Pruning grapes in autumn in central Our Country

Some gardeners in central Our Country tend to grow grapes. This heat-loving culture in a fairly cool climate requires special attention. So, in the fall, the vine should definitely be cut. This allows you to improve the plant, get a larger and sweeter berry in the future. There are many ways to trim grapes. The choice of one or another option depends on the age of the shrub and some features of the grape variety. You can find detailed information on when to cut grapes in the fall in the middle lane and how to do it correctly, you can find further in the article.

Why you need to prune your vineyard in the fall

Growers in ancient Rome noticed that pruning the vine favorably affects the yield of the crop and the taste of the grown fruits.

Today, even novice gardeners try to prune their plants because it allows you to:

• increase crop yield;
• make the berries bigger and tastier;
• form a beautiful, neat bush;
• accelerate the process of fruit ripening;
• implement plant health.

Thus, pruning the vineyard will be useful for absolutely any variety. But why is it better to carry out the procedure in the fall, and not in the spring? And the thing is that pruning in the spring causes considerable stress to the plants. They lose a lot of juice and strength to restore the bush. This leads to a decrease in yield and delayed fruit ripening.

It’s time to cut the vine

Autumn in central Our Country can be quite long, so it is important to accurately determine the time when you need to trim the vine. And it is recommended to do this in two stages:

• The first step is to remove weak, diseased shoots. Such superficial cleaning of plants is recommended to be carried out immediately after the grape harvest is harvested. At the same time, you should pinch the young shoots of the vineyard.
• Deep pruning of vineyards is carried out 2 weeks after the plants shed their leaves. In this case, the air temperature should not be lower than -3⁰C. In the process of pruning vineyards, one should adhere to universal schemes for the formation of plants. Based on them, it is recommended to draw up your own plan, according to which the work will be carried out.

To trim the vine, you need to stock up on a pruner or garden shears, a small hacksaw. Before use, it is recommended to wipe the tool with alcohol or manganese solution.

Important rules for pruning vines

It is very important not only to cut the vineyard in a timely manner, but also to cut it correctly. This is especially true for novice growers who are just starting to grow a crop, and are still little familiar with the basic rules for vine formation. For them, the following points need to be emphasized:

• When pruning shoots, you should always leave a small stump (2-3 cm) above the eye. In this case, you can be sure of its safety.
• The older and thicker the shoot, the deeper it should be pruned. Branches older than 5 years should be removed completely.
• You need to cut the vine in such a way that the cuts are only on one side of the vineyard and “look” into the bush.
• Young vineyards are formed in accordance with their age, guided by the schemes proposed below.
• In old vineyards, replacement eyelids are determined, which cut as short as possible and fruit-bearing shoots, the body of which must be preserved.
• With short pruning, only 2-3 buds are left. Long pruning involves saving 10 or more eyes.

Such simple rules are the basis of pruning any vineyard. Every gardener who has his own shrub should know and use them.

Formation of young vineyards

It is very important to properly prune the vine in the first years of cultivation. This will form a fruiting sleeve and accelerate the growth of the green mass of the plant. Proper pruning in the early years is the key to a good harvest in the future.

Depending on the age, young vineyards are formed in compliance with the following rules:

1. A one-year-old vineyard is cut almost completely, leaving only 2-4 buds and a small stump. Of these, young, fruit-bearing shoots will develop next year.
2. The vine at the age of two will have 2-4 main shoots. In autumn, some of them need to be cut, leaving 2 buds. The remaining shoots are only slightly shortened, leaving 4-10 eyes each.
3. After 3 years of cultivation, substitution branches are formed in the vineyard, on which 2-3 eyes are left, and the main shoots of fruit-bearing sleeves, consisting of 10-12 buds.

This will make the cropped bush stronger, however, the moment of harvest will be delayed for another year.

The principle of formation of young vineyards in the first years of life can be found below in the picture. As a result of proper pruning, after 3 years, the plant forms 3-6 main arms, which are able to produce a crop.

For beginners in gardening, a video lesson can also be useful, in which a specialist talks in detail about all the basic rules for the formation of young vineyards:

Pruning an adult vineyard

If during the first three years the vineyard was properly cared for, then the further formation of the bush will not be particularly difficult. In this case, you can follow one of the shaping schemes that will be described below, or simply use the basic pruning principles:

• Shoots that bear fruit in the current year should be removed completely.
• Cut off the lowest branch on the sleeve, leaving 2-3 eyes and replacing it with new shoots.
• Fruitful arrows are cut into 5-10 buds.
• Shoots 10-12 cm thick are called fattening. They must be removed.

Particular attention should be paid to pruning fruit-bearing arrows, which in the future should please the harvest. After pruning, they must be covered, and when grown in the southern regions, tied to a trellis.

With severe winter frosts, the upper buds may freeze out, but in general the shoot will remain alive and fruitful.

Schemes for the formation of vineyards

There are several developed technologies, schemes for the formation of vineyards. The choice of one or another scheme depends on the grape variety, growing region and other nuances.

Guyot technology

The method consists in preserving one or two main fruiting sleeves. In the first and second year, the vineyard is pruned according to the principle described above. In the future, one or two fruiting arrows are left. They are tied to a wire located horizontally. If two arrows are left, then they must be directed in opposite directions. An example of such a formation can be seen in the picture below:

An example of pruning a vineyard using Guyot’s technology can be seen in the video:

This video will allow even a novice gardener to understand the basics of pruning a vineyard in the fall.

Fan method of formation

The proposed method of forming a vine is similar to the Guyot technology described above. The only difference is that in the process of growing on a shrub, not 1-2, but 3-8 fruiting sleeves are left.

To implement this method, it is necessary to leave 2-3 eyes on the shoot in the first year of cultivation, in the fall. In the second year, 2 more eyes are left on the main shoots. In the third year of cultivation, the main shoots are allowed along horizontal supports. On weak shrubs, 3-4 sleeves are formed, on mature, strong vineyards, up to 8 sleeves can be left. An example of fan cropping can be seen in the video:

and in the picture below.

Arbor pruning

This type of pruning is used if there is a stationary support in the form of a gazebo or arch. Removing the vine from such supports for the winter will be quite difficult, so the method is suitable for the southern regions, frost-resistant varieties or girlish ornamental grapes.

With the arbor technology of forming bushes, the one-year-old vine is cut in the usual way, and in the second year the fruit-bearing arrows begin to be directed up the supports. The subsequent pruning of the shoots is carried out in an arbitrary way, since the method is aimed more at decorating the site, and not at obtaining the maximum yield. You can appreciate the excellent decorative qualities of the gazebo method in the photo below.

Conclusion

For novice growers, it may seem that pruning a vine is a complicated and incomprehensible matter. It was for them that we tried to answer the questions in the most detail when it is necessary to cut the grapes in autumn, how to do it correctly and what methods of vine formation exist. The given graphic information and video clearly allow you to get acquainted with all the intricacies of the procedure. Growing grapes is a noble cause, requiring some special knowledge, skills and time.