Hi Dawn, thanks for contacting the Extension Master Gardener Helpline.

I'm sorry about your blueberry bushes, but before you give up on them completely,  take a close look starting at the top and where you think you might see some life, scrape your thumbnail gently along the branch/branchlet.  If there is green underneath, all is not lost.  That branch is still alive.  Then look very closely at the base of the shrub to see if you see any green at all.  Really get in there and inspect.  Sometimes, if the bushes have really had a tough winter, it may take awhile for them to recover and when they start to, the leaves may just be an atom or two of green along the stem.

Once you've found out which parts still have life in them, the following articles may help you figure out how to prune them for best results.  The trick here is not to assume that everything is dead but to spend time assessing whether there's any life in them at all.  It's probably counterproductive to simply cut them back to the ground without really trying to see if there is any life in them first.

The articles may also give you some ideas of how to winterize your bushes for better results next year.

https://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/factsheets/pruningblueberries.html

https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/2253e/

https://www.canr.msu.edu/uploads/files/Bluerry_CycleOfGrowth_Mark.pdf

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/annual-growth-cycle-of-northern-highbush-blueberry

Good luck!

Jessie, Extension Master Gardener Helpline Volunteer

Hi, Dawn.  OK, so I see two options here, neither of which involves cutting the entire bush down to the ground which could overstress an already debilitated shrub.

First and most drastic is to assume that the bushes won't survive and to replace all.  Option here is to replace only those hardest hit and retain the ones that do show some life using the method below.

Second is to prune out any and all verifiably dead wood/branches.  Cut right back to where it joins a bigger branch and don't leave a stub which invites disease.  Cut at an angle so that rain/moisture runs off and doesn't pool.  Use a sharp tool (pruning shears or hand-saw).  Where the entire branch is dead, cut back to the ground, and this will stimulate growth from the roots.  On branches where the upper portion is dead but the lower portion is still alive, cut back to the living portion.  Again, cut on an angle with a sharp tool to avoid jagged edges.  When you've finished doing that, give all the bushes a thick top dressing of good quality compost.  With any luck, they should start pushing out leaves within a week or two.  But if they don't and you end up having to replace, at least you tried.

Before replacing, could I suggest that you look at where the bushes are planted.  Blueberry bushes should be able to take significant cold and if they were winter killed, I wonder if they are in an especially cold part of your garden.  Did they have enough mulch to protect the root zone over the winter?  Are they in an area that is slow to warm up in the spring?  Are they in an especially wet area of the garden?  You may want to rethink where they are planted or how you protected them over the winter to avoid losing them again.

And the following link has some good photos, diagrams, and information that you may find helpful.  I apologise for all the ads, but I thought that the information would be helpful.

https://savvygardening.com/pruning-blueberries/

Good luck!

Jessie, Extension Master Gardener Helpline Volunteer