I planted Concord, Candice and Mars grapes this spring in zone 4a in NY. Is it too early in their growth to prune them, and where can I find information about a spraying schedule for them. Thanks for any help you can give me. This picture was taken when I planted them - they are much larger now!
Grapes are normally pruned while they are dormant. Right now every leaf you leave on the plant will help the vine gather food . This food will help it develop a strong root system. In a few years, when the vine is mature, if the growth is more rampant than you would like, you might consider a bit of summer pruning, but not now.
Here are some links from Cornell about growing grapes. If you want more information, you might want to contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent.
http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/factsheets/ecogardening/growgrape.html
http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/fruit/homefruit.html
http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/hort/faculty/reisch/bulletin/table/tableindex2.html
That's one of the beauties of Dave's Garden - a Texas gal telling an upstate New Yorker how to get NY advice from Cornell on growing grapes!
Thanks for your help, bettydee! I will go to those sites and print out the info. And yes, pbyrley, Dave's Garden is a wonderful place! Remind me to tell you sometime how I met a gal through Dave's Garden in Oregon and flew all the way across the country to visit her and her garden. It was a wonderful experience!
The answer to your question is know you don't prune them now way to early. Also there is a way to prune them, you don't just hack away at them. I'm sure the Cornell site will tell you how to do it.
