How to - Pruning/No Pruning First Year Growth - Late Season Planting - ModVSP Trellis

[we5inelgr]

Hello all,

I planted my vines (petite sirah and cabernet sauvignon) around ~3-4 weeks ago. I know, late in the season. The people at UC Davis from where I got them said it shouldn't be an issue in our area (i.e. harsh winter, frost, etc). We live in the Lodi CA, AVA (http://winefolly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/lodi-california-ava-map.jpg).

I'm going with a non-traditional, modified quadrilateral VSP trellis system because mainly I'd like to experiment and also believe it's the best for our little, confined area and the grapes we are growing.

The first image shows what I'm referring too. We want to only do the half that is with the red rectangle. So basically, a sort of bilateral fruit wire (one each on two different levels) and both going in the same direction for about 3 feet.

The second image shows one of the petite sirah vines growing just below the irrigation line (which is about 18" off the ground).

While it's still warm here (in the high 80's/low 90's lately), I'm sure the vines will not reach the first (~34") or second (~40") fruiting wires by the time they go dormant for the winter. If they miraculously do somehow, that's a different story.

I haven't tied them to a bamboo stake yet because I'm not sure they will have time to reach the fruiting wires.

My question is, how should I prune these vines come January or February?

• Do I cut them all the way back to the main woody trunk?
• Do I cut them back to near the woody trunk, leaving the first two buds?
• Or, should I simply leave them alone and then tie them up to a stake sometime early next spring?

I'm a newby when it comes to growing grapevines, so I'm not even entirely sure what the buds look like on my young vines.

In the bottom 3 pics I drew red arrows in them. Are the arrows pointing to the actual buds?

And, in the last pic, does cut #1 show where I should prune if I am to go that route? The other two cuts are not on the main growth, only on long steamed leaves.

Any suggestions on how/if I should prune these young vines would be much appreciated!

Thank.

 

[bchilders]

I don't think it will matter if you prune or not till next winter but if you do I believe you are on the right track with cut #1. If you do prune, be sure and leave two or more buds. The main woody trunk should be the root stock and there should be no buds sprouting from it. It might be better if you just leave them as is and start training next years new growth to your trellis system. Stack them up before spring so you can train them easier. I try not to prune too much the first year to ensure good root production. --Good luck.

 

[we5inelgr]

thanks for the reply and suggestions!

I think I'll go with leaving them alone, basically treating them as if they were still potted plants. I will stake them soon and then train them all next year. Then, during Jan/Feb of 2016, I'll do the first pruning.