One of the icons of Mediterranean landscape They are vine fields, vineyards or vines. It is a plant prized for beauty of its extensions which also provides us with a gastronomic treasure: the grape

But the vine is also a plant that is easy to grow at home, even if it is in a small garden in little space, and that will help you create shade in summer, if you grow it on a vine. Yes indeed For it to grow healthy and bear many fruits, it must be pruned regularly.. That is, eliminate everything that the plant does not need to enhance what is essential and improve its growth and production.

The vine, a climber with a particular structure

Before starting to talk about how to prune vines, it is important to know what is the structure of this plant. It is a climbing plant that coils around a support, holding on with tendrils (the structures with which climbers cling). These are the main parts:

• The rootswhich are underground, absorb water and nutrients and store energy for the growth and development of the plant.
• The trunkthe main part of the plant, made of thick and resistant wood, supports the branches.
• The armswhich supports the leaves, shoots, tendrils and clusters. There are arms that are permanent and are part of the main structure of the vine and others that are not and that, when they no longer bear fruit, are pruned from one season to the next to ensure the good growth of the plant.
• The shoots (also called shoots) are young branches that grow from the trunk or main arms and from which leaves and grapes grow. They emerge each year from a bud from the previous year and are pruned from one year to the next.
• Thumbs or fingerswhich are what remains of the pruned shoot, usually with some buds that will be the basis of the following year’s fruit production.
• Leaves and clusters.

Types of vine pruning

It must be taken into account that there are two different types of pruning depending on the age of the plant and the objective that we want to achieve: formation or fruition.

• Training pruning: it is done in the first years of the plant’s life (3 or 4 years) to guide and shape the vine. To do this, the strongest branch is taken, which will be the main one, and all the “weak” branches are eliminated from the base.
• Pruning fruiting: This pruning is done on older vines that already have the proper shape. The objective is maintain their shape and encourage fruiting. To do this, you must eliminate diseased or old stems, which no longer produce sprouts, so that the new ones have more ventilation and get better sun.

When are the vines pruned?

Pruning the vines must be done when the plant is in the vegetation periodbefore new shoots begin to grow. That is to say, between late winter and early spring.

Additionally, you can make a pruning in late spring if there are too many non-productive shoots. This serves to remove leaves and shoots that overload the plant and help nutrients concentrate in productive shoots.

Tips for pruning vines

To prune the vine, the first thing is clean and disinfect pruning shears that we are going to use and make sure that they are well sharpened to make clean cuts. Also keep these tips in mind when pruning:

• When cutting the shoots from the previous year, it is advisable keep two or three buds to ensure production for the following year.
• One has to cut the branch bevel a centimeter or two above the bud and against it, that is, the top of the cut is on the side of the bud.
• The thumbs pointing down They can be pruned because they will no longer be productive.
• If there are branches or diseased parts, disinfect scissors well after cutting them to avoid spreading the disease.
• Keep in mind that excessive pruning can cause the vine to produce few fruits, while pruning too little can weaken the plant. The key is to find the middle ground.

On the other hand, it is better do pruning when there is no rain forecastto prevent diseases from entering the plant through the cuts.