Our house has had a grape vine which has went unpruned, unfertalized and untouched. Lately I have had an interest in taking care of this vine. This vine has gone wild ever since we moved here and maybe even before. I have lately been advised by books and articles on the enternet to prune this vine. I look up how to do so and all I get is how to prune the vines withing the first few years of planting. How do I go about pruning this vine since I have had no prior experience pruning at all. I look forward to your input on my topic, Thank you Graham
Graham I have a grape vine at my place it is proberly 50 years old it is spread over a steel frame maybe 30ft by 20ft it gives great shade in the heat of summer, a couple of times over the last few years i have cut it back, just leaving a couple of main branches, i do this after the grapes have been picked. The next year you would not have thought you had pruned it they grow that quick, I dont think you can kill a grape vine by over pruning Brian
You have a big job ahead of you, and the best time to get started is now. No leaves make it much easier to see the structure of the plant. Trace the vine back to the main trunk, very likely there is only one as one grape vine per arbor is sufficient. If there is more than one plant chances are that someone has planted more than one variety of grape. Regardless, get a good hand pruner and reduce the vine back to just one or two main branches. You have to be ruthless and you will have a huge pile of grapevines that you cut off (great for making cutings). As you are doing the pruning pay attention to the wood, you will soon be able to recognize last years growth and previous old growth, you will also see growth that was produced last year that has died back. It is important to learn to recognize that because next summer that is the portion that you should prune off. This will send the energy back into the vines that are producing grapes and your vine also will not be such a mess next winter (I winter prune Feb 25th). And yes, you have to prune again next winter. By the end of summer you will be amazed how much growth has been put on. Don't worry about killing the grape with harsh pruning if this grape vine is actually 50 years old it probably will outlive the rest of us. p.s. my knowledge was acquired from an awesome friend, Malcolm who has since passed away. He was in charge of a wine producing vineyard for many years.
Very helpful post victoriarose! I have included a picture of my grape vine at the start of last spring and then one from this past summer. Being new to the gardening and "pruning" scene I also wasn't sure how much to take off. Now I'm thinking I didn't cut back nearly enough...I found that many of my grapes shrivled and fell off...(also see picture) One question for you, you had mentioned pruning in the summer and in the winter (Feb)...when in the summer is best? I had read somewhere that summer pruning can make the vine bleed and cause harm? is this the case? Thanks, E.
Summer pruning is best done after flowering but before grapes form. Begin at the end of each vine and follow it back to the third or fourth cluster of newly forming grapes. Snip just after the 3rd or 4th cluster and discard all the new growth. You will notice fluid leaking out of the spot you cut but don't worry about that. All the energy the plant would have spent growing a longer vine will then go into the production of those grape clusters, resulting in bigger, juicer bunches of grapes. Glad to know my advice was helpful, it was a legacy left to me and I feel good about sharing it. Happy gardening.
. I am new to this forum so I hope I have chosen a proper thread for my questions. Many years ago (1960s) I built a grape arbor and planted 8 different types of grapes around it. I didn't know anything about grapes. They all died. Just last month I bought a couple of Concord grapes plants ( about 12" tall with hardly any leaves. Now the leaves ( ten to twelve per plant )are shooting out all over and though I have read a few articles here and there I still don't follow what I should do, if anything. There are also some branches with no leaves at all. The leaves are a really lovely green hue, they seem to turn away from the direct sun at mid-day then angle back when the shade commences in the evening. I am VERY visual and don't follow conceptual directions very well. Canes, pinching, cutback, rubbed-off all sound like quantum mechanics. When there is no picture or diagram I can't get what is being done and when. I thought I would wait until I see if they live before I build another grape arbor. So should I just wait till January/February, then go out with a snowshovel and a machete? Thanks for any help. .