Remedial vine pruning

I've seen a few "how do I prune my vine" threads this year, and they've had some good links on styles of training / pruning that I've been looking at. However, I'm struggling to find any information on how to get a VERY overgrown vine back under some kind of control.

There's actually two. Both seem to have been very well trained eary in their lives and seem very healthy (not to mention dripping with young fruit). The trunks are maybe 4inches in diameter at soil level. However, previous owners weren't into gardening, and so they haven't been touched for at least 3 years. Result = woody stems for 20ft in all directions.

Having seen all the workers out tidying up straggly stems in Burgundy a week or so back, I've given all the new growth a haircut , but I'm less clear on how to deal with the older stems.

I know I can't cut into the woody stems till the leaves drop, but what kind of battle plan should I have? Can I just lay about me with the secateurs, or do I need to plan it over a few years, one branch at a time?

Ideally I'd like to get the woody sections back down within 1m of the trunk - 2m tops. Does that sound reasonable?

There's so much remedial work to do - lots of overgrown roses, honeysuckle, irises, geraniums... But most of it I'm a bit more confident on than the vines.

Help!

 

Our home is surrounded by vineyards here in S.France ...and we have a few Chasselat vines for eating .....the process is similar .. at the end of the leaf life, (pruning here is usually done January/February but may be earlier in the UK) Grapes bear fruit on the green shoots that arise from one-year-old canes. Pruning is based on producing fruit in the current season, and renewing young canes for the next year. The old canes that produced fruit this season will not produce again. There are several methods used in pruning established grapevines. Cane pruning is the usual system where heat units may not be high and vigorous vines can shade the fruit. In this system a permanent trunk is established, and every year new canes are selected from the head of the vine, where trunk and wire intersect. One or two canes on either side, each 8-10 buds long, are selected and tied to the wire, and all other canes cut out. Choose canes that are about the thickness of your little finger, that come out as close to the head as possible, and that have buds fairly close together. Try to avoid large thick canes with buds spaced far apart. Also leave one or two spur canes, cut to two buds each. They will provide additional canes to select from for the next year's pruning.




M-L

[ 12. July 2006, 09:41 AM: Message edited by: Mona Lisa ]

 

Just a thought, this sketch may help you see the 'before' and 'after' effect of the above explanation.. M-L

 

Hi Mona Lisa. Thanks for taking the time and dig out that picture - it's one of the best I've seen in my hunting.

However, I think maybe I wasn't very clear on where I'm confused - how many years should I take to get a very overgrown, out of control, sprawling vine with old woodey stems 20+ft long back down to what's shown in the picture?

The only info I've found suggests I should be able to just cut it back practically to the ground, but the real "remedial" pruning info is so sp**** I'm not getting a lot of comfort that it won't just kill it stone dead. Any ideas?

 

Tangle ....I think you'd struggle to kill it stone dead !

...where pruning has not been done for several years, a few strategies can be employed. One is to completely remove the old cordons except for a six inch renewal spur at the head of each cordon. Allow new shoots to grow down the wire to form the new cordon. Pinch them when they reach the desired length.......
another option, and probably the one you might be prefer as it's a bit more gradual ... is to cut the growth on one side of the vine (left side) back to two to four buds of the previous season's growth. On the other side of the vine (right side) cut off all the lateral growth leaving just a naked cordon. This will allow the left side of the vine to produce fruit. The second season, bring the right side of the vine into production and cut the left side back to a naked cordon. In the third season the vine is completely rejuvenated and back to near full production....so that in three years time you should have a fully fruiting vine... I hope this is what you are looking for .....personally I'd " go for it" and take it right back to the two cordons as shown in the picture,waiting until the vine is dormant of course, before doing anything..... M-L