How to train a young grape sapling: the first and second year

1The aim of the first two years

A young vine has to do three things: strengthen its root, grow one or two strong trunks up to the wire and develop leaves that will feed the vine. The University of Minnesota puts the aim of the first year simply: grow shoots up to the fruiting wire. On some plots this takes several years, and that is normal.

All the schemes below describe dormant saplings with bare roots, that is, ones like our one-year saplings. A two-year sapling in a bag is planted with a green shoot already: it is not cut back in the middle of summer but tied to a stake and trained during the first winter pruning. This is our advice, not a quotation from a handbook, so write to us if needed.

2The year of planting

1. Prepare the saplingSoak the roots of a one-year sapling: in our article “What to do with a grape sapling after you receive the parcel” we advise 12–24 hours, while WVU says from 3–4 hours to overnight.
2. Prune to one cane with two budsOklahoma State and New Hampshire advise leaving one healthy cane with two buds. WVU advises removing all shoots except the strongest.
3. Plant at the right depthAccording to WVU, the lowest bud should be 5–8 cm (2–3 inches) above the ground. Water straight after planting. For more on timing, see the article “When to plant grapes”.
4. Set a stakebeside the vine. Oklahoma State advises a stake attached to the top wire, and Minnesota a bamboo or rebar rod. A trellis is not required in the first year; a support is enough.

3The first summer

• Keep one strong shoot. When the first shoots reach about 30 cm (1 foot), Oklahoma State advises keeping the strongest and removing the rest. New Hampshire describes a slightly different approach: let all shoots grow and choose the trunk the following winter. Both approaches work; the main thing is not to leave the vine without support or let it become chaotic.
• Tie the shoot to the stake with soft material and loosely, so it does not cut into the cane (Oklahoma State). Retie as the shoot grows.
• Remove side shoots on the future trunk while it grows toward the wire (Oklahoma State).
• Pinch the tip at the wire. When the shoot reaches the wire, its tip is pinched (Oklahoma State). WVU specifies that when a bilateral cordon system is being formed, about 2.5 cm of the tip is removed.
• Remove the flower clusters. Minnesota and Oklahoma State advise no crop in the first year so the energy goes into growth.
• Water regularly. WVU notes that in the first year regular watering builds a strong root system.
• Watch for disease and pests. Young leaves need protecting too, so do not skip prevention; take doses from the manufacturer’s instructions.

4The first winter pruning: choosing the trunk

At the end of the first winter, before bud break, choose the trunk (one or two strong vertical canes) and trim them. New Hampshire recommends two trunks as insurance against winter injury: if one freezes, the other remains. Tie the trunk to a stake fixed to the bottom wire.

Minnesota adds another safeguard: keep one “backup” sucker from the base of the vine in case of winter injury. In years without injury it is removed so that too many trunks do not form.

In the first winter it is better to protect a young vine: hill up the base or cover the cane (this is our advice). More in the articles “How to cover grapes for winter” and “No-cover grape varieties”.

5The second year: the vine reaches for the wire

• Finish the trellis. Minnesota advises completing it by the end of the second season and installing the fruiting wire. Oklahoma State advises a top wire at a height of about 1.5–1.8 m (5–6 ft) with well-braced end posts.
• Let shoots grow from the upper part of the trunk. For leaf area also keep some shoots lower down: the more healthy leaves, the better the vine establishes, as long as they do not shade each other (Minnesota).
• Form the arms. Let the shoots reach the wire and form cordons: Oklahoma State expects the arms to fill the trellis in the second or third year.
• Flower clusters. Minnesota advises removing them all again. Oklahoma State allows leaving about half the clusters if the vine has already reached the top wire. For a first vine, removing them is safer.
• If the vine is weak in the third year, Oklahoma State advises removing the fruit so the arms can fill the wires.

6The second winter pruning

When the trunk has reached the wire and strong canes have grown (usually at the end of the second or third season), New Hampshire describes these steps for typical systems (VSP, Munson, four-arm Kniffin): choose the four strongest canes (two on each side), trim each to about 10 buds, leave a two-bud renewal spur and remove the rest. Minnesota advises forming several arms and then keeping one on each side before the next season begins.

For the general principles of pruning a mature vine, see the article “Spring pruning of grapes”.

7The third year and beyond

According to WVU, the first crop comes in the third year. After that the vine is pruned every winter back to the arms, leaving 3–4 spurs. Two-year saplings, as we wrote in another article, usually start fruiting earlier, but they too need time to build trunk and arms.

8The most common mistakes

1. Leaving a crop in the first or second yearThe vine spends its strength on berries, not the root.
2. Tying too tightlyWire or cord that cuts in damages the cane.
3. Letting the vine grow without supportThe shoot lies on the ground, gets sick and grows worse.
4. Not watering enough in the first year
5. Pruning a young vine like a mature oneThe aim of the first years is trunk and arms, not a crop.
6. Forgetting disease protectionThe leaves of a young vine feed the cane, and disease weakens it.

9Frequently asked questions

10Sources

• Pruning and Training Grapes in the Home Vineyard, University of New Hampshire Extension: pruning after planting, two trunks, second-year schemes.
• Growing Grapes in the Home Garden, Oklahoma State University Extension: pruning at planting, choosing the shoot, stake, pinching, flower clusters, trellis.
• Growing Grapes for Beginners, West Virginia University Extension: planting, the first three years, the first crop.
• How to train young grapevines, University of Minnesota Extension: the aim of the first year, backup sucker, trellis, flower clusters in the second year.

The schemes come from American university handbooks for climate zones that differ from many regions of Ukraine, so timing may shift. Feet and inches have been converted to metric units and rounded.