How to Cut Back Grape Vines on a Trellis

Pruning a grape vine isn't simply a matter of cutting away unwanted vines that cascade from the trellis. Cutting back too much wood pushes the grape vine into producing more foliage than fruit the next season, while pruning too little forces the grape vine to spend energy supporting the growth rather than storing its excess energy in large, plentiful grape bunches. Knowing when, where and how to cut back your grape vine is key to a good harvest.

Gloves
Pruning shears
Hand-held pocket scale
Twine or thin cord

Instructions

- 1
  
  Boiling water or alcohol kills pathogens on the shears that may otherwise infect your vine.
  
  Examine your grape vine in late winter or early spring. Tie twine around healthy first-year canes that you wish to keep; usually four to six canes per cordon. These canes should be the size of a pencil, or roughly one-quarter-inch in diameter. The cordon is the older, horizontal vine that runs along the trellis. Clean and sharpen your pruning shears before making any cuts. Cut back any bull canes -- canes that have few buds.
- 2
  
  First-year wood is the thin, young cane that grew the previous season.
  
  Prune 80 percent to 90 percent of the first-year wood, leaving spurs with 2 to 5 growth buds per spur evenly spaced on the cordon. Space the spurs 6 inches apart. Don't cut back the marked canes.
- 3
  Tie the cuttings into a bundle and weigh the bundle with a pocket scale. Leave roughly 30 buds on the grape vine for the first pound of cuttings, and 10 more buds for each additional pound. Prune away extra buds from the marked canes, even cutting the canes back to simple spurs off the cordon if necessary. A mature, three-year-old grape vine usually retains 40 to 50 buds. Don't leave more than 60 buds.

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