I hope you are propagating the tender stems you cut...

This is easy to say and hard to do. But I'd trim those upright shoots on the 1st and 3rd plant back a lot more. It's either that or get the supports ready because they won't hold up a crop next spring. If cut back more and then tipped they will regrow strongly and fill out more like the middle plant.

Your killing me Fruitnut! I couldnt bring my self to cut those shoots. You are right though, the middle plant had one 4ft cane on it when I planted it. I cut it back to about 3ft and it branched out big time. I did tip all those canes on the other plants and they are starting to branch out. I guess I will cut them back more this evening. Just seeing if I could get away with it;)

I didnt try to propagate any cuttings this time. I have too much to do as it is in my garden this year. I was wanting to wait a couple years to do that any way to see which plants are going to be worth the effort. I havent tasted any berries off these plants except Sunshine Blue and Bountiful Blue. Those were both pretty tasty in my opinion but I havent cut those back yet anyhow. I have read up on it though and cant wait to give it a shot.

I agree with fruitnut, those long ones won't support berries so you may as well trim them back. Don't feel bad about trimming them, you are doing the plant a favor and not only that, where you clip it the branch will split and grow back very quickly. Beautiful plants by the way!

RM

Thanks riverman1! I will cut them back this evening. Do you think cutting them back 1/3 would be enough?

One thing to remember that will make this a little less painful, the more you cut back the faster they will regrow. So you aren't losing as much as you think. The root system will remain intact and that will cause the plant to try regrowing top at warp speed. Pinch the regrowth aggressively so you won't need another big cut back this fall.

The first year I grew blueberries really fast I posted a question about tipping/pruning vs training. I got no answer so learned on the fly. Well tipping/pruning would have been right but I ended up having to support willowy tops as seen in these pictures. Then I needed to do the cutback after harvest this year.

It all boils down to the fact that one year isn't enough to build a big AND stout plant.

Sweetcrisp

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Jewel

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Thanks for the replies. I will get-er-done tonight.

A shrub-like shape will be more capable of supporting more berries. I have been trimming some of mine back too. Today I trimmed back a half dozen limbs or so and put them in water hoping they might get roots on them.

RM

Wow! I've got some leggy bluecrops i have to trim next spring!
Interestingly enough, the 'Draper' bushes that were browsed on by deer are actually nicer than the un-pruned ones. Is this sort of pruning done in commercial orchards? I've heard of winter pruning of old canes, but new canes would also benefit from the winter topping, I suppose. ?
Noogy