Hi, I am wondering why my blueberry shrubs grow slower than my parent's shrubs. We have the same kind of blueberry shrubs. We all live in Vancouver BC. We get our shrubs around the same time which is early this Spring. Each of our shrubs were about 1 foot tall and approx one year old. I put on mulches but my parents do not put any mulches. They water their blueberries more often than I do; but I water them at least twice a week. I pruned my shrubs in early this summer to prevent flowering or fruiting. However, my parents did not prune their shrubs and their shrubs are growing faster, taller and producing fruits. What could be the possible reasons that my shrubs are glowing much slower than my parents?
I had to move my blueberry bushes 3 years ago. I pruned them to compensate for root loss at that time. They "sulked" for 2 years, then took-off with new growth this year. This checking of growth is not unusual with shrubs of many kinds that I have moved & pruned over the years. Don't worry, in a couple of years yours may have more bearing shoots than your parents.
In future do not prune transplants to compensate for root loss as this has the opposite effect of what was intended. Energy stored in roots supports new top growth later, and vice versa. By pruning the tops back in addition to cutting the roots during digging you temporarily dwarfed the plant more than if only the roots had been cut. This is partly how bonsai are kept small, both the tops and roots are snipped back every year.
