I bought property last year with two old grape vines that had not been pruned in 4 years. Someone told me to cut it back hard in early spring, which I did this past march. Well this fall I got plenty heathy, vibrant leaves, but only 2 clusters of grapes on the green and none on the purple. What' up with that? Will I get more next year? should I prune again this spring? Thanks for any advise Barb
Did you notice if you had lots of flower clusters and few grapes, or few clusters right from the outset? Lots of flowers and few grapes is poor pollination (usually a weather issue), but a small number or flower clusters can be a result of excessive vegetation in the previous year giving little sun exposure to the vines (or at least the ones that remain after pruning). The buds on these shaded vines can tend to produce vegetative rather than fruiting canes. Ralph
Thanks for your reply Ralph... I know nothing about grape vines I did not notice if I had flowers or not. I did prune it back hard in the early spring. Should I be pruning during the growing season? Barb
Check the section on thinning and canopy management: http://mtvernon.wsu.edu/frt_hort/grape_pruning_basics.htm Ralph
Check out a book called "From Vines to Wines" by Jeff Cox. The first part of the box explains a lot about the growing and pruning part of grape vines. You may fine some of the info helpful. Scuba
Hello, Barb, The fruits of grapes grow on the wood of last year! If, in the process of cutting back, you also cut back the wood of the previous year, you will not have fruits this year! But this is no problem; you will have fruits the following year. Strict cutting back of the shoots of your grape vines is recommended, but as much as possible you should, as a simple rule, leave a stem of three eyes of the wood of this year, to have fruits the following year. Much luck! Mitschurin
Strictly speaking it is last year's buds on last year's shoots that will grow this year's shoots that will bear this year's fruit. The 2 - 3 buds at the base of the shoot are usually left after pruning to provide for this growth. If the vine is cut back further than this to older wood some "latent" buds will be forced, but the canes they produce will rarely bear fruit. Some summer thinning to expose these 2 - 3 buds to direct sunlight will increase the probability of fruiting next year. Also, have a look at this: http://web1.msue.msu.edu/vanburen/grpdrp.htm Where Did All the Grapes Go Ralph
