simy1 wrote:
wrote:
a. true
b. false. very early spring is best time to prune in cold areas. they will not
"bleed" to death.
c. false. dont feed plants in cold areas in fall or it might spur soft growth that
wont properly harden off before winter.
for the manure, you wait until the plants go dormant, which is mid-Fall
here. Not only that, topdressing with manure does not start
fertilization until a good rain comes. No growth whatsoever. I am
pretty sure c. is true, though adding manure anytime between november
and march would result in the same outcome (of course,
december-february manure is frozen and unspreadable around here).
I am surprised early spring is best for pruning. Not only I tried it
both ways and found that late fall was best (lots of bleeding, late
leafing and a miserable crop, and I pruned in March, or late winter),
for other vines late fall is best (hardy kiwis, which I also have). I
am in SE Michigan.
Ingrid
Personally, I think Ingrid had it right.
a. probably true, but I never seem to have birds bothering my grapes so
I don't cover them with netting. Raccoons usually only raid the lower
clusters but one year they climbed a bit.
b. false I think the bleeding just looks bad, but I've always heard
it does no real harm to the vines. Actually I just about have to prune
mine in the fall. I live in zone 3 and any grape worth eating will
freeze to the snow line almost every year. I prune after the leaves fall
and lay the vines flat to the ground so the snow will cover them.
c. Probably false. I wouldn't give a vine that is growing that
vigorously manure or anything else whether spring OR fall. Too much
fertilizer can lead to excessive growth. Big thick new vines, "bull
canes" they are sometimes called, don't tend to produce grapes the next
year. Adding anything might actually reduce production for this vine in
this location (judging by the description in the original post).
Just prune it and leave it alone. Do it late winter after the coldest
days have passed OR try it in the fall if you live where die back isn't
going to be a problem.
Steve