Pruning grape vines: when and how to do it right

Grapes are woody plants for which pruning is very important during cultivation.

Along with fertilizing, watering, and covering for the winter, pruning the vine will keep the bushes beautiful and healthy. Pruning also ensures a balance between growth and fertility.

How to carry out annual pruning of grapevines? How to act when dividing young and old specimens, Anastasia Kovrizhnykh tells.

We will tell you when it is best to trim, how to trim vines, as well as what tools to use for this work and what to pay attention to.

Winter is the best time for pruning and shaping grape vines.

Winter pruning of grapevines ensures the quality of the fruit and its durability. However, grapevine care does not end there.

Pruning vines is extremely important not only in winter, but also in spring and summer.

A high-quality cut will ensure abundant fertility, and proper care will ensure the good condition of the trees and their health.

When to prune grapes

Systematic pruning of grapevines is extremely important. It is carried out at different times of the year.

In young bushes it looks a little different than in older specimens.

Old wood will require a slightly different cut. See when is the best time to prune the vine, depending on the age of the plant.

Young vine seedlings are planted in the ground in the fall so that two eyes protrude above the surface.

After planting, the entire area must be covered with soil. This will ensure a good wintering. The first pruning of the vine is done in early spring.

The most commonly used types of cutting in our conditions are: cone cutting and head cutting. Cone cutting is also called "eye" cutting, since we cut the vine to one or two eyes, that is, to one or two lateral buds.

Next year, fertile branches will grow from them. We cut out old reproducible wood from the plant by cutting off the head.

In this way, old shoots are gradually replaced by new ones, which will bear fruit next year.

Winter haircut and spring haircut

In the first year after planting, it is good to shorten the vine shoot a little so that two eyes remain.

Two shoots grow from them, which form the basis of a new plant. From this point on, you can begin to form cuts and take care of regular sanitary cuts.

We will write about these types of cutting in a little more detail below. The first year is extremely important for growing the liana, and you definitely should not forget about the appropriate pruning.

In the second year, the trunk is formed. The lignified parts of the plant are cut to a height of 70-80 cm. When growing, it is also customary to leave up to four young shoots on the upper part of the trunk during the growing season.

If the plant is large enough already in the second year, the main shoot is shortened to a height of 150 cm, and the remaining shoots are bent horizontally to the support.

Perennial plants are pruned relatively early, at the end of February or beginning of March, when vegetation has not yet fully established itself, but there is no threat of frost. It is advisable to prune the vine on frost-free and dry days.

Winter and spring pruning should be done before the so-called "tears" of the vine, when any pruning causes a large loss of sap. Bushes should not be pruned from early April to mid-May.

Thicker shoots are shortened to two or three loops, while thinner ones are left with one loop.

How and what to prune grape vines with

Pruning grapes is important, but in addition to knowing when to prune your plants, you also need to know how to do it correctly.

Proper pruning technique will allow the shoots to heal quickly, and the plant will get the most out of this treatment.

Interesting fact

The vine tolerates heavy pruning well, so you don't have to worry about trimming it. On the other hand, a common mistake of beginning gardeners is to trim it too moderately.

The vine likes a strong cut. Such radical pruning will help the plant to become stronger and bear more fruit. Always use sharp and disinfected cutting tools.

Garden shears that are too dull will cause unnecessary wear at the cut site and make it difficult for the cut to heal. In turn, inadequate disinfection of tools can lead to illness.

Proper technique will prevent cuts and make the cut easier. Always cut the vine at a slight angle (opposite the bud of the vine), about 2 cm above the node. The sap flowing from such a cut will not flood the buds.

The smaller and smoother the wound, the better. Therefore, they need to be trimmed in such a way as to cause the plants as little inconvenience as possible.

All cuts should be secured immediately. Special garden pastes are used to protect cuts, which speed up the healing process and prevent microorganisms from entering the wound.

Cutting is done in three ways:

Short pruning involves leaving one to four lower buds on the shoot. In this case, the plant may grow unevenly and produce many thick green side shoots. This pruning is also done when the shoots are thin and less than a meter long.

Medium pruning is suitable for all grapevine varieties, and this means pruning to five, six, seven or a maximum of eight buds. This is used in the case of varieties that do not tolerate short pruning of shoots so well.

Long pruning means pruning the shoots so that at least the buds remain on them. This type of pruning produces a more uniform shape on the supports, and at the same time it provides the plant with ventilation and good lighting. Long pruning is done for low-fertility varieties.

Earlier we wrote about which plants can be planted in May.