How to Prepare Blueberry Bushes for Winter

Cover your blueberries with a thick layer of mulch — approximately six inches — to help retain soil moisture throughout the winter and protect the roots from fluctuations in temperature. Mulches such as bark, peat moss or pine needles will add acidity to the soil, helping to maintain the pH level that blueberries prefer. Straw or hay will also work. Manure and compost are not recommended. Keep mulch around your blueberries year round to improve soil drainage and keep down weeds. Winter mulch should be about six inches thick to provide adequate protection from cold weather, while during the growing season a mulch level of three to four inches is adequate.

Build a permanent fence by installing fence posts around your blueberry patch, then circle the blueberries with at least six feet of chicken wire to keep out rabbits. Bury the chicken wire about six inches deep. Create a temporary enclosure by cutting a length of chicken wire fencing and bending the loose wires together to make a small cage, to place around individual blueberry bushes.

Prune your blueberry bushes late in the winter or early in the spring, when the plants are still completely dormant. Use pruning shears to remove any diseased, weak or spindly branches and any canes that are more than six years old. Blueberry bushes should be pruned once a year to ensure good fruit production.