How to: Espalier Grapes

Support Structure

• 1

  Construct a permanent wire-trellis system to support the espaliered grapevine plant. Grapes grow best in sunny locations, so if the espalier is created along a building facade or wooden fence, the supports must provide 4 to 12 inches of space between the vine and the face of the wall or fence. This ensures good air flow for plant health and to prevent sun scalding and overheating of plants from reflective light and heat.

• 2

  Drill holes into the building exterior or fence to snugly support 6-inch-long eye screws. Create a bottom row of eye screws 3 feet off the ground that is 6 to 15 feet long. Place the screws about every 6 feet. Space additional horizontal tiers in the trellis system 3 to 4 feet higher incrementally on the wall, depending how large the wall is and how large of a grapevine espalier you want to develop.

• 3

  Run an appropriate length of 14-gauge wire through the eye screws to create the wire-trellis system on all tiered levels. Tighten the wire ends on each tier by wrapping the wire back around itself. The more taut the wire trellis runs, the better, because as the grapes grow, more weight requires support to maintain the crisp silhouette of the espaliered grapevine.

Starting the Grapevine

• 4

  Plant the grapevine in the center of the wire-trellis system so vine arms may be trained to grow both left and right. Alternatively, the grape may be planted at the far end of the trellis so that all espaliered vine arms will grow long and far along the entire trellis system. The choice is yours, creating a different architectural look to the espaliered grapevine as it grows.

• 5

  Orient the main, strongest, most vigorous vine of the grape vertically after planting. Tie it loosely with twine to the lowest wire tier of the trellis system. The knot and twine should be snug enough to keep the vine upright, but should not come in tight, constricting contact with the vine itself.

• 6

  Any side branches on the grapevine that naturally line up with the lowest tier of trellis wire may be tied with twine to spread left or right. Only tie one side branch to the wire tier. Excess side branches that do not line up well with the wire tiers are later removed by pruning. If no side branches seem to line up nicely with the wire tier, do not forcefully twist or pull them to configure to that tier.

• 7

  Tie the upper reaches of the main vine vertically onto the second tier of trellis wire with twine.

• 8

  Select and tie any nearby side branches off of the main vine onto the second tier of the wire trellis system. Again, if no side branches match up conveniently to the second tier, do not force and strain them to be immediately tied.

• 9

  As each horizontal vine on the wire ties elongates, tie it with twine every 18 to 30 inches to train it in the espalier.

Pruning

• 10

  Prune away any grapevine branches that are not tied to the first or second trellis tiers and do not contribute to the structured T-like form of the espalier. Make the pruning cuts with a hand pruners 1/4 to 1/2 inch above their attachment to the main vertical vine stem or those tied to the horizontal tiers. If the main vertical vine is not long enough to tie to the next tier on the espalier trellis, do not cut it, but allow it to grow further unpruned. Once it gets long enough, you can then tie it to the next level of wire.

• 11

  Prune all side branches on each horizontal stem tier back to one bud in late winter. Make the pruning cut 1/4 inch above the bud closest to the wire. If no buds are within 6 inches of the wire, cut that side twig back to 1/2 inch above the main horizontal vines tied to the wires.

• 12

  Trim the side branches off of the horizontal espalier arms in early summer and again in late summer to retain the visual look of the espalier. Trim away any sprouts that grow forward or backward on the espalier. You only want left- or right-growing branches on the espalier, otherwise its one-plane structure is lost.