When to Trim an Evergreen Huckleberry
The evergreen huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum), also referred to as the California huckleberry, is a broad-leaf evergreen shrub that grows 1 1/2 into 15 feet tall. It’s native to the coastal mountain ranges from British Columbia to central California, including lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Its dark-blue vegetables are smaller than blueberries but have a similar taste. Although evergreen shrubs usually need little pruning, evergreen huckleberry is pruned to support the growth of its berries and to acquire a supply of its foliage.
Landscape Pruning
Evergreen huckleberry has red bark and deep-green leaves, a combination that causes it to be grown as a ground cover or cover plant. If an evergreen huckleberry plant will be the correct size for your landscape, you may not have to prune it at all. If you want to thin overgrown branches, eliminate dead or dying branches, or encourage growth near the plant’s sides or bottom, then the best time to do this is in late winter or early spring before new growth starts.
Severe Pruning
The shiny leaves of evergreen huckleberry shrubs keep their deep-green color throughout winter. Plant nurseries frequently use the leaves as backdrop foliage in flowery sprays, and huckleberry shrubs are frequently grown for their foliage. As the plants grow older, they become tall and woody, grow more slowly and yield fewer attractive leaves. If you want to grow a tall, mature evergreen huckleberry because of its foliage, prune it almost into the ground in late winter or early spring, leaving short stubs. The plant will grow new, useful sprays in a few years.
Pruning to Increase Berry Yield
Huckleberry shrubs grow strawberries on brand new shoots. Often commercial growers encourage the growth of new shoots on huckleberry plants by burning their plants in spring when soil is moist. That option, however, is out of bounds for home growers. Instead of burning the plant, then stimulate the growth of new shoots and ensure a steady supply of huckleberries by pruning huckleberry branches after you decide on the berries.
Pruning for Christmas Decorations
Huckleberry shrubs frequently are pruned from late November through December to get sprays of its green leaves for Christmas and New Year’s wreaths and decorations. Although late winter or early spring typically is the recommended time for pruning evergreen shrubs, evergreen huckleberry can defy this holiday seasonal pruning if it is done judiciously.