The Vinery Now Demands Care

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 189, 12 August 1939, Page 14 (Supplement)

The Vinery Now Demands Care

ASSUMING that the vines have shed their leaves, and they should be in that condition before pruning, the first thing to do is to cut all ties and carefully lower the canes to the ground. Before going on to prune provide yourself with a small saw, a pair of sharp pruners, and a sharp knife, the saw to remove any head hard spurs, the secateurs to do the pruning, and a keen knife to finish off the cuts clean.

This is important, for if cuts are made with bad tools, leaving ragged or bruised cuts, the probabilities are that when the sap begins to flow in spring they will bleed. I have seen bleeding so seveie that It represented a drop per second. This is serious, and a great waste of energy.

In pruning vines, begin at the base and work upward. Make each cut fairly close uji to the first, plump eye next to the old wood on the spur.

The sharp blade should enter immediately behind the eye. (iive it a slightlv sloping or downward cut. as it were, to go with the aaug of the wood. To give an upward cut and against the grain would in all probability cause a ragged cut, and if you looked carefully into it you would see lots of minute cracks running across the cut where the knife has passed through. It is such cuts as these that cause bleeding in spring.

Prune then, to the first plump eve that is pointing outward. It sometimes happens that the first bud is pointing downward from the under part of the shoot, or it may be a bud pointing directly inward from a curved shoot. In such cases you have to take the next eye, one that is pointing in the right direction.

When growth starts in spring, these undesirable shoots, which wiM form from the inner eyes, must be rubbed away.

Only One Eye Xever leave more than one good eye, except in such cases as above described.' If tw-o or three buds were left, and such pruning carried on for a few years the spurs would become so long that if the vines were planted at the ordinary distance apart there would not be sufficient room for the foliage to expand, hence a waste of valuable space to the detriment of the vines or at least the crop.

In the case of vines newlv planted, the pruning must be different'. The first year after planting, prune back the young wood to about three eves from the old wood. When they 'break in spring and have made six' to twelve inches of growth, pinch out the points of the two side shoots and allow the centre one to grow straight ahead to form the leading cane.

Train it straight tip the wire as far as it will grow, and at next year's pruning cut it back to al>out three feet, if it has made good growth, and less if weak. Cut close back to a plump' eye, so that the top bud may grow straight away to continue the cane production, and so on until the desired height is attained. °

The second and third years' growth will in all probability be much stronger than the first, therefore a greater length of cane may be left, but do not leave too much at any one season, for if voti do the canes never put on the vigour of growth as when they are cut hard back, neither will the fruit be so good in quality.

When all pruning is completed go over the canes anu remove the loose, dead bark. Jn cases of old canes when the bark is old and ragged, it may be necessary. to scrape around each spur, besides removing by hand the old bark. This should be done with an old blunt pocket knife.

When all pruning and cleaning is com. plete, rake or sweep up and burn all clippings, and if there are other plants in the vinery remove them, shut up tho vinery, and fumigate it with sulphur, biii/ on no account leave live green plant* in, or they will certainly be destroyed.

This fumigating is a good precaution against mildew or other pest« that may be lurking about the vines.