How to Prune Overgrown Grape Vines

It might seem that allowing your grape vines to overgrow will produce more grapes, but when a vine is overgrown, it requires more nutrients and the grape crop will actually suffer. Regular pruning is necessary to produce healthy grapes, so if you have allowed your vines to grow out of control, there is still hope. Special care must be taken to ensure that you prune properly to stimulate growth.

Pruning sheers

Begin pruning when buds start to form on the vines. Prune vines from the outside in, trimming away thin and unhealthy vines first. Cut back the trunk vine to the height of your trellis, leaving four to five arm vines on the trunk. Remaining arm vines should be strong and able to hold up heavy grape crops.

Leave between 10 and 15 renewal buds on each arm vine if you are growing grapes for the fruit. Choose renewal buds with one to two leaf joints each. For sweeter grapes, like those used to make wine, leave fewer renewal buds, between five and 10 per arm, as the grapes produced will have a higher sugar content.

Water deeply after pruning. Water generously and slowly over a few hours. You can turn your hose to a trickle and lay it at the root of the vines, checking every hour to ensure the water is soaking into the earth.

Wait until your grape vine is at least three years old before you prune, unless it is severely overgrown. You may prune at two years if this is the case.

Prune in the early spring or late winter to give the plant time to grow and produce a fresh grape crop in the summer and fall.