Care activities - cutting blueberry bushes

Cutting young shrubs

One of the first agricultural activities, to be carried out on plantations, is the cutting of shrubs. In the first year after planting,it is necessary to remove flowers. The idea is to prevent the fruiting of bushes. Doing it, has an influence on the growth of the plants and their normal development in later years.

Plants planted in autumn should be trimmed for the first time in the spring of the next year. Plants planted in the spring are cut immediately after planting.

Proper cutting stimulates the bush to proper growth and reduces its size. In this way, strong new shoots will become a skeleton of the bush in the following years. It is best, if these young shoots grow out at the base of the plant.

In the case of plants produced from cuttings it is recommended to cut the bush for modelling and shaping and for sanitary reasons. We remove the thinnest shoots from the lower parts of plants. We also remove shoots that impair the proper bush shape. We always cut the shoots that are sick, dried and also frozen tops of shoots.

In the low-branching varieties and those over-branched in the top part, we cut strong young shoots. While cutting bushes that strongly grow down to the ground, you must remove the outer part, giving them a highly raised shape. In the low-branching varieties which have a raised shape, we cut the inner part of the plant, which clears the inside of the plant and contributes to the widening in shape.

How the cutting date affects plants

Shrubs can be cut in autumn or spring. Cutting in autumn could stimulate the growth of the bush, and this can be disadvantageous because of the autumn frosts. Such activity must be repeated often in the spring, and then we remove frozen, mechanically damaged or diseased shoots. For this reason, most people choose to cut in the spring. Then first we make a sanitary cut, which removes the diseased, dried, broken or frozen shoots. A further cut is dependent on many factors such as the size of the plant, variety and strength of growth.

Young plants should be heavily cut, because it stimulates the growth of new shoots. In case of plants with a weak root system it is recommended to cut even half of the shoots. In the case of varieties that branch strongly it is enough to cut 30% of the shoots.. This cut part is both a sanitary part, as well as shape – building one. Plants will fruit faster, if they are properly cut in the first years after planting. Non- cut plants will quickly get old.

Cutting of fruiting blueberry plantations

In the 6th year after planting, shrubs come into full fruiting.. They are already fully developed and have the right shape and size. The best cutting time is before the early spring;then you should cut about 30% of the shoots.

Cutting fruiting bushes is removing the oldest shoots to clear the bush, then removing the shoots that are sick, damaged or thin highly- branched, especially in the bottom of the bush. It is essential that the density of shoots in the crown of the plant is at a minimum.. Proper and systematic cutting is carried out to obtain plants with a loose structure, which is dominated by the shoots younger than 4 years old.,which is a guarantee of good quality fruits.

While preparing the bushes for cutting we should take into account the variety to which they belong. Long, stems of plants pointing towards the ground which belong to the strong-growing varieties, with a loose shape, should be shortened. In the case of varieties which are branched strongly you cut all the shoots or none at all. You can also carefully clean the base of the plant, cutting all the smaller shoots. Varieties of a raised shape must be cut strongly to encourage their further growth. As a complementary cut you can remove shoots pointing to the middle of the bush, thus naturally loosening the thick bush block. Varieties which have a thick bush block, with little young shoots at the base of the plant, need not only a standard cutting, but also a further supplementary cut; it means to shorten the shoots which are most widely spreads. Very fruitful varieties with a very large number of shoots should be cut so the bush shapeis sufficiently clear. The best way can be moderate cutting.

Adrastic cut has a quite different meaning, which is called the rejuvenation of the plantations. This activity consists of cutting whole rows of bushes several centimeters(an inch or so) above the ground.