How to Attach Vines on a Grape Arbor

Growing grapes at home is a rewarding experience but it takes hard work to make grapevines thrive and produce healthy fruit. Unlike fruit trees, which often just need a good shot of fertilizer to produce fruit each year, grapevines must be trained to grow on an arbor or trellis. Otherwise, the vines grow down to the ground, stunting growth, limiting sunlight and air penetration, and creating an unhealthy growing environment. Train the vines to an arbor from the start for healthy grapes for years to come.

Pruning shears
Nylon stockings

Instructions

- 1
  Prune the grapevine back to a single stem early in the first growing season so that there is a single primary shoot to attach to the grape arbor. This single leader generates the extra vines that produce grapes.
- 2
  Keep the soil around the grapevine consistently moist with water and watch until the single leader stem grows to be 6 to 10 inches long. At this time, prune away any smaller vines that have started to develop.
- 3
  Tie the vine to the grape arbor, gently, about an inch from the end. Use a flexible material such as nylon stockings or vine-specific twist ties. If you use a nonflexible material, such as a metal clip, the vine's growth may be stunted.
- 4
  Tie the vine to the arbor every 4 inches from the initial section. Once this first stem is well established, allow subsequent vines to start. Attach the new vines to the once they reach 6 to 10 inches long, always using flexible ties.
- 5
  Remove the ties once the vines are at least 2 feet long and have clearly begun to wind and attach themselves to the arbor. If you are in doubt about whether the vines are firmly in place, do not remove the ties.

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