Blueberries experience their most vigorous growth in their sixth year. After this period, older branches should be pruned, and new shoots should be encouraged to maintain the tree’s vitality.
The blueberry plant shown in the picture was planted in 2023, making it a first-year tree. However, considering the time it spent growing from cuttings, it can be classified as a two- to three-year-old plant. Nevertheless, in terms of official planting, it is a first-year tree.
As seen in the picture, new shoots are sprouting on both sides of the main branch.
- One shoot is emerging from an existing branch.
- The other is growing as a newly developed branch.
To increase blueberry yield, many flower buds must form. Naturally, this requires a sufficient number of branches. However, if too many flower buds form on a single main branch, the plant’s ability to absorb nutrients becomes limited.
Therefore, it is important to divide the main branch into multiple branches.
This makes sense—supplying nutrients from multiple branches rather than just one reduces the strain on the tree.
I can see light green shoots emerging here as well. Ideally, such new shoots should continue growing actively this year and next year. However, this is not something I can control; I must simply follow nature’s course. My role is to provide the necessary nutrients, manage weeds, and patiently await the results.
Looking at these new shoots, I am reminded of raising livestock. It’s always good when cows or pigs give birth to many healthy offspring, right?
While weeding around the blueberries, I encountered an unwelcome visitor—the spotted lanternfly. This insect clings tightly to tree branches and lays eggs. If a branch hosts these eggs, its growth is stunted, and its surface is damaged. Later, when the branch should be supplying nutrients to the tree, it won’t be able to do so effectively. That’s why these pests must be eliminated without exception.
Until last week, continuous monsoon rains and heavy downpours prevented me from taking action. However, now that the rain has stopped and the heat has returned, I will install yellow sticky traps to capture them. Last year, I neglected to control the spotted lanternflies, and later, I found clusters of white eggs on various branches. The affected branches produced fewer fruits and showed poor growth.
This year, I won’t let that happen again.
