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nafex - [NAFEX] Grape pruning problem

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  • From: "William C. Garthright" <billg@inebraska.com>
  • To: "growgrapes@yahoogroups.com" <growgrapes@yahoogroups.com>, NAFEX List <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Grape pruning problem
  • Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 16:02:57 -0500

I've got a few grapes in the backyard, all doing well, but I've got a problem with pruning one of my Concord grapevines. It's about five years old, and I've struggled to get it pruned correctly every year. Well, none of my grapes look like the pruning diagrams, but they seem to work OK, and I get tons of grapes.

But this one ended up with two thick canes, one to the left and one to the right, but lower than I wanted (about 4' high). I thought that, eventually, something would sprout on or near the trunk, but instead, I get these long, long canes sprouting out near the ends, and nothing on or even near the trunk. So far, I've managed fine, but this year, it's just ridiculous. There aren't any young canes or buds anywhere near the trunk. The best I could do would be some elaborate loop-de-loop to keep long canes in the space I've got for them.

The trunk is very thick by now, and the vine is VERY vigorous. It grows multiple canes 12 ft. long (and it's not that far from neighboring vines). I prune it like crazy every year, but it doesn't bud anywhere near where I want it to bud (and in the rare times that it does, the sprouts are generally pointing downward and don't survive long).

OK, last year, I left a LOT more canes than usual, just to see if I could slow down some of its vigor. I got far more grapes than I could handle (surprisingly, they were still pretty good), and it still grew pretty strongly, but that might be why I didn't get more - or any - sprouts near the center of the vine.

Any suggestions? I can still get plenty of grapes from the vine, but I'm almost embarrassed to have it in my yard. Heh, heh. Good thing none of my neighbors know anything about it. They probably think grapevines are supposed to look this way! :-) But I'm going to end up with old canes looping back and forth before finally getting to something that gives me fruit. Admittedly, my other Concord vine looks kind of funny, too, but nothing as bad as this.

Will grapes ever sprout from really old wood? How would you handle this? None of my grapes really sprout the way the pruning diagrams show. I get beautiful canes in all the wrong places. This is my oldest vine, so I'm a little worried that my others will end up this way, too.

Bill
Lincoln, NE (zone 5)

http://garthright.blogspot.com/

--
In the 20th century, the GI Bill sent a generation to college, and for decades, we led the world in education and economic growth. But in this new economy, we trail the world's leaders in graduation rates and achievement. - President Barack Obama





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