Cut them back while they are dormant, says Ruth
We are lucky enough to have a fig tree and a grapevine growing on the most sheltered, sunniest wall of the house.The tree gives us a generous harvest of delicious sun-warmed figs each year and the vine also produces lots of grapes, though the starlings and blackbirds generally beat us to them!
But now both need pruning to encourage good growth and crops next year and to keep them in shape. It is important to prune them in winter when they are dormant as both bleed a lot of sap if cut when they are still growing. This weakens the plant, leaves them open to pests and disease and may even kill them.
In the column, right, I show you how to prune a fig tree to keep it shapely and productive. Our vine is grown up a wall and trellis in the cordon style, with the branches coming off one central stem. This is the easiest way of growing grapes,Free-standing vines that are trained along wires can be pruned according to the Guyot method which is used widely in vineyards. This involves creating a low-growing central trunk with a succession of new branches that form each year. These young stems are tied in when that year’s mature branches have fruited and been cut back.
