Honeyberries, also known as haskaps or Lonicera caerulea, are increasingly popular for their early-season, antioxidant-rich berries. These hardy shrubs are relatively low-maintenance, but like any plant, they benefit from proper pruning. Unfortunately, many beginners make common mistakes that can hinder fruit production, plant health, and overall vigor. Understanding these pitfalls is crucial for maximizing your honeyberry harvest and ensuring a thriving plant for years to come.
Why Pruning Honeyberries Matters
Pruning is not just about aesthetics; it’s essential for the health and productivity of your honeyberry shrubs. The primary goals of pruning are:
- To encourage vigorous new growth, which is where the majority of fruit is produced.
- To improve air circulation within the plant, reducing the risk of fungal diseases.
- To remove dead, damaged, or diseased wood, preventing the spread of issues.
- To shape the plant for easier harvesting and better sunlight penetration.
- To rejuvenate older plants that may have become overgrown and less productive.
Mistakes in pruning can directly counteract these benefits, leading to a less productive, unhealthy, and unattractive shrub.
Common Honeyberry Pruning Mistakes
As you embark on your honeyberry cultivation journey, be aware of these frequent errors that can set your plants back.
Mistake 1: Pruning at the Wrong Time of Year
This is arguably the most common and impactful mistake. Honeyberries bloom and fruit on old wood from the previous year.
- Late Winter/Early Spring Pruning (Before Flowering): This is the ideal time for structural and rejuvenation pruning. You can remove dead, damaged, or crossing branches, and start shaping the plant without sacrificing the current season’s fruit.
- Summer Pruning (After Fruiting): Light pruning after harvest is acceptable to remove spent fruiting wood or lightly shape the plant. However, heavy pruning at this time can remove developing flower buds for the next year’s crop.
- Late Fall Pruning: Avoid significant pruning in late fall. This can encourage tender new growth that is susceptible to winter damage, and it removes potential winter protection for the plant’s core.
The key is to understand that honeyberries produce fruit on the wood that grew last year. Pruning away this mature wood before it has had a chance to produce fruit is a direct reduction in your harvest.
Mistake 2: Over-Pruning Young Plants
Patience is a virtue, especially with young honeyberry shrubs.
- The “Chop Everything Back” Mentality: Beginners often think they need to significantly prune young plants to establish a strong structure. While some initial shaping is good, excessive pruning of young honeyberries can stunt their growth and delay fruiting.
- Forcing a Shape Too Early: Allow young plants to establish a good root system and develop primary branches before aggressively forcing a specific shape.
A young honeyberry typically needs very little pruning in its first year or two. Focus on removing only dead, damaged, or diseased wood. Allow the plant to grow and develop naturally.
Mistake 3: Under-Pruning and Neglecting Older Plants
The opposite extreme is also detrimental.
- Letting Plants Become a Tangled Mess: Over time, honeyberry shrubs can become dense, with weak, spindly growth and numerous crossing branches. This reduces light penetration and air circulation, leading to smaller, less flavorful berries and an increased susceptibility to disease.
- Not Removing Old, Non-Productive Wood: As a honeyberry matures, some of its older branches will become less productive. These branches are often thicker, less vigorous, and may have fewer fruiting spurs. Leaving them in place crowds out newer, more productive growth.
Mature honeyberries (3-5 years and older) benefit from annual pruning to maintain vigor and productivity.
Mistake 4: Not Identifying and Removing Suckers
Honeyberries are known to produce suckers from the base of the plant.
- Letting Suckers Dominate: While suckers can eventually become new fruiting stems, allowing too many to grow unchecked will create a dense, unmanageable shrub. They also compete with the main plant for resources.
- Not Pruning Suckers Appropriately: The goal isn’t to eliminate all suckers, but to manage them. You want to select a few strong suckers to become future fruiting wood and remove the rest.
The best practice is to remove most suckers from the base, leaving only one or two of the strongest, well-placed ones every few years to replace older stems.
Mistake 5: Incorrectly Identifying Fruiting Wood
Understanding where the fruit comes from is fundamental.
- Pruning Away Fruiting Spurs: Honeyberries produce fruit on short, stubby growths called “fruiting spurs” that form on wood that is at least two years old. If you prune these spurs off, you are removing the future fruit.
- Not Differentiating Between Vigorous New Growth and Old Fruiting Wood: The most productive wood is typically 2-4 years old. New, thin, whip-like growth from the current year generally won’t produce fruit in the following season.
When pruning, aim to keep these spurs intact and focus on removing weaker growth or older, less productive branches.
Mistake 6: Not Removing Crossing or Rubbing Branches
This is a common pruning mistake for many shrubs, but it’s particularly important for honeyberries.
- Allowing Branches to Interfere: When branches cross or rub against each other, they can create wounds. These wounds are entry points for diseases and can also damage the bark, hindering nutrient and water flow.
- Neglecting to Prune Out Damaged Areas: Branches that have been damaged by wind, snow, or pests should always be removed.
Regularly inspect your plants and remove any branches that are growing into each other or showing signs of damage.
Mistake 7: Using Dull or Inappropriate Tools
The tools you use significantly impact the health of your cuts.
- Using Dull Pruners: Dull blades will crush the plant tissue instead of making a clean cut. This creates ragged edges that take longer to heal and are more susceptible to disease.
- Using Bypass Pruners for Thick Branches: Bypass pruners (like scissors) are best for clean cuts on smaller branches. For thicker branches, loppers or a pruning saw are necessary. An anvil pruner, which has one blade that closes against a flat surface, can crush stems and should generally be avoided for live wood.
Invest in sharp, high-quality bypass pruners for most honeyberry pruning and loppers or a pruning saw for larger branches. Always sterilize your tools between plants, especially if you suspect disease.
Mistake 8: Not Practicing Renewal Pruning
As honeyberries age, a technique called renewal pruning becomes vital.
- Letting Plants Become Overgrown and Stagnant: Without renewal pruning, older honeyberry plants will produce fewer and smaller berries. The center of the plant can become crowded, and the overall vigor will decline.
- Not Gradually Replacing Old Wood: Renewal pruning involves gradually removing the oldest, least productive stems each year to encourage the growth of new, vigorous stems.
A good rule of thumb is to remove about one-third of the oldest stems each year over a three-year period. This ensures a continuous supply of productive wood.
Honeyberry Pruning: Key Facts and Comparison
Understanding the differences in pruning needs for young versus mature plants is crucial.
| Aspect | Young Honeyberry (1-2 Years) | Mature Honeyberry (3+ Years) |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Goal | Establish structure, encourage root development | Maintain vigor, improve fruit production, renew old wood |
| Pruning Intensity | Minimal – remove dead/damaged wood only | Moderate to heavy – removal of old/weak stems, thinning |
| Sucker Management | Remove most suckers to direct energy to the main plant | Select a few strong suckers to become future fruiting wood; remove others |
| Fruiting Spurs | Focus on allowing spurs to develop on new wood | Preserve fruiting spurs on 2-4 year old wood |
| Renewal Pruning | Not applicable | Essential – remove ~1/3 oldest stems annually |
A Step-by-Step Approach to Pruning Honeyberries
Follow these steps for effective honeyberry pruning:
- Assess the Plant: Before making any cuts, step back and look at the overall shape and health of your honeyberry shrub. Identify any dead, diseased, or crossing branches.
- Gather Your Tools: Ensure you have sharp bypass pruners, loppers, and possibly a pruning saw. Sterilize your tools.
- Remove Dead, Diseased, and Damaged Wood: This is the first priority, regardless of the plant’s age. Make clean cuts back to healthy wood.
- Address Crossing and Rubbing Branches: Identify branches that are growing into each other and remove the weaker or less well-placed one.
- Manage Suckers: At the base of mature plants, identify the oldest, weakest stems and remove them. Select 1-2 strong, well-positioned suckers to keep, removing the rest.
- Thin Out Weak or Spindly Growth: In mature plants, remove any thin, unproductive branches that are crowding the interior of the shrub.
- Encourage New Growth (Renewal Pruning for Mature Plants): For mature plants, focus on removing about one-third of the oldest, thickest stems each year. Cut these back to the ground or to a strong side shoot.
- Shape for Airflow and Light: Open up the center of the plant to allow better light penetration and air circulation. Remove any branches that are growing inward.
- Clean Up: Remove all pruned material from the area around the plant.
Pros and Cons of Different Pruning Approaches
Understanding the implications of your pruning decisions is key.
| Pruning Action | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Pruning at the wrong time (e.g., late winter) | (None for honeyberries) | Removes potential fruit, stresses the plant |
| Over-pruning young plants | Can establish a basic shape if done very lightly | Stunts growth, delays fruiting, reduces vigor |
| Under-pruning mature plants | Minimal impact on immediate plant health | Reduced fruit yield and quality, poor air circulation, increased disease risk |
| Ignoring suckers | Allows for potential new fruiting wood to develop | Creates a dense, unmanageable shrub, competes for resources |
| Pruning fruiting spurs | (None) | Eliminates the current year’s fruit crop |
| Renewal pruning (gradual removal of old wood) | Maintains plant vigor, promotes new growth, ensures consistent fruiting, improves berry size | Requires consistent effort over several years; takes time to see full benefits |
| Using dull tools | (None) | Damages plant tissue, increases disease risk, hinders healing |
Conclusion
Honeyberry pruning, when done correctly, is a rewarding practice that ensures bountiful harvests and healthy, long-lived plants. By avoiding these common mistakes – pruning at the wrong time, over-pruning young plants, neglecting mature ones, mismanaging suckers, damaging fruiting spurs, using poor tools, and not practicing renewal pruning – you’ll set yourself up for success. Remember to prune at the right time (late winter/early spring), be patient with young plants, actively manage mature ones through renewal pruning, and always use sharp, clean tools. With a little knowledge and consistent care, your honeyberry shrubs will reward you with delicious berries for years to come.
