Every person who has a vineyard dreams of seeing his personal garden fruitful and beautiful. But this is not possible without certain procedures. One of the most important is pruning grapes in the fall. Why is she needed? The volume and quality of the harvest depend on the event. In addition, pruning makes it easier for plants to survive the winter and resist pests. But the procedure itself often seems complicated and incomprehensible to beginners. Our article will help you understand the most important basics of this business, introduce you to tips from experienced winegrowers, and provide detailed instructions.
Autumn or spring pruning?
We will begin to consider the topic "Pruning grapes in the fall for beginners" by defining the most important concept. Pruning is an activity aimed at removing or shortening both annual and perennial shoots.
And now about the grapes. When is it better to produce it - in the fall or in the spring? Experienced gardeners will answer what exactly in the fall. Why? The answer will be several reasons:
- Pruning grapes in autumn facilitates the process of warming plantings onwinter.
- Wounds after this procedure heal faster at this time of the year. And this has a positive effect on future fruiting.
Autumn pruning is done immediately after the leaves fall! Delay threatens to reduce the number of berries and overgrowth of the vegetative part of the plant.
But spring pruning, on the contrary, leads to the fact that "grape tears" will drip from the cut for a long time. And along with this liquid, the plant also leaves the nutrients and trace elements it needs. "Weeping grapes" is fraught with a decrease in the volume and deterioration in the quality of the future harvest. Its most deplorable consequence is the death of the bush.
If the grapes were not pruned in autumn, then in extreme cases the procedure can be postponed to the beginning of spring. The air must be warmed up to +5 °С. The procedure should be subjected to plants under three years old. Be prepared for the fact that it can lead to the drying of the vine and the death of the entire bush.
But if an adult (over 3 years old) grapes are pruned, then this threatens to sour the kidneys for him. That is why experienced gardeners try to have time to complete the procedure in the fall.
Nevertheless, the growers also form a bush during the ripening of berries - they pinch the shoots, remove unnecessary vines, and cut off the leaves that interfere with the clusters.
Pruning targets
Before cutting grapes, it is important to decide why this procedure is needed. The autumn event is held for the following purposes:
- Removing old and redundant shoots.
- Giving the bush a shape that contributes to its directed development, greater productivity.
- Analysis of the general condition of the plant.
How to trim?
No need to purchase specialized tools such as trellises for grapes. Trimming is done with almost improvised means:
- Secateurs. It is used mainly for young bushes. They can also be used to trim bunches at harvest time.
- A hacksaw or a special pruner designed to remove branches. Used for "older" bushes, for which pruning is recommended for rejuvenation purposes.
- Secateurs with two sharp blades. Needed to get a straight cut. It is used for small sleeves, vines of a young plant, the thickness of which is not more than 1.5 cm.
- Hacksaw, bow saw for wood. These tools are for thick shoots, perennial vines, the trunk diameter of which does not exceed 8 cm.
- Lopper - one of the convenient varieties of secateurs that allows you to remove hard-to-reach branches.
All tools must be sharply sharpened and must be disinfected. For the last treatment, any formulation with a high alcohol content is used.
The age of the bush and pruning
The age of the plant also affects this procedure:
- Pruning young grapes (3-5 years). The procedure is carried out starting from the plant reaching the age of one year.
- Fructifying adultbush. It is cut annually to give it a suitable shape, as well as to improve the quality of the crop.
- Pruning of old grapes in autumn is carried out to increase its fruiting period.
The right time for the procedure
Specific dates are difficult to define. Pruning, as well as grape grafting, is influenced by both the varietal characteristics of plants and the weather conditions in a particular region. But we can suggest an approximate work schedule:
- Pre-cutting. It is carried out strictly until the first frost. Approximate dates - the initial decade of October. Applies only to shoots of a green tint! Be careful - brown or dark brown stems, characteristically crunchy when bent, should not be trimmed at this time.
- The main stage. October (middle or already the end of the month), immediately after the first frost. It is desirable that a couple of weeks pass after preliminary pruning. First of all, the gardener conducts a thorough analysis of the bush - only thin, dried and defective shoots need to be removed. And then move on to pruning developed vines.
Cutting types
As well as grafting grapes, pruning can be of several types. Here are the most essential ones:
- Forming. It is characteristic only for the first years of the plant's life. Its essence is that the gardener removes all the vines that are not included in the shape of the bush he planned. Brittle, unripened and weak stems are also cut off. It is this pruning that contributes to the formation of the base of the bush. But it only applies toregarding grapes not older than 4 years.
- Annual. Standard grape pruning in the fall of each calendar year. Its goal is to maintain the established form of the plant throughout its life.
- Rejuvenating. Removing rotten, old and dried shoots promotes the development of young and fresh ones.
How to trim properly
Before the procedure, we strongly recommend that you read these practical tips:
- Always start processing from the top of the bush.
- If you have a perennial sleeve in front of you, then you need to clear it of all young shoots that have extended more than 0.5 m from the ground level.
- If the vine is more than 80 cm long, cut the top off approximately 10% of the vine.
- As soon as the leaves fall, you need to decide the fate of the most developed shoots, as well as those stems whose length is no more than 80 cm from the ground half.
- The lowest shoot (the one formed from the outer part) must be cut so that 3 eyes remain. This is to leave a knot for replacement.
- On the opposite side, the first shoot is removed. It is important to leave 5-10 eyes at the same time - the so-called fruit arrows.
- Don't forget about "insurance for the winter" - leave 5 buds on the knot to replace, and 10-15 on the fruit arrow.
Autumn pruning scheme
Best of allform a certain algorithm, which is easy to follow when processing each bush. This is the following sequence of actions:
- First of all, remove all shoots that have already produced fruit.
- Along the way, do not forget to prune weak and deformed vines, "tops", shoots that impede the development of more promising parts of the plant. How can you tell if a branch is weak? This is a vine with less than 7-10 eyes.
- Pruning must necessarily include the removal of the entire number of excess branches. Experienced gardeners do not leave more than 8 shoots - such that are guaranteed to bring a good harvest next year.
- In "older" bushes, to top it all off, you need to remove annual shoots. At the same time, the following calculation should be kept in mind: after the procedure, at least 30 eyes should remain on the plant. If there are more kidneys, then it is permissible to reduce their number by removing the entire sleeve.
- Don't forget to shorten fruitful arrows by about 10%. Also, be sure to remove all stepchildren from them.
- From the developed branches we will form replacement knots, necessarily alternating them with fruitful arrows. Remember that replacement knots are formed only from shoots older than 5 years. To do this, simply shorten the skeletal and main branches of the vine bush from above.
Pruning scheme for better fruiting
Many vine growers turn to autumn pruning to increase the yield of their garden. To do this, you need to follow thispatterns:
- Immediately after planting the bush, form two main shoots on it.
- Next year, shorten the shoots by 2 eyes. All summer you need to pinch their tops. This is done in order for the young plant to gain strength sooner.
- In the third year, finally form the bush by removing the "tops" and stepchildren. At the same time, you can adhere to a simple rule: all branches without a strong and he althy vine are superfluous.
Plant care after pruning
After the procedure, it is important to ensure proper care of the vineyard. It includes the following:
- Treat plantings with special solutions to help protect grapes from characteristic diseases and pests.
- Prepare the vine for shelter for the winter. For this, young shoots are simply bent over and covered with soil. Such a shelter will protect plantings from frost down to -15 ° C. If you live in a more severe climate, then it is advisable to additionally use pieces of roofing material or wooden boxes.
- Mature plants are protected from frost in several stages. At first, the plant simply bends down to the ground - the gardener covers it with coniferous branches. A thick polyethylene film is applied on top - do not forget to fix it at the edges.
Note that in areas with a mild climate, frost-resistant grape varieties do not need pruning or shelter for the winter.
Advice from experienced growers
We also invite you to get acquainted with the secrets from professionals:
- In grapes of some varieties, it is advisable to remove the fruiting branches completely. They are replaced by young ones directed horizontally. In addition, unproductive "stumps" are also removed.
- The number of eyes left on a fruitful branch should be equal to its diameter.
- Slices must be made towards the inside of the vine.
- Try to remove the vine with one cut of the pruner. It is important that the cut remains even.
- It will make autumn pruning much easier to carry out summer analysis. Decide in advance at this time which branches will go to replacement knots and fruitful vines.
- How easy is it to mark branches you want to send for deletion? Leave a bunch of berries on the vine.
- Remember that only the strongest shoots are left to bear fruit.
- Shape "horns". To do this, cut a strong branch to 1-2 buds. From the shoots that form from them, choose the strongest. When cutting the vine, it is important not to touch the swollen knot that carries the bud.
- Despite the distance between vines, clusters sometimes lack direct sunlight. And you can’t do without it, especially in a cool climate. Therefore, during the summer it is necessary to remove leaves and young shoots that overshadow the clusters with fruits.
So we have sorted out all the schemes, features, nuances and secrets of how to cut grapes in the fall. This pruning helps not only shape the appearance of the plant, improve its "well-being" and productivity, but is also considered the mostfavorable for vine plantings.
