You need to find a golden mean in winter pruning of the vine. If we do it too early, during heavy frosts, the wounds will freeze. In turn, performing this treatment too late may result in “vine weeping”, which involves intense leakage of sap, weakening the plant. That’s why you first need to know the appropriate date for pruning grapes. After that, all that’s left is the correct technique.
Vines need to be pruned regularly, even in winter. If this procedure is omitted, the bush will become thicker and its fruits will be small.
Winter pruning of grapes stimulates them to sprout new shoots. The clusters become larger, better colored and tastier. The bush is exposed to light, the risk of occurrence is reduced.
Moreover, after this treatment, summer care is simpler and faster. It is easier to control the number of grapes and their quality. Regular pruning is the basis for abundant harvests, a healthy bush and a nice shape. Without this, the fruiting of the vine will be much weaker.
The vine is pruned at the turn of February and March, but the temperature must be above -5 degrees Celsius.. Moreover, the bush cannot be frozen.
How do you know if a grape needs pruning? We prune a plant that has thin, limp branches and old, woody stems that do not contain buds. We must also perform this treatment in the case of crossing shoots and damaged, diseased fragments.
First, prepare an appropriate tool for cutting grapes. It must be disinfected and sharp. Otherwise, the plant will be infected and its tissues will be crushed.
Then we select appropriate shoots for pruning – we cannot strip the entire bush. So we leave 1-2 strong main beds and short journals with 2-3 eyes.
We cut the branches at an angle, about 1 cm above the bud. Thanks to this technique, wounds will heal much faster.
Finally, lubricate the trimmed, thick shoots with gardening ointment. This simple action will reduce the risk of infection development.
