Pruning Grapevines

Many people enjoy growing grapes. They look lovely, and as an added bonus, they're tasty. However, they also do require a bit of regular maintenance, and part of that is keeping them pruned. Unpruned vines develop too much vegetation, and as a result, they produce a poor crop of grapes. If you can get into the habit of pruning back your grapevines on a regular basis, they'll stay healthy, and you'll have a bountiful harvest each year. It takes a couple of years for a grapevine to begin producing fruit, so after the first year, you'll need to trim them back.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Determine which grape stem is the strongest. The stem that is the hardiest and strongest will become the trunk of your grapevine, and everything will grow outwards from this trunk. Train your vines to go up over their horizontal support trellis. If you don't have a horizontal trellis in place, you can use wires to train your grapevines to travel up a fence or wall.

2. Trim everything off the base of the stem that is between the ground and the horizontal support trellis. This will allow the stem to become even stronger each year. Use a stake to keep the stem in place. Use florist's wires to keep the upper vines on the horizontal trellis.

3. In the spring, after the first year's growth has established, prune back all but the two strongest vines off the top of the stem. Train these vines out horizontally, and allow them to become the base for new growth.

4. In the plant's second summer, trim back the upper regions of the stem so that it doesn’t grow too tall. You want your grapevines to grow out, not up. New side branches will be growing at this time, and you can allow them to stay in place as long as you don't have too many. Cut back any extras. Wind the remaining vines and branches along the trellis.

5. In the winter, prune back all but about a dozen buds from the branches. These buds will form next year's vines and will eventually be the source of fruit production. Leave a couple of leaf joints on the buds, to be the "renewal buds." Each season, allow each bud to grow a little more, producing additional buds. Grapes will appear on the growth that comes from those renewal buds. Be sure not to trim back the renewal buds, or you'll damage your harvest for the following season.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have the space, use multiple grape plants to create an arbor.

• Be sure to trim your plants regularly, and train the vines to go where you want them, or you'll have a hard time re-training them to go somewhere else.

• Don't use dirty or rusted pruning shears. This can damage your vines and harm your crops.