How to Prune Seedless Flame Grapes

Grapes are a popular, easy-to-grow plant for home gardens. The Seedless Red Flame cultivar is a popular table grape that is favored for the numerous sweet, seedless grapes that it produces with regular pruning. Pruning helps spur fruit production and also helps control vine growth from overrunning your property. Red Flame grape vines should be spur-pruned in the winter when the vine is dormant.

Things You'll Need

• Pruning shears

Instructions

Instructions

1. Choose a few healthy canes to keep for the next season and prune all other canes back to the trunk. There should be at least 6 inches between each cane you choose to keep, to allow space for new growth. Grapes are only produced on new growth each year, so substantial pruning is required to maximize productivity.

2. Prune the canes that you want to keep. Cut the canes back so that there are only three buds on each cane. The buds will produce the majority of the vine's growth during the next growing season.

3. Train new growth during the growing season so that there is plenty of space between new vines. Grapes benefit from direct sunlight on the fruits. In addition, training vine development will make it easier to identify productive canes and easily prune the vine the following winter.

References

• University of California, Davis: Pruning Grapevines
• Produce Oasis: Flame Grape
• Aarons Farm: Red Flame Grapevine
• University of Minnesota: Growing Grapes for Home Use
• Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet: Growing Grapes in the Home Fruit Planting