Pruning Grape Vines - 5 Professional Secrets For Growing Spectacular Grape Vines

By Malcolm Keigwin

Growing grapes is a very rewarding activity, if it is done with the right knowledge. Knowing what to do is the key to being successful. It is the secret to being able to grow spectacular healthy vines, time and time again.

Pruning is a very important part of getting fantastic vines and preventing grape diseases. These inside secrets to pruning grape vines are your keys to success.

5 professional secrets to pruning grape vines for spectacular results are;

1. 3 weeks before spring, remove all the unwanted canes and spurs. This will focus the energy on the vine into the remaining part of the vine. At this stage don't prune any canes and spurs that you will be using. Doing this, may encourage buds to sprout too early and be susceptible to frost.

2. After risk of any frost has passed, and the buds are starting to break, prune the spurs and canes you want. For cane pruning cut back to 8-12 buds. For spur pruning cut back to 3 buds.

3. Once shoots are 5-6 inches in length, remove excessive shooting so there is only 2 shoots per spur. This will help to prevent overcrowding, which is a very common reason for grape diseases, such as rot. It will also focus the energy into the remaining two shoots, where the grapes will grow from. Also remove excessive leaves which are causing crowding.

4. When the fruit clusters are small, remove all of the clusters except for one. This will cause the grapes to be larger on this bunch and will not over stress the vine. This will also help to reduce grape diseases.

5. Once you have picked the grapes, leave the leaves and canes on the vine until 3 weeks before spring next year. This will enable the vine to draw out the nutrients and the energy into the main part of the vine ready for next year's growth.

If you are interested in getting more free professional secrets on, pruning grape vines to get spectacular results click here.

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For more information on Vine Gardening, see www.bestguidetogardening.com