

Method 1 Part One: Transplant Pruning Download Article 1 Reduce the shoots. All heavy pruning should be done while the plants are in a state of dormancy, but additional light pruning may also be needed throughout the growing season. “Poor pruning year after year leads to low yield and poor fruit quality. Grape vines need heavy pruning each year. “If you prune properly, your vine will be more manageable and have better fruit,” Strik said. Leave no more than 20 to 80 buds per plant, depending on the type of grape. To spur prune, prune along main canes to leave two- to three- bud spurs, each four to six inches apart. Most table grapes produce the highest yield of good quality fruit when cane-pruned.

All other cane growth should be pruned off. Its important to prune your grape vine before the sap starts to flow or you will damage the plant and cause it to bleed. These "renewal spurs" will produce the fruiting canes for the following year and thus maintain fruiting close to the trunk. Leave a one- or two-bud spur cane near the fruiting cane with one or two buds each. In table grapes, leave 50 to 80 buds per plant. For wine grapes, leave about 20 to 30 buds per plant. Cut back each of these to leave about 15 buds per cane. To cane prune, select two to four new fruiting canes per vine. Mature plants should be pruned yearly to remove all growth except new 1-year-old fruiting canes and renewal spurs (a cane pruned back to one to five buds). There are two types of grape pruning – cane pruning and spur pruning. These are thicker than a pencil in width and as close to the trunk as possible, Strik explained.

The most fruitful canes will be those that were exposed to light during the growing season. Grapes are produced from buds that will grow into shoots on 1-year old canes (the long stems or “shoots” after they’ve borne fruit for at least one year). The instructions are straight-forward and illustrations and photos in Strik's guide, which includes information on all aspects of growing grapes, help you visualize the process. But look at it this way: There’s no need to evaluate shape and size like when you cut back shrubs and trees. “When gardeners prune, they should remove the majority of wood produced the previous season – until about 90 percent is pruned off." “Home grape growers don't prune their vines enough,” said Strik, who is the author of Extension’s Growing Table Grapes publication.
#PRUNING GRAPE VINES HOW TO#
First, though, you’ve got to know how to do it properly. January through the first of March is the season to prune your vines, said Bernadine Strik, a berry specialist with Oregon State University Extension Service. That’s the time to take action and get out the clippers. – Once grape vines lose their leaves, the plants fade into the background of the winter landscape.
