Low heads on year 1 grapes from 15 gallons.

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howmanyds Murrieta, CA Apr 09, 2015

I planted a Thompson and Concord grape from 15 gallon containers two months ago, and pruned off all the old growth except a main vine and a few spurs. (I pruned them differently according to their variety, though now I can't remember which one was spur pruned and which was cane pruned.). They are now growing nicely, however since the pruning heads were about 8 inches off the ground, from spending two or three years? at a nursery, the new growth is of course coming out of that low head. Since I want the new growth to come out of a head that is a good 3 feet off the ground, should I prune the whole vines below these previously formed heads in order for them to send a brand-new shoot up to the three-foot mark? In which case, is it now too late for this season, since the vines are growing strong, at about 2 feet tall or so, with a good handful of tiny clusters each, or can I still chop them down and watch them grow back even in this season?

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Diana_K Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b) Apr 09, 2015

Too late, I think. Grapes bleed a LOT unless they are pruned at exactly the right time.

Watch this year's growth and see if anything looks promising enough to keep as the main structural parts.

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howmanyds Murrieta, CA Apr 12, 2015

Should I prune off all lower vines and keep only the most vertical vine to grow strong for next year's main "trunk"?

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Diana_K Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b) Apr 12, 2015

When you figure out which ones are going to make the best trunks tie those into place while they are still flexible. You might keep your eye on some secondary growth, too, or at least bud placement for next years' growth.
Then, next winter you can deal with which parts to prune and how far back to prune them.

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howmanyds Murrieta, CA Apr 13, 2015

Thanks. And to be clear, why is bleeding bad for the vine? Will it kill it? Stunt its growth for this year or all years to come?

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Diana_K Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b) Apr 13, 2015

I think they can bleed out too much. Not sure- I always waited until the plants were dormant to prune.

If you needed to trim a couple of smaller parts, that is probably OK, we often cut off the branches that hung in a walkway, but this was just half a dozen branches off of 2 very large plants, maybe 1% of the total?

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