Grape Vines – Pruning ‘Concord’

Q: Please tell me how to prune my ‘Concord’ grape vines. I read that you have to remove most of the plant.

A: It’s a whole different process from muscadine pruning, in which you prune new growth back to permanent spurs each year. American bunch grapes are usually “cane pruned”.

Assuming your grapes are on a two-wire trellis, select four vigorous canes to be tied to the wires in opposite directions from the central trunk. Remove all other canes, then count the buds on the four left. There should be a total of 30 – 60 buds evenly distributed on the four canes; the more vigorous the vine, the more buds should be left.

If you need pictures of your pruning and training options, click the link below.

Caring for Bunch Grapes