Prunning Grape Vine

Hi

I am not sure if it is too late.

I dont want to mess up.

Actuallly my grape vine is a real mess.

Can you send me reliable instructions please?

Regards

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Replies

  • Grapes are pretty tough, so what ever you do to them is unlikely to result in permanent disaster. The best book I have ever seen with excellent advice about pruning all fruit trees is: Temperate and Subtropical Fruit Production by David Jackson. I recommend that you get it out of the library.

    Have your vines started sending out new shoots yet? Its better if they haven't. If they have, you need to prune so that you keep some of these new shoots.

    I am no expert, but I can pass on the little I know. In the absence of that awesome book, there are some simple principles I've found useful. When pruning grapes it is important to encourage the vine to produce new shoots as this is where the bunch(es) will form in summer. So the idea is to prune most of last year's shoots almost back to a permanent framework of larger stems. The shape of this framework will depend on the support that you are growing your vines on.

    As you are driving around check out how wine vineyards prune theirs- really hard!

    If you have no new growth yet you can prune last year's shoots almost right off, leaving a short length from which the new shoots can grow. or you can lay some (not too many, a max of four per vine for wine grapes) of last years' shoots down horizontally on your framework or support and the buds in these stems will grow this summers' shoots and fruit. 

    One important thing is to make sure the new shoots and their bunches of grapes will have lots of light to grow fantastic fruit and to allow the fruit to ripen fully. Air circulation throughout the leafy and fruiting part of the vine is also important to reduce diseases. 

    At some point in summer you may want to cut the ends off the new shoots too.

    Trial and error will help you get it right over the next few years.

    Good luck!

    Ingrid

  • I'm in exactly the same boat, I hope someone can help?!

    • I start reading and doing something.

      Tomorrow (for sunday) a friend come to help.

      I will let you know.

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