Yesterday I started pruning my blueberry bushes. I like to do the first pruning sometime in late February or March, right as the flower buds begin to swell. I know some permies people don't like pruning, but I find that pruning blueberries, fertilizing them and then mulching heavily with wood chips leads to bigger crops. Here's a quick checklist for pruning:
1.Cut off dead, diseased and broken branches
2.Remove low hanging branches
3.Remove one or more older canes that lack any flower buds. Some cultivars, like Legacy, need more pruning
4.Cut off twiggy wood
After pruning, I like to apply Acid Mix- an organic fertilizer that really boosts production at my place. However, some folks don't use fertilizer and still get big crops. Acid Mix contains cottonseed meal, fish bone meal, langbeinite, rock phosphate, humic acid (leonardite) and kelp. Coffee grounds are excellent, too.
Mulching heavily is important, especially in dry, hot summer areas. I use mostly Douglas-fir chips, mixed with chips and leaves from adjacent fruit trees, chinquapin and a red maple.
Here's a video from Oregon State about pruning:
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