How to Care for a Grapevine Tree

Grapevines in nature are woody climbers, usually tree climbers. Pruning a grapevine results in a stubby plant. A specific form of pruning will result in a woody tree formation in which the fruit is borne from the top of the plant. If you do not continue such pruning every growing season, the grapevine will quickly revert to being a climber and will produce many vines that will tangle and produce poor quality fruit within just one or two years.

Mallet
Bamboo stakes
Ties
Pruning shears

Instructions

- 1
  Pound a bamboo stake into the ground next to the grapevine with a mallet and use a few ties to hold the vine in place against the stake, providing the vine the support it needs to grow straight up.
- 2
  Prune off the side branches in the late winter of the second year or later, using a clean, sharp pair of pruning shears. During the growing season, remove all the growth from what is going to be the trunk of the grapevine tree after a few years of consistent pruning.
- 3
  Leave four to six branches at the top 6 inches of the grapevine tree to grow, but prune them back to 5 or 6 buds in length every winter.
- 4
  Grow branches from the side branches, but prune them back to two buds in length every winter, forcing the plant to form a bushy, tree-like top in the summer growing season.

How to Root Muscadine Vines

The Best Time to Transplant Grapevines

Growing Grapes