Think of each plant in this system as having a T shape. The vines (usually called canes) grow horizontally along the top wire, one extending in each direction. On a typical commercial wire trellis, individual plants are spaced at least 8 feet apart along the row, and the perennial trunks grow up the posts. But grapevines can take practically any shape you like: Adjust the height of your new trunk to match that of your trellis, and make as many arms off that as you need to cover the space you wish to fill, to maximize fruit, or to create a shady bower. The simplest system involves a row of posts with a strong wire fastened along the top-a great way to train them if you just want fruit. Make the arbor strong enough to hold not only the vines, leaves, and fruit, but also several hundred pounds of ice and snow that may cling to the vines in winter.Īs you ponder what sort of an arbor or trellis to build, it’s good to know a little more about how grapes grow and how much pruning they typically need every year (a lot). The mature vines are wiry and tough, but young shoots are surprisingly brittle and easily snapped off by the wind unless they have support. Finish construction before new shoots sprout in the spring. (Next winter the best of the three will be the one to keep.)Īfter you’ve cleared the jumble away from the main trunk, it’s time to begin work on building an arbor or trellis to support the vine. You should rub or snap off most of those, too, saving only about three with which to start the structure of your new grapevine. (It might be growing straight up, but more likely it’s now leaning over, perhaps all the way to the ground.) In the spring, dozens of new shoots will grow out along this trunk. Cut all the way back to the main trunk, a gnarly thing only about 2 to 4 feet long. No need to worry over which vines should go and which should be saved.
Kim Neumann, Erie, Colo.Ī: Prune boldly, without fear of hurting a thing. I know the vines should be pruned, but I have no idea where to begin. Their supports are long gone, and they have been sprawling all over the ground for years in what I actually thought was a twig pile. Q: I’m stumped by what to do with some badly neglected grapevines that came with our new home.
#Pruning grape vines free#
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