Do Master Gardeners help with pruning?

Question: I am an avid home gardener who has been successful with most of my gardening. However, I have 3 blueberry bushes, and while I have read many, many resources on how to prune them, I continue to feel uncertain about my efforts because my 6 year old bushes look NOTHING like the examples on videos and in books. I'm wondering if any MGs do independent counseling for pruning or offer to do the pruning for a price.  I would love to have someone knowledgeable about pruning blueberry bushes walk me through the process so that I can finally get it correct.  I am attaching photos taken today of all 3 bushes. 0
Thanks in advance,
Cindy

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied March 21, 2023, 12:07 PM EDT
response: Hi Cindy,  Unfortunately we do not have Master Gardeners that do site visits. You could look into taking a gardening class with Baltimore County MGs though. It looks like there is one coming up in June about small fruit growing that could be beneficial. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-the-garden-2023-summer-seminars-tickets<personal data hidden>67 You could also  contact the office and/or visit the demonstration gardens to see if they have any blueberries or offer hands on advice on pruning. https://extension.umd.edu/locations/welcome/home-gardening-master-gardeners There Newsletter lists Ask a MG plant clinics at various locations, so you may be able to attend one of those for assistance as well. https://drive.google.com/file/d/17kVgt3TCVgaIXkFYnJMmxV6dP3w1vkjx/view From looking at your photos though, it doesn't appear to us that you need to prune your shrubs right now, but it does look like they could use some good organic material to help them along. You can see our webpage on Growing Blueberries in the Home Garden for more information. You would want to gently move back the leaf litter (this is great!) and apply 1-2" of compost, either home made or purchased, around the root zone of the plants, not piling it up on the trunk and branches. Then you can replace the leaf litter to decompose and add additional nutrients as it breaks down.  You can also read our page for Pruning Blueberries, although it looks like you have or have seen different YouTube videos for it. You want to eventually have about 12-18 canes per shrub and then you can start to prune out the older canes. So it seems at this point you may want to add organic material to fertilize and support soil health, then as they grow more you can prune to maintain good berry production.   The links provided for Growing and Pruning Blueberries have additional links at the bottom of their pages that you can explore to learn more about home grown berries.  Let us know if you have further questions with blueberry growing/pruning or care.  Emily

responder: The Question Asker Replied March 21, 2023, 2:59 PM EDT
response: Thanks for your advice. I do develop my own compost, so I'll be sure to apply a significant amount. I may also attend that fruit growing seminar if I can since I also grow strawberries and raspberries.  Cindy

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied March 21, 2023, 3:03 PM EDT
response: sounds good Cindy, enjoy!