Spring and autumn pruning of grapes

An avid gardener who is engaged in the cultivation of this crop knows that you can get a decent harvest only from a healthy bush. It requires constant care. These activities include not only treatments for diseases and pests, the introduction of fertilizers, but also pruning branches and sheltering the very grapes for the winter.

Content:

• Pruning grapes in spring
• Autumn pruning of grapes
• Care after pruning
• Preparing grapes for winter
• The benefits of pruning

Pruning grapes in spring

Before you start pruning a bush, you need to carefully examine it and assess its condition. Pruning the plant in the spring will depend on this alone. Professionals in their field distinguish several stages of damage:

• Damage does not exceed 75% of the bush. Trimming is done on every 2nd and 3rd knot. Extra shoots should be removed.
• Damage accounts for over 75% of the bush. In this case, the main thing is to preserve the grapes in order to get the harvest in the future. Also, this must be done in order for the grapes to develop well in the next season.
• In the third stage, all kidneys die. Young shoots are damaged the most. The main task in this case is to preserve the remaining bushes, as well as to engage in its formation for normal further growth and development. Pruning is carried out on all shoots for 2 buds.
• Complete withering away of the bush. In this case, the entire bush should be removed except for the roots. They will have to be saved. If they are damaged, it is worth doing vaccination.

For pruning, you need to use a special tool for this - a grape pruner. Before proceeding, it is imperative to check its sharpness and make sure that there is no damage to the blade. The secateurs should be disinfected before work.

If these are still young bushes, and they have never brought a crop, then they are pruned only in the spring. First, you need to remove the winter shelter. Now you need to decide on the formation of a bush:

• In the first year, pruning is done along the shoots, and we leave 2 buds on each.
• The second year, the sleeves are formed.
• The third year, the formation of fruit links takes place.

After all the necessary preliminary steps, you can proceed directly to pruning:

1. Work is done in the middle of spring, as soon as the swelling of the buds begins. The entire scope of work should be assessed. Remove all weak, damaged branches. This is done so that only healthy twigs get all the vitamins and water. We tilt the strong branches towards the tool and make a cut with a neat sliding motion. The most important thing is that the vine, in this process, does not flatten.
2. If your bush is 2 years old, leave only 2 shoots. They should also be cut off, approximately 4–5 buds. The cuts should be small, especially on older branches. At the base of the bush, pads should be left, their size should be no more than 0.5 cm.
3. Then he proceeds to the direct formation of the bush. Create a trunk and leave 2 sleeves.
4. Cut to a fruit link. Leave only a small part of last year's vine with a few shoots. The lowest knot should be shortened by a few buds. The part that is on top is cut off by 2 buds more than the bottom.At this stage, you should be extremely careful.

The main task of the first year will be to grow several strong shoots. The task of the second is the development of 4 shoots. The third year - the formation of full-fledged bushes. It is in the third year that the grape bush will begin to produce crops. Therefore, 2-3 shoots need to be left on each shoulder. All the rest should be cut to 50 cm. Thin branches can be removed with pruning shears, but thick branches can be sawed off with a hacksaw. Slices must be smooth and even.

Autumn pruning of grapes

Well-groomed bushes of grapes always delight the eye, not only in the summer with their filling brushes, but with the arrival of autumn they are a real decoration of the garden and vegetable garden. For beginners, this is undoubtedly a difficult task. But everything is much easier than you think. Having mastered this art 100%, you can remove all unnecessary, provide the bush with the necessary vitality.

Autumn pruning is done before the onset of the first frost. You shouldn't hesitate at this time of the year, because already at a temperature of minus 3 degrees, the liquid in the shoots begins to freeze. When cutting, the branches are simple - they will simply break and crack.

Before proceeding directly to the cut, all dried berries and dry branches should be removed.

Pruning in the fall is done in 2 stages:

1. All damaged sleeves, bad shoots should be cut off. We cut off all tops - fat shoots on old wood.
2. Before covering the grapes for the winter, remove the entire top of the vine.

Do not forget that grape - an imported plant. Therefore, in our climate, it will be very capricious in terms of caring for it. The grapes require increased attention to themselves, therefore it is very important to follow all the points of the relevant agrotechnical measures. If you want to get a good harvest, then grapes should be regularly prune... Thus, the most favorable conditions for the development of this plant and the ripening of fruits are created.

Care after pruning

After pruning grapes in the spring, wounds form on it. Of course, each one does one or another harm. Therefore, they need to be treated in a timely manner. You can see that the bush starts to "cry" after pruning. This problem must be eliminated immediately, as the vine begins to lose all nutrients. If you do not get down to business in time for a large harvest, you can not wait, and besides, it will be tasteless.

Therefore, as soon as this situation arose:

• The place where the cut was should be treated with paint.
• It is good to fill it with wax.
• Overtighten with wire.
• Spray with prepared solution of magnesium chlorate powder.

If the grapes don't stop crying, follow the watering. Excessive moisture may have accumulated. Tip: Grow those varieties that are less stressed.

Preparing grapes for winter

After the autumn pruning, we hide the bushes from the cold. Very severe frosts can destroy grape... The first step is to remove the trellis - the structure that supports the plant. The grapes themselves need to be fixed to the ground. To close, take a film, a large bag, but before that, shoots should be buried in the ground.

Indeed, after pruning, the bush becomes small and can easily be buried in the ground. When sheltering for the winter, try not to twist the vines, because this can lead to their breakage. Experienced gardeners call this type of shelter dangerous. Since under the bag or film, moisture begins to form over time. And everyone knows that it is an ideal environment for the spread of mold, fungi and diseases.

But the most advantageous option for shelter is considered to be insulation with pine spruce branches.

Thanks to such protection, the air circulates inside it, so there will be no decay processes, and even more so there will be no disease. In addition, such branches retain snow very well. This should be done towards the end of autumn. Approximately the beginning of November.Try to cover the shrubbery before the frost sets in, otherwise you can damage the vine later. Because of the cold weather, it becomes very fragile. And it's unforgettable that before wintering begins, you need to process the grape bush from pests and diseases... Before sheltering, our plant and land should be treated with a solution of copper and iron sulfate.

The benefits of pruning

This plant reproduces cuttings... This method is considered the most effective and reliable. Perhaps many do not know that in the first year the cuttings are not fertile, they only put out a few branches. With the help of pruning, a bush is formed. And after a few years, you will get a full-fledged grape bush from a small cutting.

Above all, pruning makes it easier to care for the bush, harvest, and shelter for the winter. It has a number of advantages:

• First, you get more berries in size.
• Secondly, the maturation process becomes faster.
• In addition to all this, your harvest increases significantly. The grape bush itself becomes less susceptible to frost. The risk that the plant picks up any disease is reduced to zero.

Grapes have the ability to adapt to different environmental conditions. He knows how to quickly recover even after the most severe pruning. Therefore, grapes are a wonderful crop and are undoubtedly worth growing.

More information can be found in the video: