grapevine

When to prune grapevines?

Botanical name
Vitis vinifera
Family
Vitaceae

Grapevines are pruned from February to March. They are planted from October to March. They are harvested from August to October.

Grapevines are woody perennials. The edible parts are the leaves, flowers and fruit.

grapevine
Photo: Dodo · CC BY-SA 3.0

Grapevines through the year

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Pruning
Planting
Harvest
15913172125293337414549
  • pruning
  • planting
  • harvest

In short

Pruning
from February to March
weeks 6 to 12
Planting
from October to March
week 44 to week 12 of the next year
Pruning cut
while dormant
Spacing between plants
1.5 m
First crop
after 3 to 4 years
Harvest
from August to October
weeks 32 to 42

Growing conditions

🪨
Soil
light and loamy
🧪
pH
5.5 to 6.5
☀️
Sun
full sun
💧
Water
little water
❄️
Frost
overwinters outdoors
🐝
Pollination
no pollinating variety needed
⚠️
Toxicity
toxic to cats and dogs, toxic part: fruit

The fruit is listed as edible and as toxic at once. The toxicity is to cats and dogs, not to people.

Companions in the bed

Companion planting is tradition and not an agronomic claim. What is recorded is which pairs sources recommend and which they advise against.

cabbage cited
  • “Cited” means the pair is named by one source or two.

Pests and diseases

Listed here is every problem for which the sources name this plant as a host. The problems are not listed in order of how common they are.

Grape downy mildew

disease
Signs
Yellow, oily blotches on the upper side of the leaf, with a white cottony coating beneath them. In a heavy attack the leaf drops and the bunch is left without the foliage that would feed it.
Prevention
Everything that dries the foliage and the bunches: thinning and training the shoots, taking the leaves out of the fruiting zone, an airy sunny site, and the ground under the vine mown short. The shade of a neighbouring tree is a factor, not a detail.

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Related plants

The plant below is in the same botanical family (Vitaceae).

Sources about the plant: Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, Merck Veterinary Manual, NC State Extension Plant Toolbox, Royal Horticultural Society, University of Maryland Extension, Utah State University Extension, Wikidata. Checked between 14 and 17 August 2026. The problem descriptions also draw on: Clemson Cooperative Extension, EPPO Global Database, Penn State Extension.