Drought stricken plants - need advice

[Gene Daniels]

I put in four new blueberry bushes last spring. They were doing great till the summer. We had very little rain, plus I traveled more than usual. Between the two they are in pretty bad shape this fall. Lots of dead leaves and branches. So, this is my question:

Should I prune them real hard this winter, kind of like a renewal pruning, or just wait to see what comes back with new growth and prune off what doesn't? Any suggestions?

[Gina]

Hi Gene, sorry about your plants. It's hard to know exactly what to do without seeing them, but if they are in really bad shape with many dead branches, it might be hard to know what is alive. If they were mine, I wouldn't prune until I saw what, if any, is alive - then I'd prune.

Blueberries are unforgiving when it comes to getting too dry. Good luck.

[WillsC]

I would wait. Mulch the top of the pots thick......would have helped with the lack of rain, won't help now though of course.