Blueberry in February: monthly care

Prune blueberries in late winter while they're dormant—February or March is ideal, before buds break. Pruning at this time encourages strong new growth and better fruiting wood for the coming season. Newly planted bushes need minimal pruning: simply remove any damaged, crossing, or very weak shoots, and pinch off flower buds in the first year to channel energy into root and framework development rather than fruiting. From the third or fourth year onward, aim to maintain an open, vase-shaped structure with around eight to twelve strong stems of varying ages. Use clean, sharp secateurs or loppers. Start by removing any dead, diseased, or damaged wood entirely. Then cut out stems older than four or five years at ground level—older wood becomes less productive and more twiggy. You can identify old stems by their thicker, darker bark and lack of vigour. Remove low-growing branches that will trail on the ground when laden with fruit, as well as any thin, spindly growth or shoots crowding the centre of the bush. Blueberries fruit on wood produced the previous year, so avoid heavy overall pruning that removes too many young stems. Instead, focus on thinning and renewal: take out a couple of the oldest canes each year and allow vigorous new shoots from the base to replace them. Shorten any excessively long or leggy branches by about a third to encourage branching. If your bush has become neglected and overgrown, you can renovate it over two or three years by removing a third of the oldest wood annually, rather than tackling everything at once.