We bought this house a few years back, and our neighbor told us the Concord grape vine was already huge when they moved in about 40 years ago. The previous owners lived here for around 75 years, so the vine must have been planted shortly after they moved in.
Every year, I try to improve the vine’s setup. When we bought the house, most of the vine was on the ground, so the neighbors helped me lift it onto the trellis. It had never been pruned, and it took me a week to clean up all the dead growth, which the vine wasn’t happy about.
This spring, I removed a massive Virginia creeper and even a rose bush that was competing with the grapes. For a while, I thought I killed the grape production since the growth slowed, but then it shifted closer to the roots and still produced 50 pounds of grapes!
Grapes grow on new shoots, so pruning them back heavily in late winter helps promote new growth for the season.
I cut them back for the winter, especially since we get a lot of heavy, wet snow in Eastern Washington. I leave some growth to help distribute the weight so nothing important breaks. Then, once the snow melts, I go back and prune even more.
Grapes are super resilient! With that massive root system, they can bounce back from anything.
I love the resilience, but I hate that the roots are probably spread under my whole yard. I’d love to use weed killer, but I’m afraid of hurting the vine. Plus, the previous owner planted clover, so my kids get stung by bees regularly, no matter how many traps I set!
I just got a grapevine with my new house, but I’ve been putting off learning how to take care of it. It’s not as big as yours, so I think I have time.
The first cleanup took forever because I was so careful not to damage it. It had grown back on itself and had so much dead growth. Don’t be afraid to cut it back heavily—just avoid cutting branches that have multiple offshoots.
I wish I had this ‘problem’! Grape vines are on my list for next spring.
I’ve found that the more I ‘traumatize’ my grapevines, the better they produce!
Great job! I haven’t done my vines yet, but I’ve been told to prune them like this for better fruit. Even our chickens helped with some pruning after the harvest. Here’s what I was told to do:
- Check the vine: Find the main stem and look for strong branches to keep for future growth.
- Pick the right time: Late winter or early spring before new leaves appear is best for pruning.
- Remove dead or sick wood: Start by cutting off any diseased or dead branches.
- Choose the main branch: Keep the healthiest cane as the main support.
- Set up the structure: Choose 2-4 strong canes to structure the vine evenly.
- Trim for fruit: Cut back to around 8-12 buds on each cane for good fruiting.
- Thin out the plant: Remove extra growth to let the vine focus on producing fruit.
- Keep a balance: Maintain a mix of old wood and new growth for longevity.
- Clean up: Clear all cuttings to avoid pests and disease.
I’m jealous! I planted grapes four years ago. Now I just have to wait another 20 years…
Wow, that’s a lot of grapes! They look amazing!
I just planted Concord and red grapes this year. This has me excited for the future!
That’s really impressive!
Jelly time! 
I make jelly every year. Last year, I messed up the first batch, and it turned into syrup instead of jelly. It still tasted great, though! I don’t actually like eating grapes, especially seeded ones, so I have to find other ways to use them. I also make juice, but it’s a bit too strong for the kids, so we might try diluting it this year.
Nice.
Wow, this is amazing!
That’s incredible! It’s amazing how resilient plants can be, especially older ones like your grapevine. 50 pounds of grapes sounds like it bounced back stronger than ever! Did you do anything special to help it recover, or did it just handle the stress on its own?