How to Prune Grape Vines in Oklahoma

Grapes in Oklahoma have some native parentage so they can survive cold, harsh Oklahoma winters. These varieties include grapes developed by the Oklahoma Agricultural Experimental Station such as Rubaiyat, Bounty, Cimarron, Sunset, Eureka and Meteor. Like all vines, Oklahoma native grape vines must be pruned to control grape quality and quantity. If a vine produces too many grapes, the fruit will be low quality. You must prune and train your grape vines each year to ensure long-term success.

Bleach
Measuring cup
Mixing bucket
Clean cloth
Pruning shears

Instructions

- 1
  Time the pruning for late February or early March in Oklahoma, when the grape vines are dormant.
- 2
  Mix a solution containing 1 part bleach and 9 parts water to make a 10 percent solution of bleach to sterilize the pruning shears. Dip a clean cloth into the solution and wipe the blades with it.
- 3
  Cut back all canes on a vine so that each cane is only 6 inches long. Wait two weeks before pruning again.
- 4
  Cut back all shortened canes so that each cane has 2 buds. These shortened canes are known as renewal spurs.
- 5
  Measure the weight of the wood removed to the nearest 1/10 of a pound. Shorten the vines so that you leave 20 buds, known as nodes, for the first pound of wood that you weighed -- and 10 nodes per each additional pound. For example, if you removed 4 pounds of vine, you would retain 50 nodes. This process keeps the vine from overproducing in the future.

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