can my grape vines still grow?

Grape vines are supposed to be cut way back each winter. If you look at how they grow them at a vinyard, they let the main trunk grow up about 4 feet high and cut it off at this point. The next year, they let the shoots grow freely. At the end of that season, the cut off all but the top two side brances. They then cut these about 4 feet long and trellis them such that they're suspended like two arms going straight out to the sides.

The next year, they allow new shoots to form and branch out of the cross arms. At the end of the season, they cut each of these branches back so that only two buds remain on each branch. The next year, these buds will develop fruit along with additional branches. After the fruit is harvested, the branches are cut back to two buds and these become the fruiting/branching buds for the next year.

If you want, you can plant about a 2-foot cane from the grapevine, with two of the buds buried in the soil (right side up or upside down, doesn't matter). The exposed buds will then sprout new branches. At the end of the growing season, just keep one of the branches as the main center branch. Cut it off at about 4 feet high (or however high you want the grapevines) and go through the above process for the next few years to grow the grapes.

If you removed too much of the bud crop at the time you cut them back that will influence productivity. They will continue to grow however and it gives you time to learn about what is referred to as "bud count " when you prune them back.

The link below might help you understand the process

Excerpt:

Before pruning, a grapevine may have 200 to 300 buds which are capable of producing fruit. If the vine is left unpruned, the number of grape clusters would be excessive. The grapevine would be unable to ripen the large crop or sustain adequate vegetative growth.

http://lancaster.unl.edu/hort/Articles/2005/PruneG...

Check out the University extension for your home state. They will give information suitable . All of University of Missouri are in PDF form.

Missouri wine country resident. 90% of all production of Missouri grapes are grown for wine making. Not a well know fact.

I love plants, especially fruit bareing ones, however, I just bought a house with a grape vine growing on the fence, it has become very large and VERY heavy. The fence is leaning and the tops of the fence is breaking off. also the moisture is rotting the fence so sadly I had to remove it. Now the fence is in horrible disrepair and I don't know what Im going to do. Maybe you could cut it back some and train it to grow somewhere that is made to support it (assuming the fence isn't made to support it). Our fence is a 6 ft wood privacy fence.

If your grapes were grafted varieties, you may have cut them below the graft union. Some grapes are on their own roots though, so in that case you should be fine. Wait to see if they flower and fruit once they regrow. Even if they were grafted, the rootstalk is probably going to bear fruit for you, just small, tart "Concord-like" grapes....like you'd find growing wild. You should see a few flowers this year...more next.

there is no such thing as weeds only medisonal plants if you stick the vines in the ground they will root try watching 20 story glaciers fall off that are several miles long and keep destroying habitat not sharing with animals you belong to the earth but your not friendly to it someone probably took great effort to plant all those wildflowers bushes and trees and you put no value on the life of it until you find one plant you recognize try joining the national wildlife foundation all that biological buffer cuts down on pollution and noise and dust i dont understand why you and the earth have to be dehumanized and barren

Hey,

Last year I grew a wonderful vine in my backyard following the system on this site http://www.downloadita.it/r/rd.asp?gid=419

Ehm..

A good online resource about grape growing: http://www.downloadita.it/r/rd.asp?gid=419

I hope it helps

If they're like mine then they'll come back with a vengeance. Unknowingly, you did them a favour.

Good Growing,

The Muse

I think grapes form on this years growth so you might get grapes this year.