How to Prune Dormant Grapes

Grapevines grow long, trailing vines, lush harvests and draping foliage, and thrive in warm, sunny areas with long summers. These fruit vines live for 30 years and more with the right care. Their long vines, though, produce fruit only on new shoots, which grow from the previous year's wood. Prune grapevines every year to encourage new growth for fruit production and to control grapevine size. The best time for pruning is during grapevine dormancy.

Pruning shears
Organic compost
Garden fork
Fertilizer

Instructions

- 1
  Prune grapevines in late winter, at least 30 days before the last spring frost. Dormant winter pruning gives you a better view of wood to be pruned, and eliminates the possibility of stressing the plants.
- 2
  Cut off shoots that grow between trellis tiers, and leave four canes along each wire tier. Cut two canes per tier back to two buds. These are your renewal spurs for future growth. Each tier should now have two short canes and two long canes. Stretch the long canes to left and right and cut them to ten to 12 buds.
- 3
  Tie the long canes to the wires for support during their growth. Lay 3 inches of organic compost in a 2-foot circle around each grapevine, with 1 to 1 1/2 lbs. of 10-10-10 granular fertilizer. Keep the fertilizer at least 6 inches from the trunk of each grapevine. Turn the amendments into the top 3 to 4 inches of natural soil to feed the grapevines.

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