How to Prune Grapes The Right Way (COMPLETE GUIDE)

Quick Overview

The video explains that cane pruning, which involves leaving long canes (last year's growth) attached to the cordon wires for fruit production, is the recommended method for most grape growers, contrasting it with spur pruning where only short spurs are left on the cordon wood.

Key Points: Cane pruning is recommended for most grape growers because it involves leaving long canes (last year's growth) attached to the cordon wires for fruit production, while spur pruning leaves only short spurs on the cordon wood. The video illustrates the anatomy of a grapevine, identifying the trunk (woody growth from the soil), cordons (older wood attached horizontally to wires), canes (last year's growth on the cordon), and spurs/buds (where new growth/fruit emerges). In cane pruning, the grower selects one or two long canes (up to 10-12 buds each) to retain on the cordon for the current season's fruit, and cuts everything else back to two buds, which become the next year's canes. In spur pruning, the trunk supports horizontal cordons, and fruit-bearing spurs (short wood with 1-2 buds) are left directly on the cordon wood. The presenter demonstrates pruning a wild-looking vine by removing excessive vertical growth to establish the main trunk up to the top wire (about head height) and training horizontal cordons left and right. The video includes a paid promotion for Shopify, highlighting its tools for managing online and in-person sales, inventory, and customer service. The presenter plans to follow up in the spring with a demonstration of the cane pruning technique on the established vine structure.

Context: The video serves as a complete guide to pruning grapevines, focusing on the differences between two primary methods: cane pruning and spur pruning. The presenter uses hand-drawn diagrams to explain the anatomy of the vine (trunk, cordon, cane, spur/bud) and contrasts the annual pruning strategy for each method to maximize fruit production.

Detailed Analysis

The video details two main grape pruning methods: cane pruning and spur pruning, strongly recommending cane pruning as the simpler method for most growers. The process begins by explaining grapevine anatomy using a drawing: the plant has a permanent Trunk coming from the soil, which supports horizontal Cordons (last year's wood). Canes are the new growth on the cordon that produce fruit; if these canes are cut back to 2 buds, they become spurs (used in spur pruning); if left long (8-12 buds), they are called canes (used in cane pruning). The presenter demonstrates pruning an overgrown vine to establish the basic structure: a vertical trunk trained up to the top wire (about head height), and two horizontal cordons trained left and right along the wires. For cane pruning, the grower keeps one or two long canes from the previous year along the cordon, cutting them back to about 8-12 buds, while removing all other growth and old wood from the cordon. The remaining spurs are cut back to 2 buds to produce next year's fruiting canes. For spur pruning, the structure is maintained by cutting all growth back to short spurs of 1-2 buds left directly on the cordon. The video concludes with a promotion for Shopify, highlighting its e-commerce tools.