Hello, I currently have a very hefty wild grape (I believe vitus riparia) climbing to the skies up a dead Austrian Pine tree. I enjoy the taste of wild grapes so I was wondering if it is possible to cut the vine back and train it to a trellis? As it stands currently I would need a helicopter to harvest any berries. There is one main vine, as well as a few smaller vines. I don't know if it's okay to just lop it off the main vine at eye level or how best to proceed, the main vine doesn't appear to branch until very much higher in the tree. The grape vine is currently dormant so I think would be the right time to do some pruning, but it would be great to have a clue on how to proceed. Any advice would be appreciated. -Mika
You can prune the grape back -focus on the new wood that grew last year that will produce the best fruit. You can also prune it back to manage the vine. Don't be scared to take out a lot of the old wood. Grapes produce fruit on the previous season growth. Check out the Minnesota Grapes Association for information on pruning www.mngrapes.org Cheers
I also have tons of grape vine in my woods. If I go to the trouble of training some of it to a trellis, will it produce fruit? Any advice appraciated.
