Grape pruning
skyrunner
Posts: 33
last Friday (Gardeners World) Monty showed how to prune grape, which basically consisted in removing all subsequent flowering bunches after the initial fruit on each lateral, but leave to vine to continue growing on that lateral.
However from several garden centres have made research on the web, years previously, which have all suggested to cut back fruiting laterals to two leaves beyond the first truss, and cut back sub-laterals to one leaf, not leaving further fruiting to occur on these laterals, etc.
Both answers Monty and the web sites, (kept the copy so not recalling just from memory), are referring to vines growing in a glasshouse.
Which suggestion should I follow, even though last summer had many good bunches of red grape, so should I change to Monty's method or not?
Vine been in situ for 5 years now.
Jon
.
Posts
Up to you really, both methods are valid and Monty's grape wasn't as old as yours so if it produces good fruit using your method then carry on. There are almost no hard and fast rules in gardening and many go completely against the advice of the guru's and get the same result. If it works for you do it, if not change it.
My vine is planted outdoors and is a wine grape. At the moment it has a lot of new laterals which will be cut back before they get any longer. The fruit laterals are forming and some will be pruned out. As Dave says do what works for your plant, it will let you know if it doesn't like what you have done and enjoy your grapes.