Pruning vines: Build up the first 3 years and then maintain
Introduction to pruning grapevines
Pruning a vineyard is not the same as pruning eating grapes. With eating or table grapes, we speak of winter pruning and summer pruning. With pruning wine grapes, we speak of soft pruning (during the winter) and foliage management during the growing season. Pruning vines in the right way is very important if you want to enjoy your vineyard for decades.
In this article I will discuss the concept of pruning vines during the first three years. Why we need to limit the vegetation of a vine in this very young stage and how to prune vines. When pruning vines, the timing of pruning is crucial. The common thread during the first three years is that you should not be greedy and impatient. 'You can't hurry love, you'll just have to wait', sang Phil Collins. And he was right.Why prune grapevines?
In the first three years, the reasons why we prune are focused on the future, while from the fourth year onwards we often prune based on the current year or the year to come.I wrote about it in my article ' Starting a vineyard : Some principles before we start a vineyard '. Let your plant grow according to the maturity of your vine or in other words: "Let your plant work for your root system during the first few years instead of your root system working for your plant.
In the first few years, it is in your best interest for your plant's root system to expand well. This way, your vines can more easily access water and nutrients. Grapes are the fruits with the highest sugar content per volume. The vine must therefore deliver an Olympic top performance every year to deliver ripe fruits. With a limited root system, you put your plant under stress and the growth process is far from optimal. If the ratio of root system to vegetation is too small, your canes are also at risk of dying during drought.
This Regent stick is in its third year. I leave 4 shoots where that is 6 to 8 on the fruit bearer and then 2 on the renewer.How should you prune your grapes in the first few years?
Year 1: Pruning your vines in the first year
In the article ' Planting a vineyard, how to start practically? ' you can read how to plant your vines in your vineyard. But the work doesn't stop there. You have to guide the plant until it becomes a productive plant that will give you grapes for decades. The goal in year 1 is to tie up as thick a shoot as possible.The wax layer and any shoots from the nursery
When planting out, we often have no shoots yet and the rootstock with graft is dipped in a layer of wax. Some vines are sold with the shoots from the previous year still attached. In this case, you cut them back to 1 or 2 eyes. If you have a vine with a wax layer around the graft, you should not remove that layer. The grafts grow right through the wax layer and as your vine grows, the wax layer will fall off by itself. Be sure to also keep an eye on the weather forecast. Protect your vines with shoots against frost, this can be done with fleece. You can also postpone the planting until after the Ice Saints are over (after May 15).
source: André Meyermans from Scherpenheuvel, former teacher at the horticultural school in Leuven.
Choosing the best runner in two selections
In the picture above (middle drawing) you can see that you can let multiple runners grow. I make a selection of the runners twice. Once when they are about 10-20 cm and a final selection when they are 40-50 cm.- During the first selection in May depending on the season (when your shoots are 10-20 cm), I remove all shoots that are too small and/or going in the wrong direction. I keep the two best ones. I do not tie them now because the shoots are still very sensitive to breaking.
- During the second selection I select the best shoot. This is not always the largest or thickest shoot, I often choose the shoot that is best positioned towards the top. I tie it when it is +/- 40-50 cm. If you have to bend it too far, then perhaps choose a temporary plant rod a little further next to the plant to have to bend the shoot less. Important tip: Tie the best shoot first and only remove the second best after a week. If your best shoot is still in top shape, then only remove the second shoot.
Pruning vines year 1 - I choose the 2 best shoots of this Regent stick when the shoots are 10 to 20 cm and tie them with my Min max pliers. I removed the other weaker shoots and you can see them on the bottom left of the photo.Pruning vines year 1: What do we do with the best shoot?
The best shoot we tie to our plant rod, two or three points is OK. I use a min-max pliers to do this. You can also use a vigne-fix rubber closure or some binding tube. I think the min max pliers are a great investment. Let all the leaves grow on your shoot, that helps your stem to become thicker. For the rest of the year we keep tying the shoot until we top it off at 1.5 meters high in mid-July. If your shoot reaches a height of one and a half meters earlier in the year, then you also top it off. On the shoot you are going to remove all tendrils and possible bunches. The axillary shoots or suckers (the shoots that come between the trunk and a leaf of the shoot) you cut off after 1 leaf. If your shoot is thinner than a pencil in mid-July, you better cut it back to two buds from the base after the winter. The shoot will never be strong enough to grow well in the coming years. On this stick you better lose a year.Year 2: Prune back to shape your trunk (March)
source: André Meyermans from Scherpenheuvel, former teacher at the horticultural school in Leuven.- The two upper eyes: Here you let the two shoots grow. You tie them to your wires and you top them off at 2 meters. You remove all the starting bunches and tendrils. The suckers that come from these two shoots, you prune to 2 leaves.
- Prune the shoots from the other eyes on your trunk (the lower shoots) to 2 leaves, and remove the suckers that come from the axils of those leaves.
Year 3: The two branches: one for this year, one for the future (March)
Great, you now have two healthy shoots from last year that are +/- 2 meters high. In addition, you also have the trunk- The highest shoot from last year that comes from the highest eye, you now prune back to 110 cm above the ground and fasten it to the lowest wire. Here grapes will grow in year three (joy dance)!
- The other offshoot from last year, the lowest of the two on the trunk, you prune back to 2 eyes.
- On the trunk you now remove all new shoots. This is also called trunk cleaning.
The highest shoot is the fruit bearer
The highest shoot from last year that you tied to the bottom wire will produce a new shoot from each eye. Each time, 1 to 2 bunches will come from it. It is best to remove the third bunch. I would only leave 6 shoots, the plant is still young and we do not want to burden it too much.The lowest offshoot is the innovator
The second (lower) shoot you cut back to 2 eyes and is there for next year. That is why it is called the renewer, it will produce two shoots this year. One to tie to your first wire next year and another as a renewer to cut back to two eyes again. And this will keep repeating itself in a Guyot Simple system. Tip: on the shoots of this shortened stick, it is best to leave only 1 bunch. You cut away the rest at the beginning of the season. This makes these shoots stronger.
source: André Meyermans from Scherpenheuvel, former teacher at the horticultural school in Leuven.Pruning grapevines: year four and beyond (March)
Year 4 is a first full wine year, the production capacity is not yet at its peak but already at 70-80%
pruning vines - in mid-June I already top the first shoots
