Allotments 4 All

Hi!  We planted a grape vine on our garage wall in August- main stem about 12" tall, then with two "branches" coming out at either side, about 18" tall.  How should we prune it?  I have a book but it's a bit confusing- I think I need a real expert!

How much space have you got? If you prune the tip out of the side branches they will produce further side branches in Spring that you can train out...   :-\

It can spread upwards to about 7 feet, but can only go sideways abot half a metre each side.  We also planted a climbing rose- maybe we should have given the vine more space and put the rose elsewhere.  Would it be OK to dig them up and move them?

You don't have to let it fill the space... if you can give it half of that you can still get a good quantity of Grapes.. the trick is often not to let it get too large..  :)

There are literally dozens of commercial pruning regimes designed to maximise yield for various types of vine.

The replacement system is the commonest of these 'professional' regimes but it is still a lot of skill and work.

If you want grapes for wine (might be lousy) or juice (always excellent) you can do very little pruning - if you have MASSES of space.

If you have to prune then then even the easiest regime is a fair amount of work - so it is worth getting a very good vine in the first place - there are hybrid seedless grapes which will produce better and earlier than traditional (European) types - the green/yellow ones (himrod, interlaken etc.) will produce better pretty much anywhere in the UK, there are red/black seedless ones (eg. glenora) which will do well south of the Severn/Wash (given some protection - a wall and/or a net helps). Remember your crop will coincide with cheap grapes from Italy etc. - so another advantage of the hybrid types is that their flavour is different (and better).

The simplest system is a cordon - basically you remove rambling shoots until you have grown a long 'trunk' which can be 'I' or more usually 'T' shaped (of any height or length). Every midwinter you prune all the new growth back to the trunk, but without removing the (decent) bud closest to the trunk. Easy.

When the first flush of flower buds has appeared you cut off any green shoot that doesn't carry flowers and cut the rest back to two buds beyond the flowers.

You might need to repeat this process two or three times more depending on how tidy you want it to look. A tidy vine is easier to net.

Cheers.

Thanks Vinlander- you make it sound really easy!  I'll post a progress report next year!

i have a couple of vines in the garden and a couple on the plot.  i can tell you that once establish these vines sure do grow!  last year I cut the main plot vine back very harshly as the previous owner had totally neglected it so that I was pretty much back to the 'trunk' and 2 buds - lets just say that I still couldnt stop it growing and in the end it ended up6 ft each side of the trunk.  This year I will do the same and then be braver with the green shoots in summer to keep it compact.

i find pruning back in winter quite therapeutic to be honest getting the framework i want for the next year.  Also, take some hardwood cuttings - I did last year and 90% 'took' - very satisfying and made lovely presents.

Enjoy

Thanks PSI- I found your photos and could see your plot vine- I like the idea of taking cuttings-by the time we actually get our allotment (128 on the list!) we might have some ready to plant out- how long do they take to mature enough to go in the ground?you've done wonders with basically a field- it looks great- any more recent photos?

am resurrecting this thread in order to continue the tale!  My grape vine did not survive the winter!  However, today I bought another, in Wilkinsons, but this time have been doing searches and am thinking it may be better in a pot, which we can then bring into the conservatory to ripen in the summer and also if we have another really hard winter.
It seems that a good way to train it would be as a standard, but I am finding the instructions a bit too technical!  At the moment it has a "trunk" about 10" tall, and two longish shoots coming off it (a "v" shape).  Do I train one of those shoots as the main "trunk" and remove the other one, or is the thicker "trunk" the one to train up the support?

How do you know it didn't survive? Mine hasn't woken up yet?

i bought a vine its grafted and it looks dead....lol.but i'm assured its alive....

Yep..my outdoor one is still looking dead too...no sign of growth...it is alive though ::)..I know it is.. ;D..everything is slow this spring, curse or blessing? :-\
Indoor grape is just starting to show signs of the bud break... ;D

Tommy Tomato...do not start pulling your grape stem off yet...there might be a life left in a old stick.... ;D

I'm training my grapevines as a single low upright curtain, mainly to act as a living fence for part of my plot and they look neat.

http://viticulture.hort.iastate.edu/info/pdf/prunecanopy.pdf

Neil

well...mines supposed to be going in the conservatory.. ::).planted straight into the ground,i've left a tile missing on purpose..   ;)    and hopefully its going to grow upwards ....covering the ceiling in there..i'm hoping it will look nice aswell as saving on blinds  ;D

I'm training mine along some horizontal wires also turning it into a living fence, leaves turned a beautiful colour in the Autumn too - bonus! It is well established and was rampant last year, cut back in winter but left branches going along wires. Only a few bunches of (small) grapes last year, which were then eaten by the local birds!

How would I train one in a pot?