Photo below - shoots that come off of the top of the main vine like this one are ideal, but you'll get only a few that actually grow this way. You wanna prune to about 3 buds, as new growth will emerge and produce a full canopy later. Boy, these things fill out pretty quick!
Photo below - while at it, any girdling caused by tendrils wrapping themselves around the shoots should be addressed also. Man, those little dudes can sure do some damage! I try my best to remove them during the growing season, too - but always miss a couple. Here's one that I missed....
Photo below - It's quite normal for new cuts to "bleed" afterward, and shouldn't concern you at all. This "bleeding" will continue for a couple of weeks, after pruning.
Photo below - here's a section of one vine that has been finished. Looks kinda "nekkid", don't it? Well....this is what it's supposed to look like afterward.
With all of that said, all of the fruit trees were pruned too, but required much less work and time. If the weather cooperates, we should be covered up with fruit this year. In reality, it needs to stay cold for at least another 2-3 weeks, then everything can be allowed to bloom. The plums will be first, and already show signs of breaking dormancy. If you'll remember, a freak warm spell in January of 2009 caused them to bloom too early, and there were no plums later. :-( I sure hope this year is different! I want plum jelly! All I need is some favorable weather and a visit from my bee friends, and it'll happen. Gosh, i'd love to have my own hive like stefaneener does!
Take care, and happy gardening!
EG
19 comments:
I need to prune our scraggly blueberry bushes, but I'm too nervous. Looks like I just need to man up.
Earlier this week I was just thinking that we should prune the apple trees and grapes before we get more snow. They are in complete dormancy and it would be a good time to get this chore completed.
Both are severely neglected by the previous owners. The grape vines were growing out of control up into the trees. I am still learning how to prune, so I'm probably not as aggressive as I should be. I really appreciate your explanation and photos.
What a great recap on pruning grape vines! That girdling from wrapped tendrils is pretty amazing. The finished product looks very tidy and ready to go.
We had a strange fruit year in 2009 too. For some reason our well established evergreen huckleberries did not produce a single bit of fruit. I hope this year they produce because I would like to make some huckleberry jelly.
ribbit - there's nothing to be nervous about. Blueberries need very little pruning - only to keep a good form.
rachel - you need to be pretty aggressive with grape vines, because they keep filling out every year. Also remember that fruit develops on last years' new growth....
kitsapFG - I think everyone had a bad fruit harvest last year (aside from California and Florida). With weather permitting, mine could be outstanding!
Thanks for the lesson in pruning...something I need to be more diligent about. Hope your weather holds for the plums!
Great post EG. I'd love to grow grapes some day, all I need is space. Would be cool to grow your own for jelly or wine.
Sunny - you're welcome. I too, hope that the weather cooperates.
Dan - thanks. I made jelly from mine last year, and it tasted really good.
Maybe bees would be more acceptable to your wife than chickens.
Your grape pruning looks textbook. Enjoy them.
Great tutorial on pruning grapevines. I planted some seedless red flame grapes last year and dread the day I have to prune them. They'll have to grow more before I can even consider it.
stefaneener - thanks! I'm sure my wife would let me have bees, but the initial investment would have to be cleared first.
Lou - It's really nothing to dread, as it becomes quite easy for 1 person to do.
Just found found your blog. Very cool!
We built a beautiful garden shed this year, and I just planted to muscat grapes to climb up the front trellis.
I'm so curious about muscadines. I wonder how they'd grow in Southern California . . ..
Great pruning pictures.
Mat - thanks!
Christina - i'm sure they would do well in your region, and are more disease resistant than most varieties.
I used to have grapes. It is just amazing how far they can grow in a year. They would always try to take over the raspberry patch. I'd have to keep them cut back even in the summer too so the raspberries wouldn't get shaded out.
I just found your blog and I need help with my grapes! My husband and I just bought a home in South Carolina. We have a trellis next to a chain link fence with a huge tangled mess of Scuppernong vines all over both. Is it too late to try and prune them? (there are tiny leaves sprouting all over the vines) It will be very hard to prune them properly (like your pics) They are so tangled! Hoping to hear from you soon. Thanks!
angigirl - i'm sorry, but it's too late to prune them....you should prune in february each year....
Thanks, EG. That is what I thought you would say. Hopefully, we will get some grapes this year and next Feb. we will try to get that vine in better shape. Happy growing!
We need help! We planted 2 muscadine vines this time last year and didn't prune. They're growing on a single wire, are all leggy and wild, and have grape clusters down at the bottom. Should we pick the grapes and prune them now? If so, how? Thanks!
CJ - it's common to let the vines run wild for the first couple of years. Go ahead and pick the grapes, then prune them in february....
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