Advice
RHS Help & Advice
Pruning grape vines
Time to prune
Prune vines before Christmas as after this time they bleed sap from pruning wounds, weakening the plant. There’s no cure for bleeding vines, but the problem decreases when leaves emerge.
Training methods
Vines are mainly trained using either a cordon (indoor and pergola vines) or Guyot (commercial) system. Cordons consist of permanent vertical arms and annual horizontal cropping shoots. The Guyot system consists of a short trunk with low, annually renewed horizontal arms and vertical cropping shoots.
Initial pruning
Cordon: On planting (winter) cut the leader to a strong bud on ripe, firm wood. Cut any sideshoots to two buds. Throughout summer tie in the leader, cut laterals to five leaves and sideshoots to two leaves. Remove any flower cluster. Repeat this the following year.
Guyot: On planting cut the leader to three buds above soil level. Throughout summer treat as a cordon. Next winter cut the leader to three strong buds approximately 30cm (12in) high and tie in the resulting three shoots in summer.
Established pruning
In the third year the vines can begin cropping.
Cordon: In winter cut back all laterals to two buds, cutting the leader into ripened wood (see pic 2 left). Summer prune non-fruiting laterals to five leaves, and fruiting laterals to two leaves beyond the fruit cluster.
Guyot: In winter pull down the two outer shoots, cutting the middle shoot to three strong buds. In summer stop vertical shoots at the desired height, remove all sideshoots and thin the central branch to the three strongest shoots. Remove the two fruited arms in winter, and treat the three central shoots as before.
Full details on cordon pruning
Further information
Search the online RHS Plant Finder for suppliers of vines.