Is it OK to prune muscadines after fruiting?

[frdnicholas]

My muscadine vines are getting wild looking and I'm wondering if I should be pruning them even though they started to put out fruit?

 

[Chuck]

Why would you? It will be MUCH easier to prune once the leaves are all gone and the plant is dormant. Then you can see what you are doing and not do it twice. And it will also be healthier for the plant to prune while dormant. Grape vines are normally pruned in late winter.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Agreed, winter is the time. The advice is to take them back to about a third, but mine had got well out of hand and the previous owner had let it take up all the top of the greenhouse so it shaded everything. I chopped it right back to about two foot, I am not greatly attached to it so wasn't too worried if it killed it. Far from it, I am now training it along a three foot high frame with wires across it and it is growing like stink, though I don't know if I will get any grapes this year.

 

[frdnicholas]

Pruning is probably the wrong word. I meant trimming some of the long vines that have no fruit on them but are growing like wild. But if this will hurt the fruiting process I can certainly wait till later.

 

[Chuck]

Pruning is probably the wrong word. I meant trimming some of the long vines that have no fruit on them but are growing like wild. But if this will hurt the fruiting process I can certainly wait till later.

I would not do it.