Hi, I live in Vancouver BC. I planted some young blueberry bushes (Chandler & Chippawa) in my backyard last fall. Therefore, this spring is their first spring. Does anyone suggest me to take out the flower buds from the blueberry bushes in the first year? There are approx 20 flower buds on each Chippawa bushes. Each Chippawa is about 1.5ft tall. There are approx 5 flower buds on Chandler bushes. Each Chandler bush is about 1.5ft tall.
Sacrifice of some new vegetative growth to premature production of high proportions of twiggy fruiting wood can clearly be seen in many small blueberry plants at outlets. Cultivars selected for heavy production of large fruits are out of balance, like dairy cows with their oversized udders. I would definitely prevent fruiting for years on any specimens that were not growing as much as I wanted, until the bushes were up to size.
Thanks, Ron. My blueberry shrubs are still very young. Each is about 1.5ft tall. I will cut off the buds this year. Next year after they turned woody, I will keep the flowers to allow fruiting.
Check out the thread on Reka blueberries in this forum to see what can happen if you leave all of the flowers on blueberry plants the first year.
