Topic: Pruning my white dessert grapevine

[Alexihen]

All advice gratefully accepted on what I should do about pruning my white dessert grapevine.  I live in central Brittany and our weather is generally warmer than in Cornwall where I used to live before.  Up to five degrees higher generally and then in the summer it can get up to and over 30 degrees centigrade quite regularly.

I planted it this June, against a south facing stone house wall, and trained it outwards with a shoot each side.  I had to keep adding a wire above and another wire above that.  It grew a huge amount and had three bunches of grapes.   The leaves are now dropping off and I wonder when and how I should prune this.

[saddad]

Once you have decided you have enough framework just trim to fit. The flowers are formed on the new growth from the old branches. If you have too much wood cut it back while dormant.   :)

[Vinlander]

A couple of basic rules to add to Saddad's minimalist approach - which is better than the hyper-fiddly ones like the guyot system. It's definitely worth reading a few books on the subject if you bear this in mind - fiddly systems are for commercial growers.

1) The dormant period for removing woody branches is simple - it needs to be cold and getting colder.

In the Southern UK this is seldom before December or after January. It's going to be more tricky in warmer climes - small growers in the traditional French winegrowing regions used St.Sulspice's day (Jan 17th) as the ideal time but their climate might be a bit more continental than maritime Brittany - it might be worth checking with your local growers.

2) In the spring, wait for the first main flush of flowers to appear and then you can prune as much as you want off any shoot that's green, and do it again any time in Spring or Summer, but don't prune off too many flowers or you won't get grapes.

You can leave all the first flush flowers if you think the vine can stand it, and if you aren't desperate for big grapes. The second flush of flowers might produce in Brittany but it's probably not worth taxing the vine by leaving them - especially when it's young.