PRUNING GRAPE VINES HOW TO

As you can see, it’s probably at least twenty to twenty five feet long. This is an example of one cane that grew last year. So, all we’re going to have is one cane coming off the main trunk – about six feet long, and nothing else on it.Ī grape plant will produce a tremendous amount of growth in a single season. So any little side branches that may have formed come off as well. Snap it off like that, and then everything else in between comes off as well. We’ll measure about six feet from that and prune it off. Pretend that this branch is attached to the trunk. Then, all you need to do is to measure off six feet. But, it needs to be late enough so that you can determine if there is any dead growth. We like to do that when there is just a small amount of growth developing. We’re a little bit late this year, because the buds are already starting to grow. We need to do the pruning sometime in the early spring, just before the buds start to swell. If it’s flexible and bendable, it’s alive. You can tell that by simply trying to bend it. In selecting those four branches that we’re going to leave, you’ll need to get a branch that is about as big around as your little finger. Everything else that grew the previous year needs to be removed. Then, the plant from the next trunk will be coming over, so the two branches are just about touching. Grapes are normally planted about twelve feet apart. And again, then there are two lower branches with one going one direction, and one going the opposite direction. Usually there are two on the top with one going one direction, and one going the other direction. The principle of pruning grapes is to leave four branches coming off of the main trunk. If you haven’t been aggressive in the last several years, you may need a pair of hand loppers. If you don’t do enough, it simply grows into a jungle and the plant is never as productive.Īll you need to prune the vines is a pair of small hand pruners.

PRUNING GRAPE VINES HOW TO

When you know how to do it properly, grape vines will become very productive. For more information, visit our website at: Transcript:įirst of all, grapes are pruned more extensively, and more aggressively than anything else you can think of. Produced by the Department of Communications at Kansas State University.

This segment shows how to prune the canes and gives tips for problem areas. It's important to aggressively remove the old growth to have productive grapes. Grape vines can grow an impressive amount in just one year.

Pruning grape vines