The pruning and training techniques illustrated here are basically the same for the various training systems used worldwide. Train these shoots to the other three catch wires of your trellis system. These may possibly bear fruit the following growing season. You don’t want them to reach ground and become Diseased during wet conditions.Īllow eight to ten shoots to grow. Rub off canes that develop low on the trunk while they are still young. What’s more, good pruning techniques provide a much more balanced vine. Pruning makes the vine hardier and stronger, it removes unwanted excess vegetation. One of the biggest mistakes new grape growers make is not pruning and removing wood often enough. As you may have noticed we are constantly removing wood. The top area spur was chosen because it is well positioned for future use.īegin training these two canes to the fruiting wire. Prune these two canes to an approximate length of 12-18″.Īs you can see in this case, a spur was left at the top of the main cane as a possible fruiting cane if needed in the next growing season. Most nurseries supply already pruned dormant vines with two to three buds. The Vertical Positioning system is the easiest and most common system used worldwide. In the VPS system canes are tied to the fruiting wire and shoots are tied off as they grow upwardly. Here are some simple guidelines that cover the basic principals of a Vertical Positioning System (VPS). This will help you maintain economical and efficient vineyard practices. Your objective is to maintain a balance between vegetative growth and fruiting.Įven more, pruning and training helps develop a structure that will aid the utilization of sunlight and help adapt to the characteristics of a particular grape variety. It’s really simple, pruning and training are performed in order to optimize the production potential of the grape vine. Most new grape growers fail because they do not prune enough. Mother Nature takes care of the grape vines naturally during the winter as the vines go dormant and loose all their leaves.Ībout a month before spring, it is time to prune your grape vine.ĭon’t let this scare you. Grape vine pruning is a relatively simple concept of which Grape vine growers seem to grasp fairly quickly. If not, don’t worry I will illustrate it here on this page for you. Most likely you have pruned or trained a plant before.

Pruning grape vines