Question:
Whoever lived in our house before planted a grape arbor with edible grapes on one side and wine grapes on the other. The vines appear very old, perhaps never pruned at all. The arbor recently fell down. So, now I have no idea when or how to prune it. What should I be doing?Answer:
- Grapes are pruned when they are dormant, so now is an excellent time to do so. They are either 'spur' or 'cane' pruned depending on the fruiting habits of the variety.
- Typically, wine grapes are cane pruned, while table or eating grapes prefer spur pruning. Cane pruning is used on those varieties growing on arbors. The fruiting wood is developed away from the trunk. We leave long canes to train on wires, trellis, or arbors. Grape varieties that are Spur Pruned develop fruiting wood close to the base. They are pruned back to within several buds to leave small spurs for development.
- To get a better idea of this, I'd google 'pruning grape videos'. You should find many videos on YouTube, to help clarify things. It will also give you a sense of what to do next.
- Whatever you decide, I'd forgo a crop of grapes next year to get the vines under control. They can't stay on the ground, so you must decide what to do about the arbor. If you don't rebuild, you'll need a trellis structure, not a fence.
- There are several ways you can attack the mass of twisted canes. The first is to cut off everything and start from scratch with the new shoots that develop this spring.
- Or, you could select the most vigorous or longest canes to serve as your foundation. They would be attached to the new arbor or trellis. All the rest of the canes not used would be cut off at the ground.
- Next winter is when I would prune for a grape harvest. Either option is doable. You'll just have to select the option that's best for you.
Question:
Does the passion fruit I see in the supermarket grow on the passion vine? I've never seen any fruit on the one that covers my fence.Answer:
- Passion fruit is a member of a larger family of vining plants that are grown for their flowers. Some varieties require pollination, while others are self-fertile. The most popular ornamental/fruiting variety is Passiflora Edulis. It has large white and purple flowers, and the fruit is oval in shape purple in color, and the pulp is yellow with black seeds. The fruit is highly aromatic.
- The best production comes when the winters are mild and frost-free and the area has cool summers.
- The key to pollination is humid conditions, where we have problems. Typically it's too dry for pollination to occur but that is not to say that mother nature might cooperate one of these days. In the meantime, you should enjoy the flowers and foliage