|
- Everyone is pruning vines at present. Just a word if you are new to
pruning a vine on a pergola. Start at the trunk and figure out what you want
to retain. It’s useless and unproductive to start at the tips.
- If you grow "Sultanas" (sometimes called "Thompson
Seedless") or the newer "Red Seedless" which is a Sultana
cultivar, they need to be left with about 10 pairs of buds on each cane or
you won’t get much fruit set. The flowers only appear from the sixth or
seventh set of buds on wood at least one year old.
- Prune other varieties to short spurs with three buds and you should get
all the fruit your can eat without too much foliage. A light summer prune to
keep the canes short also helps.
- If you leave your vine pruning until the end of the month, the cuts will
weep on the larger green spurs, but that really is no cause for concern, it
just looks messy.
- After pruning, spray with PestOil™ to create a thin film of oil on the
vine which makes the spread of fungal diseases more difficult. Then keep an
eye out for caterpillars on the first new foliage.
- Did you know that the Adelaide Botanic Gardens now only answers your
face-to-face technical enquiries at the counter on North Terrace, Adelaide
on the 1st and 3rd Monday of the month, between
9am-5pm. Outside those times they recommend a private fax/phone user pays
service for $3.75 minute, if you are interested.
|
