I blinked and my roses went from bare branches to leafed out and budding, so I missed my chance to do a good winter pruning on them. Fortunately, my grape vines were still in dormancy, so this past weekend, I got out the shears and went to work.
Grapes respond well to heavy pruning. I trimmed a lot more than I left. Here's the before:
And here's the after:
I left each plant with one main cane, with two short branches on the lower wire support, and two short branches on the upper wire support. I know it looks barren now, but I imagine grape vines will be growing willy-nilly again before you know it.
One photo I neglected to take, but should have, was of me pulling grape vines from the other side of the block wall. Remember carnivals in grade school, where you would "fish" for prizes? I felt just like that as I pulled the vines over the wall--only instead of some trinket, my prize was a tumbleweed. Every. Single. Time.
I'm not quite sure why, but tumbleweeds amuse me. Gathering tumbleweeds is my favorite gardening chore. It doesn't take long, and it makes a dramatic difference.
Thanks for wild tumbleweeds, and tame grape vines.
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Crafty Garden Mama
Grapes respond well to heavy pruning. I trimmed a lot more than I left. Here's the before:
And here's the after:
I left each plant with one main cane, with two short branches on the lower wire support, and two short branches on the upper wire support. I know it looks barren now, but I imagine grape vines will be growing willy-nilly again before you know it.
One photo I neglected to take, but should have, was of me pulling grape vines from the other side of the block wall. Remember carnivals in grade school, where you would "fish" for prizes? I felt just like that as I pulled the vines over the wall--only instead of some trinket, my prize was a tumbleweed. Every. Single. Time.
I'm not quite sure why, but tumbleweeds amuse me. Gathering tumbleweeds is my favorite gardening chore. It doesn't take long, and it makes a dramatic difference.
Thanks for wild tumbleweeds, and tame grape vines.Sew Darn Crafty Party, Find a Friend Friday, Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop, Show Your Stuff, The Wildly Original Link Party, Wow Us Wednesdays, Down Home Blog Hop, Tuesday Archive Link Up, Linky Tuesday at Freemotion by the River, Grandparents Say It Saturday,
The Creative Home Acre Hop, Grand Social,
Crafty Garden Mama
I used to make wreaths out of the pruned grape vines.
ReplyDeleteYour pruning will reap great rewards.
Oooh tumbleweeds?! I love tumbleweeds! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have ever actually seen a real-life tumbleweed.
ReplyDeleteWe have some apple trees that need pruned, but I have no idea how or when to do it. Need to get on the ball and figure that out.
It is amazing that plants do better when you cut so many branches off.
We just did this too. Do you do anything with the old vines?
ReplyDeleteWell done on the trimming! We had grapes at a rental house years ago, but haven't tried them at our house yet. I had a Tuesday Greens linky at www.craftygardenmama.com. I'd love for you to stop by and link up any of your gardening posts. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteOh great! That's what I did today. I'm relieved now! Just found your blog and love it! ~Katie/Maple Grove. www.maplegroveplace.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Thank you for sharing this at the HomeAcre Hop. Hope to see you tomorrow when the next one goes live.
ReplyDelete~Jenny
http://blackfoxhomestead.com/the-homeacre-hop/the-homeacre-hop-10/
I need to do this soon too :) Thanks for sharing this on The Creative HomeAcre Hop! Hope to see you this Sunday at:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/03/the-creative-homeacre-hop-7.html