Even well cared for grapes can get a touch of botrytis
TIME TO PRUNE THE VINE
Ian
We live in a sheltered part of the peninsula near Redcastle, and have three vines growing well in our unheated greenhouse. We haven’t pruned them yet. Could you advise as to how and when we should prune our vines? Thanks. Sally B.
Reply
Traditionally vines grown under glass are trained much like an espalier apple resulting in one central vertical shoot and a series of horizontals borne on either side. The key to successful cultivation of vines starts with the soil, which should be well drained, humus and nutrient rich and slightly alkaline. To encourage development of a strong structure and fruiting, prune the plant regularly. To establish a new plant in the first autumn cut back the main stem to two buds from ground. In the following spring select one shoot and train vertically; remove other side shoots to one bud. In the following autumn, after the leaves have fallen, cut back the vertical by one third. The following spring select one shoot and train as a vertical and select side shoots about 15cm apart to train as laterals. Throughout the summer allow the vertical to gain height unchecked but prune the laterals two leaves beyond the developing grapes (or if no grapes develop, pinch out the tips when they are about 60cm to 70cm long). That autumn prune back the vertical by one half and prune the laterals to within two buds of the vertical. The following spring select one of the top shoots to train as the vertical and select side shoots at 15cm intervals to train as laterals, pinch out the tips two leaves past the developing grapes in summer and so on! I am sorry if all of this sounds complicated, it isn’t too fiddly once you get into a routine.
Ian
We live in a sheltered part of the peninsula near Redcastle, and have three vines growing well in our unheated greenhouse. We haven’t pruned them yet. Could you advise as to how and when we should prune our vines? Thanks. Sally B.
Reply
Traditionally vines grown under glass are trained much like an espalier apple resulting in one central vertical shoot and a series of horizontals borne on either side. The key to successful cultivation of vines starts with the soil, which should be well drained, humus and nutrient rich and slightly alkaline. To encourage development of a strong structure and fruiting, prune the plant regularly. To establish a new plant in the first autumn cut back the main stem to two buds from ground. In the following spring select one shoot and train vertically; remove other side shoots to one bud. In the following autumn, after the leaves have fallen, cut back the vertical by one third. The following spring select one shoot and train as a vertical and select side shoots about 15cm apart to train as laterals. Throughout the summer allow the vertical to gain height unchecked but prune the laterals two leaves beyond the developing grapes (or if no grapes develop, pinch out the tips when they are about 60cm to 70cm long). That autumn prune back the vertical by one half and prune the laterals to within two buds of the vertical. The following spring select one of the top shoots to train as the vertical and select side shoots at 15cm intervals to train as laterals, pinch out the tips two leaves past the developing grapes in summer and so on! I am sorry if all of this sounds complicated, it isn’t too fiddly once you get into a routine.
Horticultural.
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