"David E. Ross" wrote
Jim wrote:
Hi,
I planted two grape vines last year, then got too busy to stake them and
well they looked so dead when they arrived from Burpees I was not sure
they
would grow. I have not pruned them yet either. Should I prune them way
back or leave them long. I will get the stakes and wire in place soon,
but
I think I should prune them now.
Any good websites for grapes? I have seen some but most are on a
commercial
level, I just have two vines hoping to get a few grapes.
Cheers,
Jim
If they were planted last year, then the only pruning they need is to
remove side shoots in order to create a central trunk. Keep one main
shoot until it reaches the top of whatever supporting system you will
use. Let it get a bit taller than the support and then head it back so
that it develops side shoots along the top of the support.
A mature grape vine loaded with fruit is very heavy. I use 3-inch
steel-pipe fence posts instead of stakes. I run wire rope between them.
See my http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_grapes.html for details,
including a rough sketch.
Next year will be when you start serious pruning. I've seen several
good books on pruning trees, shrubs, and vines that had excellent
instructions for pruning grape vines. A good nursery or a well-stocked
public library should have 2-3 such books.
I like your set up. How old are your vines? Grape vines grow rapidly. I
planted two concord grape vines at my last house. They were very small,
looked like spaghetti sized twigs when I purchased them at a local nursery.
By the second year they reached the top of the arbor I built. By the third
year they spanned the the entire distance and were loaded with grapes, in
fact too many grapes, I had to find people to take them (not everyone likes
eating concords). Pruning is very important, once very heavily in the fall,
practically right down to the trunks, and again in the spring after
flowering, remove all growth past the flowers (the rule is to remove 1/3 of
the vine by weight, gotta kinda estimate, comes easier with experience).
For an arbor I used 3 fence postes with narrow wood strips for supports...
ended up working out very well as my main reason for the grapes was as
privacy screen... when in full leaf it was not possible to see through.
Jim, build your support now, grape vines grow much faster then you may
think.
A few pictures I dug up showing the support and how severly pruned... this
is spring when just beginning to bud:
http://i44.tinypic.com/2hedfgx.jpg
http://i40.tinypic.com/2v9c185.jpg
http://i39.tinypic.com/2dj9z5u.jpg
Concords still green:
http://i41.tinypic.com/2rf8nkx.jpg
Grapes require dedication, if you're not going to be religious about care
don't bother... I moved six years ago so I've no idea whether those grapes
are still there.