Pruning grapes in the spring correctly

The grape is a fruiting vine that grows so quickly that it can braid the trees and houses around it in a short time. To make the plant more compact and healthy, grapes need to be pruned annually. We'll talk about the features and benefits of spring grape pruning further.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Spring Pruning

In addition to giving the shrub the desired size, spring pruning of grapes carries a number of functions that positively affect the condition and characteristics of the grapes.

Spring pruning has several advantages:

1. Due to the correct manipulation, the yield of the bush increases by 60-80%.
2. The grapes can be shaped as desired.
3. The cold resistance of the bush increases, which is very important when growing grapes in regions with severe winters.
4. The shrub is better ventilated and well lit.
5. Due to the fact that the grapes become compact after manipulation, harvesting is simplified.
6. Instead of wasting nutrients on the maintenance of extra shoots, the bush directs them to form fruit.

In spring pruning there is only one drawback: if you are late and carry out a manipulation after the start of sap flow, the grapes will start to “cry”. As a result of a large loss of juice, the plant becomes weak and in most cases dies.

In the climatic conditions of our country, grapes can be cut both in spring and autumn, it all depends on the region where the shrub is grown.

Video: when to prune grapes - in spring or autumn

When to prune in the spring, in what month, timing

Spring pruning should be carried out before sap flow has begun, as evidenced by swelling of the kidneys. In most regions, the optimal time for pruning in spring is the first half of April.

Important! You can not prune grapes after the start of sap flow. From the inflicted wounds, juice will drip for a long time, due to which the plant will lose a lot of strength. A long cry can even cause the death of a bush.

General rules and tips for correct spring pruning

Before you start pruning grapes, you need to indicate the direction of garden manipulation. Young shrubs trimmed to give the crown the shape of a trunk or bush, adjusting the number of sleeves and shoulders. During trimming adult bushes cut off dried or diseased vines, and only 2-3 pieces of young shoots are left to replace old vines with them in the future.

On the eve of trimming, you need to select a tool (pruner) and sharpen it. Pruning with a sharp tool is not only easy but also beneficial for the plant. The fact is that after cutting with such tools, even wounds remain, which quickly heal. To find out if the pruner is sharpened enough, you need to try cutting a sheet of paper. If it is easy to cut, you can start the spring cultivation of the shrub.

Thus, when pruning grapes, some basic rules must be followed:

• All spoiled, frost-bitten and diseased branches are mandatory for removal, even if, according to the pruning scheme, they should remain on the bush.
• Manipulation is performed only with a clean and sharp instrument. The cut should not contain any burrs or splits, it should be smooth and even.
• The cut is made at right angles, without bevels.
• Shoots with 10-12 eyes are left.
• As a substitute, shoots that are closer to the trunk are preserved.
• For fruiting, a healthy vine with a diameter of at least 6 mm is deposited.

Video: pruning 1, 2, 3 summer grapes in spring

Spring pruning methods

Depending on the selected variety and the weather conditions of the growing region, the grapes are pruned using radically different schemes. Depending on the technology of the selected pruning, grapes can be grown in the form of a small tree or bush.

Stamp - step-by-step instructions, features of pruning by year

With the standard spring pruning, the tree (stem) is formed from grape varieties that do not need shelter for the winter. The main thing with this pruning method is to control the cutting height and set the correct stem height.

The stamping (pruning) of grapes is carried out as follows:

• 1st year. The bush is cut into 2 eyes and all shoots are removed. Ideally, a couple of strong shoots should be grown per season.
• 2nd year. A stronger one is chosen from a pair of shoots and shortened by 2 eyes. Another shoot is completely cut off.
• 3rd year. The main shoot is left on the bush and cut a little. In addition to the trunk, a couple of upper shoots are left in the crown.Excess branches are removed.
• 4th year. The remaining upper branches are slightly shortened.
• 5th year. All last year's branches are cut off, leaving shoots with 2 eyes.
• 6th year. To form fruit links, the lower shoot is cut into 2-3 eyes.

Video: standard pruning (shaping) of grape bushes in spring

Stampless - step by step instructions, features of pruning by year

The grape shrubs are formed using a standard method, which are covered for the winter. This form of pruning allows you to bend all the shoots to the ground as much as possible.

Pruning grapes using a standard-free method has the following sequence:

• 1st year. All shoots are cut 2 eyes from the top. If only one shoot has formed on the bush, it is shortened by 4 eyes.
• 2nd year. Similarly to the previous year, the shoots are again cut into 2 eyes. Most of the young growth is cut off.
• 3rd year. The lower vine or the so-called replacement bitches are shortened to 2 eyes. The fruit arrow or the upper part is cut off to 7-14 eyes. This is how the correct sleeve is formed.

In the future, when pruning grapes, it is necessary to be guided by the fact that in fruiting bushes (over 5 years old), only the fruiting parts and 2-3 replacement knots should be left to renew the crown.

Video: fan non-stamping pruning (shaping) of grapes in spring

Pruning grapes in spring on the arch

In most cases, the grape shrub is planted near tunnel or square structures, as well as their various modifications. On the arches, as a rule, those grape varieties are grown that are distinguished by a high degree of frost resistance, since they cannot be sheltered for the winter. It is possible to determine exactly by what scheme to cut a particular bush, taking into account the peculiarities of the support and the characteristics of the cultivated variety. But in general, pruning grapes under or on an arch is no different from caring for bushes placed, for example, on a trellis.

Video: spring pruning of winter-hardy grapes on the arch

Types of special spring pruning for damaged vines

With the help of spring pruning, the vine is not only shaped, but also restored after an unsuccessful wintering or sudden surprises of spring weather. As a result of proper pruning, even a heavily damaged plant can be brought back to life and after a while a bountiful harvest can be reaped.

If the bushes are frozen during the winter

Since the grapes are endowed with medium frost resistance, under the influence of abnormally low temperatures, the buds and wood of the bush often freeze out. The death of parts of the shrub is evidenced by the change in natural color to brown or black.

• When less than 80% of the buds freeze out, more healthy buds are left on the fruit links than with conventional formative pruning.
• If more than 80% of the buds are frozen, the damaged shoots are removed. As soon as the grapes are fully blooming, cut off unnecessary shoots.
• Severely damaged plants can be brought back to life by radical pruning. The rhizome is dug to a depth of 25-30 cm, and then the aerial part is completely cut off and the stump is covered with a 5 cm layer of earth. A new bush is formed from the grown topsy shoots. If the shoots have not grown, they are inoculated into the cleft.

Frostbite of the roots of bushes

As a result of a very cold and little snow winter, the roots of the grapes can partially or completely freeze. To determine the extent of damage, the root system is dug from several sides and incisions are made. Frostbite is evidenced by a change in wood color from white to dark brown. If the root is frozen by less than 2.5 mm, the bush will recover over time.

Spring hail damage

To speed up the recovery process, the bushes are carefully cared for. Broken and badly damaged shoots are cut into 2 eyes. Such pruning stimulates the development of reserve eyes, which will become fruitful in a year.

Damage due to sudden cold snap

With minor damage, cut off the frozen part of the shoot to the first living bud. In the case when young shoots and ovaries are frozen, radical pruning is carried out. All damaged vines are cut off, leaving only 2-3 internodes. The vines on which the greens and inflorescences are frozen are shortened. This manipulation is designed to stimulate the development of new shoots.

Severely damaged plants must be carefully looked after so that they can recover by winter. Careful maintenance means applying top dressing, regular watering, loosening the soil.

Leaving after spring pruning

As a result of large-scale pruning, many wounds appear on the bush. Cuts with a diameter of more than 1.5 cm pose a particular danger to the grape bush. The presence of a large number of such damage can greatly weaken the plant and lead to its death.

To alleviate the consequences of manipulation, during pruning, you need to adhere to the following rules:

1. To make the wounds even, and as a result heal faster, you need to use a sharp pruner to trim thin shoots up to 1.5 cm in diameter. It is best to remove branches with a diameter of 2 to 8 cm with a bow saw. Old thick branches are cut with a hacksaw.
2. It will be better for the plant if all the cuts are on the same side. This can be achieved by placing replacement shoots on one side during annual pruning. Thanks to the one-sided arrangement, nutrients will reach all branches.
3. If the wounds are a little uneven, they are cleaned up with a garden knife. This is necessary so that water does not linger on the surface, which often passes fungi into the wood and causes rot.
4. The height of the stumps after removing thick shoots should be less than 1 cm, otherwise, over time, the stump will begin to crack and damage the wood around it.
5. Older, thick vines are cut at right angles. Such wounds heal much faster.
6. Annual shoots are cut off a few centimeters above the lower eye.

As a result of the versatile arrangement, in most cases, valuable substances do not reach their destination, as a result of which the health of the plant worsens and the yield decreases. Due to a strong lack of essential elements, skeletal branches may even dry out.

Even if all pruning rules are followed, the cut points can play the role of an open window for pathogenic bacteria or simply begin to rot. To avoid this, dried wounds are smeared with melted garden pitch.

Popular mistakes during the pruning procedure

Due to the lack of experience in growing grape shrubs, novice gardeners often make mistakes. In order not to repeat other people's mistakes, it is better to first familiarize yourself with them and draw the appropriate conclusions.

• Gardeners feel sorry for the young plant and instead of cutting off most of the growth, they shorten the tops and prune the dried shoots. As a result of such pruning over several years, the vines are intertwined and obscure the sun's rays to each other. Fruiting branches lack nutrients and form small fruits devoid of pronounced taste.
• Incorrectly determine the trimming length of shoots of different ages. During spring pruning, it must be borne in mind that the length of the cut off part directly depends on the thickness of the shoot. The thicker the vine, the longer it should be after pruning.
• Mistakenly believing that thick vines are stronger and more productive, young vines are removed instead.

Observing all the rules of spring pruning, you can improve the winter hardiness and fertility of the grape bush.

Video: step-by-step instructions for pruning grapes