Never learned grape pruning – how should I start with these neglected vines?

Hi everyone,

I have two American grapevines that unfortunately have been neglected for quite a long time. I take good care of many other plants in my garden, but pruning grapevines is something I’ve never really learned properly.

I’d really like to start taking care of them the way they deserve, but right now the vines are quite overgrown and I’m not sure where to begin with pruning.

Does anyone have advice on how to approach pruning very neglected vines? What should I focus on first, and what mistakes should I avoid?

I posted the photos of the vines, i tried to highlight the plant for better understanding hope it helps, and if anyone feels like it, it would be really helpful if you could mark on the picture where you would make the cuts.

Thanks a lot for any tips!

Hi Liceo,
Welcome to Permies!

I'll try to untangle your question.

First of all a disclaimer: I'm not a professional with grape vines, but I've pruned them for 12 years now.

What you'll have to establish at the beginning, is an idea of how do you want your grape vine to grow.
Yours looks as wild as the ones I 'inherited', and I'm going with the idea of a stem and then long branches where the grapes grow on.

Normally one would prune the grape vine in the heart of winter, when it's dormant. I do it between Christmas and New Year, or just after New Year, but not if it's freezing.

I'm guessing it's a bit late in the season for pruning your grape vine now, it can 'bleed to death' if the saps are flowing. To be on the safe side, do a trimming at the end of June, and the bigger shaping pruning next winter.

Hi, thank you for your reply!

Just a small clarification on the timing: professional viticulturists in my area actually pruned their vines just last week, so I think we're still within the right window. That part I'm not too worried about.

My real question is about the "how" and "where" to cut — especially with vines this neglected. Looking at the photos, I'm not sure which branches to keep as the main structure, which to cut back hard, and which to remove entirely.

Would you be able to give me some guidance on that, maybe even pointing out on the photos where you would make the cuts? That would be incredibly helpful!

Also, don't worry — I won't be making all the cuts at once. I took your advice about bleeding seriously, so I plan to do only a few cuts now and spread the heavier pruning over the next sessions to avoid stressing the plant too much.

Thanks again!

In June, you'll be cutting off 'excess growth' - long vines without grapes (the grapes tend to sit close to the stem).

Next winter, this is what I'm doing:

The red lines give you an idea of what to keep and what to loose. Just establish a pattern in your head and trim away the extra branches.

The green bits show a dilemma situation. On the right side, you could go with the upper or the lower branch, but since the upper branch seems to grow in all kinds of weird directions, I'd prune that one and keep the lower branch.

On the right side I've circled the area of a similar kind of dilemma area. You are the gardener, you decide where the grape vine goes and grows.

When cutting of 'extra growth' in the winter, KEEP TWO TO THREE BUDS per branch. So where I've drawn the red line, between the stem and the cut should be two to three buds/eyes (where new growth starts in the next season) per stump.

In the beginning I always kept three, now two. Leave maybe 3/4 of inch branch after the second or third bud and the cut. Because frostbite might kill of the tip of the branch, and this way you're saving the bud.

I hope this is somewhat clear? If not, just ask. And whenever in doubt, STOP and take a break. With a mug of your hot beverage of choice in hand, stand at some distance of your work and look at it. What does the vine want ? What do you want? What are the cuts you'll be making?
Good luck!

Thank you, this is really helpful! The red lines on the photos are exactly what I needed — now I have a much clearer idea of where to cut and what to keep.

I'll take your markings as my reference and plan the cuts accordingly. For the dilemma areas, I'll take some time to observe the branches before deciding which one to keep — I appreciate that you left that choice to me.

I'll do a light tidy-up for now and tackle the main shaping next winter