Should You Remove Blueberry Blossoms the First Year?

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Growing blueberries is all about delayed gratification. You put in tons of work at the beginning - selecting a planting site, picking the right varieties, making sure the soil is just right. The first few years are all about setting up the blueberry bushes for success, and one important way to do that is by picking off blossoms during the first year of the plant's life in the ground.

So do you absolutely have to remove blueberry blossoms the first year? How does it help the plant? And what might happen if you leave the blossoms alone and allow them to develop into fruit?

We'll tackle all of these questions in this article. It's worth it to get the plants growing well early on. Any small sacrifices you make now (and it can be painful to remove perfectly good fruit!) will pay off big in a happier, healthier, better-producing blueberry bush.

Pinching Off Blueberry Flowers the First Year

The main reason that most experts suggest removing blossoms and young fruits from a newly planted blueberry bush is to help the plant grow a stronger root system. If the bush is developing fruit it must divert most of its resources to supporting the fruit growth, rather than root or vegetative growth.

I picked off most of the blueberries the spring after I planted these bushes.

A plant's root system is how it takes up nutrients and water from the ground, which the plant then uses to support all of the processes involved in growing (new shoots and leaves, fruit buds, fruit development, root growth, etc.). But these resources are limited by the size and efficiency of the root system (and of course the soil itself, but that's another topic).

Learn more: Blueberry Planting Basics: Preparing the Soil for a New Patch

To help blueberry bushes get established, it's best to remove any fruit buds or blossoms in the first year after planting. This signals to the plant to put its energy toward growing roots, shoots, and leaves. Then, as the plant matures over the years, it will better be able to support a huge blueberry harvest.

A single, full-grown blueberry bush can produce between 5 - 10 pounds of blueberries each year, perhaps more. And blueberry bushes can live for many decades! That is a lot of fruit production for one plant, so it's worth starting off of the right foot by delaying the first crop of berries.

Related: The Long Life of a Blueberry Bush (Berries for Decades!)

How to Remove Blueberry Blossoms or Young Fruit

If there are any flowers or young berries on the blueberry bush at planting time, remove them all. The closer it is to planting time, the more essential it is for the plant to focus on root growth, rather than fruiting. So, this is especially important if you planted your blueberry bushes in the spring, right before or during blooming.

Either gently pinch off the clusters with your fingers, or use sharp, sanitized pruning shears. It's best to remove blossoms before they have a chance to develop into berries, but if you wait too long it's no problem. Just carefully remove the clusters of small berries as early as possible.

What if you don't remove blossoms the first year?

Watch the video below to see how I took care of my first-year blueberries:

If you decide not to remove the blossoms, it's ok. There's a good chance that nothing negative will happen, especially if it was planted several months earlier. Other experts say it's enough to remove some of the young plant's blossoms, but still leave some on to become fruit (source).

I planted my blueberry patch in the late fall (end of October/early November). In my USDA zone 8b climate, the ground never freezes over winter. I knew that by planting in the fall, I'd be giving my bushes a head start at establishing before spring.

When spring came, I was thrilled to see a decent number of blossoms on my still-small bushes. Since I hadn't just planted them (they had been in the ground 5 - 6 months), I felt comfortable removing most of the young fruit, but leaving on a few clusters per plant.

It is certainly a "best practice" to pick off blossoms and fruit the first year for blueberry bushes (or any other fruiting plant). But regular home gardeners bend these "rules" all the time with no ill effect.

So it's really up to you, and whether you want to risk a potential problem with the plant in the future. Arguably, other factors are even more important in determining how well your young plants grow and establish in their first year. Let's look at a few other things you can do to get your blueberry bushes off to a good start.

Caring for Newly Planted Blueberry Bushes the First Year

Watering

The most essential thing you can do for young blueberry bushes is to keep the moisture level consistent. Blueberry roots are very fine, with a thin web of hairlike roots that stay fairly close to the soil surface. They need to stay evenly moist throughout the growing season, or the plant's growth will be stunted.

Water blueberry bushes relatively frequently, especially the first year. Keep organic mulch around the plant - such as shredded leaves, pine bark, compost, or a combination - to keep soil moisture from evaporating too quickly.

Irrigation will continue to be an important part of care as the plant matures. Full-grown blueberry bushes may need as much as 8 gallons of water per day during fruiting, depending on how hot the weather is. Newly planted blueberry plants may need up to 1 gallon of water per day in hot climates (source).

Soil pH and Drainage

Blueberries need to grow in acidic soil with a pH between about 4.0 and 5.5. Test your soil before planting, and continue to check the pH of your soil once every year or so to make sure it is maintaining the right level of acidity.

You can lower soil acidity with amendments such as composted pine bark, sphagnum peat moss, or soil sulfur (found in soil acidifiers such as this one).

Learn more: Soil pH for Fruit Trees: Why It Matters and How to Adjust It

Soil drainage is also key. Blueberry roots hate to dry out, but they also cannot grow in soggy, slow-draining soil. If your blueberry plants aren't growing well, check to see if the soil is too dry or holding on to too much moisture.

Water staying in puddles for a long time after rain is a sign of poor drainage.

Learn more: Soil Drainage for Fruit Trees: Everything You Need to Know

Fertilizing

Avoid any fertilizers during the first growing season, or at least during the first several months after planting. Newly transplanted roots are sensitive, and fertilizing too soon could shock the plant. You want the blueberry bush to get acclimated to its new growing environment before adding fertilizer into the mix.

When you do fertilize, use a product specifically formulated for acid-loving plants. I use Dr. Earth Organic Acid-Lovers Fertilizer on my blueberry bushes. Feeding with a product like this will help maintain the acidity in the area immediately around the plant.

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