I planted a cutting two years ago, First year growth was about five fee
high with one bunch of grapes,this year the plant is ten feet in bot directions,(trained to a fence) , and loaded with grapes . what shoul I do, to prepare the plant for next year,after the grapes have bee picked! Regards Grumpy
-- grumpy
a) prepare to defend the grapes against birds and racoons this september. i suggest both an electric fence around the fence and lots of bird netting draped over b) google "pruning grapes". It is important to prune in late fall and not in early spring, as these vines bleed profusely in spring. Other than that, grapes gets pruned far more than, say, apple trees. Basically, you leave the skeleton up c) some manure this fall is a good idea. The plant has grown and produced a lot
should
If it's fruiting that well then really all you need to do is prune it in late winter - you probably are doign the right things for feeding it now. There are several systems of grape pruing and training and the best thing to do would be to get a book on the subject or do a google hunt.
should
I found this site which may be useful
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. Ingrid
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
yes, of course.
yes to that, too. This year I have a bumper crop, what with the mild winter and mild, rainy spring. Probably the reason I did not notice any effect from pruning in the fall is that Concord grapes lose nothing to winterkill around here (I have six plants). My guess is that if you are well into the growing range, before or after winter is the same.
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
the deer know where the vines are and leap over everything to eat em about 3 days before they are actually ripe. it is a PITA. Ingrid
Steve wrote: , but I never seem to have birds bothering my grapes so
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
The "bleeding" does absolutely no harm to the vine.
Thanks to all who repiled to this post, There were some conflictin views, but I get the general idea. By the way, I garden i gloucestershire England Regards Grumpy
-- grumpy
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.