Almost all owners of country houses or cottages necessarily allocate part of their personal territory for growing grapes. With the help of this wonderful plant, you can not only create a cozy shady corner in your yard, but also get a solid harvest of tasty and healthy fruits. Experienced gardeners know that the key to successful cultivation of grapes of any variety is its proper pruning and subsequent care. Today we’ll talk about how to cut grapes in spring.
Spring pruning: readings
Grapes are pruned in late autumn or early spring. In regions with very cold winters, this procedure is carried out in the spring, until the onset of sap flow and swelling of the kidneys. In places where winters are not particularly severe, pruning of the
vine is carried out in late autumn, 3 weeks after the leaves fall completely. The most frost-resistant varieties are cut first. In young plants and in varieties with poor resistance to cold, unnecessary shoots are removed only in the spring.
During autumn pruning, a certain amount of “spare” buds should be left in case some of them freeze in winter. If all the buds safely survive the frosts, then the extra ones should be removed at the end of spring.
Pruning grapes in spring for beginning growers may seem like a rather sophisticated procedure, and there is some truth to this. First of all, it should be remembered that this process must be carried out on time, without delay. So, for example, you can not do pruning after the appearance of eyes on the plant, except in those cases when in winter they were damaged by frost. If the grapes are cut after the eyes have formed on it, then there is a risk of their loss due to the fact that they still hold weakly on the vine. In addition, late pruning causes the plant to additionally expend its precious nutrients. But if you did not know when and how to cut the grapes in the spring correctly, because of which they were late with this procedure, and the eyes were already formed, then do not touch the plant until the first pair of leaves appear on its green shoots.
Care for grapes in spring: pruning is the key to a rich harvest
A correctly executed grape pruning procedure guarantees excellent results:
- The size of the brush of grapes increases , the berries are poured more fully, acquiring a more saturated taste.
- Ripening of grapes is much faster.
- The cut plant is much more resistant to various diseases, pests and frosts, and the fruits do not deteriorate during the ripening period.
In addition, grape pruning in spring for beginner gardeners will be of interest in terms of designing a home garden, because the crown of the plant can be given a certain shape. In addition, during its formation, one can focus on the convenience of harvesting the future crop, so that later you do not need to reach for the fruits from the stepladder, nearby trees or other hills.
Necessary and superfluous: what is what?
So, the main rule, according to which the grapes are cut in the spring, for beginners sounds as follows: you just need to trim all the excess, but nothing more. But first of all, you need to understand what is superfluous and what is needed. Firstly, it should be understood that in the next season the crop will appear from buds located on a young vine that has grown this season.
The “needed”, young and thin vine has a light brown color. But the bush also consists of a thicker and older vine, which also cannot be done without, even though it will not yield a crop. Then the question arises: why is it needed, this perennial wood? But everything is simple here - it is a kind of repository of nutrients that are especially needed in the spring, when the grapes begin to grow. After all, until the young shoots get enough leaves, they give the bush absolutely nothing. Young growth is only a food consumer for its growth, that is, a real “parasite" feeding on perennial wood. However, the number of new shoots should be controlled, and for this, the obligatory pruning of young grapes is carried out. But remember, if all young animals are “cut to zero,” then the crop can be expected no earlier than in a year.
Pruning grapes in spring: a diagram
So, we found out that the young vine is for harvest, and the perennial is for food, but in order to find the “golden mean” when pruning, each plant should be evaluated individually. Initially, you should determine the optimal location of growth on the grape bush. To do this, it is recommended to choose a specific form of the plant and maintain it in the future. There are various forms of grape bushes, but their actual use is real only in warm regions where there is no need to cover plants for the winter. Therefore, in most cases, the configuration of the bush is formed taking into account the convenience of its shelter from frost.
You can highlight a couple of basic forms of grape bushes:
- multi-arm fan - when 1-2 rejuvenation units are created at the base of the bush;
- cupped - this is also a multi-sleeve form, but with a cordon.
A certain grape pruning scheme will help give the bushes the desired shape. Beginner-growers are advised to trim the grapes according to the Guyot system. Its meaning lies in the fact that it is necessary to leave one fruiting rod for ten buds, as well as one replacement rod for three buds or to keep a couple of such fruit links on the bush.
Basic rules for pruning grapes
It is very important to prune the grapes correctly in order to reduce the harmful effects of wounds. This process comes down to several important points:
- all sections are necessarily made on one side of the sleeve, because such an arrangement of the wounds will not impede the flow of water and useful trace elements to the rest of the bush;
- the thicker the young shoot, the more it should be cut;
- last year shedding vine should be removed;
- cut off the excessively long sleeve so that the strongest developed shoot remains on the fruiting vine;
- if no shoots have formed on the substitution knot, the fruit link is formed from the lower shoots;
- the wide part of the pruning blade should be directed to that part of the vine that remains, and the narrow part to the removed.
The very first, so to speak debut, pruning of grapes in the spring for beginners will be a kind of test that will show whether they have the ability to become a real wine grower in the future. Beginners need to give one more tip: for pruning, use a sharp and durable pruning shears that will allow you to cut the shoots in one confident motion. Then the remaining part of the vine will not stratify, and the plant will be able to transfer the necessary “surgical intervention” less painfully.
Fruit link - what is it?
The fruit link is the knot of substitution and the fruit arrow, which are annual shoots located on a two-year-old horn. Usually, from 2 to 4 eyes are left on the substitution knot, and the fruit arrow remains much longer - with 5-12 eyes or even more.
Shoots and swirls of substitution
Pruning of shoots must be done so that they, contrary to polarity, develop precisely the lower eyes, and then good shoots. As for the knots of substitution, they help not to move away from the center of the grape bush, because based on polarity, the best shoots are still the top shoots. If you leave them alone, this will contribute to a significant lengthening of the sleeve. When pruning, remove the fruit arrow with all the shoots on it. The next knot of substitution is made from the shoots formed from the substitution knot, “looking” down, and the fruit arrow is made from the top shoot. Cut points must be treated with garden var.
Sleeves of a grape bush
Sleeves are perennial branches through which nutrients (upward current) are delivered to the entire plant from its roots. In addition, a downward current moves to the roots along the arms — the organic matter produced by the leaves.
The life expectancy of the sleeves varies from 4 to 6 years, and then the level of growth begins to decline. Some sleeves may initially not be sufficiently developed and yield almost no crop, so they should be removed so that the bush does not waste its resources.
Grape care
In order for the clusters to grow large, during the flowering period, excess inflorescences are removed, leaving 1-2 for the entire branch. To provide the inflorescences with sufficient sunlight, you need to pinch off the leaves that obscure them. So that all useful substances do not go only to young shoots, after choosing flowering branches, it is recommended to cut them at the height of the fourth leaf after the last inflorescence.
After all these procedures, the vine bush should look well sparse, with free branches that do not interfere with each other. With an interval of every 14 days until mid-July, it is necessary to remove young weak shoots in order to avoid overgrowing of the bush and to prevent the shading of future clusters.
Of course, experience is a great thing, but if there is a desire to engage in viticulture, even beginner gardeners will be rewarded for their efforts with a rich and tasty harvest.