How to Prune Grapevines in Spring

Balanced Pruning

• 1

  Examine the grapevine. Determine how many fruiting canes and buds to leave on the vine by the weight of the removed wood. Tie colored cloth strips around the canes you'd like to keep as fruiting canes. Ensure there are equal numbers of renewal spurs left on the vine. A renewal spur is a cane that is pruned back to one or two buds. Pruning based on the vigor of the previous year's growth is known as balanced pruning. Wearing gloves, remove the ends of the canes with hand pruners.

• 2

  Cut back the remainder of the canes that are 1 year old with lopping shears. Weigh them to determine the number of buds to leave on the vine. Leave 30 buds for the first pound of removed canes. For every additional pound of canes, leave 10 buds. Count buds on canes that will bear fruit this year as well as on the renewal spurs.

• 3

  Make pruning easier with the four-cane Kniffin system. Cut every cane back except for four fruiting canes on each side of the main grapevine stem, which should be trained onto trellises or wires. Leave on the vines four short renewal spurs containing one to two buds. Choose canes of medium size in diameter, have good brown color and plump buds that are 3 to 3-1/2 inches apart.