pruning a grape vine

[muffin]

hi we have got a grape vine and had it for about 5 months , when and how do i prune the plant , we would like it to grow abit taller but not to high , is it possible for grape plants to bush out and we have noticed that some leaves look abit strange thanks

[Scarlet]

The RHS website has a great guide on vine pruning and training. That's what I've followed.

http://rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=284

Are you trying to grow through the string? You will need some wires to train along. String isn't sturdy enough and you won't want to mess about trying to do it after it has started putting on growth.

[roitelet]

Don't cut the vine now. It's OK to snap off soft growth but if you cut harder wood the vine will bleed possibly to death.

[muffin]

thank you for your replys some of the vine has attached it self to the string , can we had wire as well so it will be more sturdy , with cuting the vine what we would like is for the vine to bush out more as we are coming to the hight we would like as we only live in a flat we dont have alot of space but we are surprised that the vine is growning .

[FB.]

what we would like is for the vine to bush out more as we are coming to the hight we would like as we only live in a flat we dont have alot of space but we are surprised that the vine is growning .

To get it to bush-out it would have been better to pinch-out the growing shoot tip - only the tip - at the point where you wanted side shoots to form. Or when it was dormant you could have prunedthe woody stem at the point where you wanted it to branch.

I think the underlying problem is that you've missed your two main chances this year to get it to bush out. I think the best approach is to just leave it alone until winter and then start again by cutting the stem at the point you want side shoots to form, then next spring as the vine grows make sure you regularly pinch-out the tips of the shoots to encourage more branching.

But as said: never prune any plant into woody stems while any part of the plant has leaves on because for many reasons (shock, bleeding, infection) it may die.

Grape vines are strong growers and get very large very quickly. I recently had to cut lots of the new growth off mine to keep it in its allotted space.

[FB.]

The other option would be to try pinching-out the growing shoot tip now, but not prune in winter, then pinch-out the growing shoot tips next year. That way you'd have more chance of getting some fruit sooner because winter pruning tends to discourage the plant from fruiting.