Have had some tasty berries lately but looks like the plants might be resting for a while.

The plants produce just one crop per year. When you harvest the last of the fruit the plants shoud be pruned which will make them produce another good flush of growth. If you do not prune the plants will just sit there. You do not have to summer prune but it is the reccomended practice for Florida and southern highbush BB.

Mine are almost totally done too. I have some rabbiteyes which may still put some out. I gave them a good watering yesterday to hope to spur them vegetatively. Will give them some coffee grounds soon too.

Gary

Thanks guys, for the input. Since they have nice green growth on them, I wouldn't prune that off, would I? Sheri

Nope.

I just planted a small one gallon plant. It dropped all its fruit after I planted it. Should I prune it back?

"Thanks guys, for the input. Since they have nice green growth on them, I wouldn't prune that off, would I?"

YES!

I know it sounds counter productive to prune good green growth but follow the logic.....

Fertilize them just after you pick the last of the fruit then wait a week and prune them. If you just let them be what growth they have now is what they will have for the rest of the year BUT if you prune them lightly the plant will respond by putting out a whole new flush of growth that will not happen if you don't prune and that growth is what will bear next years fruit. Lets call the growth you have now = 100% if you stay the course and don't prune you will still have 100%...but if you prune off say 5% of the canopy you will get a new flush of growth, which will be 20% so you in fact gain 15%, you gain leaf mass by pruning. It is also the time to prune off large canes if your bushes are old enough to need cane renewal (5++ years old).

Post harvest summer pruning is the method the commercial growers use to maximize both plant vigor, mass and production and is what the universities suggest for Florida high bush. If you prune now you WILL get more berries next spring.....