pruning your blueberries.
Blueberries have the same name whether you're talking about the shrub that bears the fruits in the form of small multi-stemmed bushes, or the fruits they bear. Established for several years, my blueberries (shrubs) produce abundantly beautiful fruits all summer long, for the pleasure of young and old.
Blueberries thrive in acidic soil. My soil being calcareous, I made flowerbeds with pallet boards (like vegetable plots) and heather soil. If you don't want to bother, you can grow your shrubs in pots:they will grow just as well as in the ground (even better than in soil that is too calcareous).
Blueberries have the advantage of requiring little pruning and therefore are very easy to care for, even during formation.
When you buy blueberries from a garden center, they are sold as one-year-old plants or two from cuttings. After planting and during the first years, it is not necessary to prune them. Just let them grow naturally, removing the weakest stems and those that intersect. You can also remove the shoots that grow horizontally, so that the bush is well formed and does not go all over the place.
For the following years, we carry out a pruning of fruiting which will just prepare the bush to offer its most beautiful fruits throughout the summer. For the pruning of my blueberries, I use my roller shears to rejuvenate them:I eliminate the old stems, those that are damaged, I remove the branches that spread out in a disorderly way, that intersect, or those that are misplaced. When a shrub does not have such stems, I still cut a few branches to prevent the bush from being too dense.
If you live in the south of France, you can take an early variety, such as Estive or Paty. On the other hand, if you live in a colder region, where it can freeze in May, it is better to choose a later variety, such as Bluetta or Dixi, or even Brigitta, which resists frost.
Blueberries planting in March at the latest, you have to hurry for this year. And once your bushes are planted, a little advice:think about the protective net if you want to eat fruit before the birds.
I harvest my first blueberries at the end of June – beginning of July, with the children:as soon as picked, as soon as eaten. Generally, the following will decorate some pies and, to finish, they will make excellent jams.
