North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Christopher Mauchline" <mauch1@aol.com>]

Cane vs spur:
Initially there is no difference. In the "first" year you got your 
trunk to grow to the desired height.  In the "second" year you get 
your first branches (canes) and in the spring of the following year 
you place them on your trellis as desired.  In the fourth year is the 
difference.  

In Spur training, the canes you placed (now called a "cordon") is 
left and the canes it grew are pruned to stubs leaving ~2 buds 
per "spur".  Cordons are only replaced as they become unproductive.  
In cane pruning old canes are removed and new canes are laid down in 
their place.  A few "spurs" are left at the trunk to create the canes 
for the next year.

Why two different systems?  Some of it is grower preference, but in 
some varieties the buds at the base of canes are not particularly 
productive so they are better adapted to cane pruning.  Or if a vines 
is extremely vigorous, cane pruning is usually used.

As an extremely rough approximation, Lambrusca (Concord et al.) 
grapes are better adapted to cane pruning, and Vinifera respond well 
to spur pruning.  I don't know the pedigree of Canadice, but it 
appears to me to have some Lambrusca heritage, but it responds well 
to spur pruning (but I think it would do equally well cane pruned). 
My Canadice are spur pruned.

I don't have experience growing grapes on an arbor (as opposed to a 
trellis).  I would guess that you could use a form of "spur" pruning. 
with occasional renewal.  I.e. After the branches grow this year, 
next spring place them on the arbor as you want them.  The following 
year, prune the canes that grew from the original back to the stubs 
as described earlier.

It probably also depends on how easily you can reach the top of your 
arbor.  Can you reach and prune the canes back to stubs?  or would it 
be easier to remove all the old growth and lay down new canes?

Good luck,

Chris Mauchline
SE PA, zone 6





--- In nafex@y..., Ginda Fisher <ginda@c...> wrote:
> Chris, thanks for all the links.  Now, revealing my vast ignorance 
about
> grapes:  What's the difference between cane and spur training?  The 
vine
> is growing up one side of a "rose arch" which I hope to use as a
> trellis.  It is high enough to remove the top of the plant from easy
> reach of deer and rabbits, and I was hoping to train the vine 
across the
> top in a sort of mini arbor.
> 
> Ginda
> 
> Christopher Mauchline wrote:
> > 
> > > trunk, and encourage the top to spread out.  There are buds all 
along
> > > the stem - one for each or last year's leaves.  Should I remove 
these as
> > > they swell, or should I leave some leaf growth lower?  Is there 
anything
> > > else I ought to do?
> > Probably the lower buds should be removed.  On some varieties of
> > grapes you might want to leave a few lower buds as an "insurance
> > policy" for winter kill, but Canadice is fairly hardy.  Do you 
have
> > your trellis up?  Do you plan to use cane or spur training for 
your
> > Canadice?
> > 
> > Chris Mauchline
> > SE PA, zone 6
> > 
> > --- In nafex@y..., Ginda Fisher <ginda@c...> wrote:
> > > My plants came with pruning instructions, but that was a year 
or two
> > > ago, and of course I can't find them now.  Any advice would be
> > > appreciated:
> > >
> > > I also have a 2 year old canadice grape vine.  It is about 6' 
high,
> > and
> > > is just one stem, which grew from near the ground last year.  
(When
> > I
> > > viciously removed all the other buds.)  I would like to keep it 
to
> > one
> > > trunk, and encourage the top to spread out.  There are buds all
> > along
> > > the stem - one for each or last year's leaves.  Should I remove
> > these as
> > > they swell, or should I leave some leaf growth lower?  Is there
> > anything
> > > else I ought to do?
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > > Ginda Fisher
> > > Eastern Mass, zone 6
> >


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