How to Prune Vs. Tying

Sharpen your pruning tools well before making any cuts. A good sharp pair of pruners makes clean cuts that heal quickly and prevent the introduction of pathogens. Hold the blade of your pruners at a 20-degree angle and swipe across the sharpening stone ten to twenty times. Brush the edge of your finger perpendicularly across the blade lightly to verify sharpness.

Plan the training of your plant or vine before pruning anything off and tying in. Use small pieces of twine to tie up stems and roughly shape the growth pattern of the plant. Generally, you need to keep the plant off the ground and encourage horizontal growth, but the goals of pruning and tying in vary from species to species.

Prune off excess growth to just before the previous growth node. Remove any stems that stick out or are far too long. Tip-prune by cutting the ends back to a growing point to force branching. Cut out any dead or damaged plant material back to healthy wood.

Tie the young growth into wiring or whatever support structure you have. Grapes have two rows of wiring at a level of 12 to 24 inches from the ground and then another approximately 12 to 18 inches above that.

Use old nylon stockings to tie up thickly fruited stems, especially terminal branches with large clusters of heavy fruit. The stockings have a little give and won't cut into the plant material and cause damage. Much tying in is just to help support the plant where stems are too weak because of heavy fruit load or to help it grow upward towards sun.

Tie the plant several times during the growing season to control errant stems or help support the plant. Prune at planting and then when the plant is dormant. Never remove more than one-third of the wood or stems at any one time. Tie loosely to prevent the twine from cutting into the plant material as it grows. Remove ties as they are no longer needed.