As was said, prune them when they are dormant. I prune mine in early-mid Jan. If they are taking over your yard go ahead and prune them out of the areas you don't want them in. They will undoubtedly sprout out of the cut areas heavily but they should be going dormant soon so rapid growth response to cutting should not be too bad and you will be removing this area when it is dormant anyway. Remember, the current growth is producing and storing sugars for next years production. http://www.unce.unr.edu/publications/files/ho/other/fs9504.pdf http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/pdf/1428.pdf http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/pdf/1429.pdf

Hi Carol, I have a grape vine that I will have to prune too. I am new to grapes and just moved it last spring, so I'm not sure whether I should let it grow and establish itself this year, or prune it first thing. I do think any pruning in general would be better off late in the winter, because with our crazy weather this year and the warm weather during winter months, I wouldn't want to encourage growth before spring. I think this unseasonably warm weather makes us feel like spring is around the corner and we get itching to get out there and start gardening (g).

Sounds like you might have a Muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia) it is a native wild grape of the southeast we have some here by our woods growing on some tree branches and I like them a lot they have unique taste. Pruning: Annual pruning must be severe to keep new fruiting wood coming and to prevent vines from becoming tangled masses of unproductive wood. The basic framework of a vine consists of the trunk, permanent arms, and the fruiting spurs. Vines must be pruned each dormant season to maintain this framework. Current season shoots bear the fruit, but to be productive, these shoots must arise from buds set on last season's growth, since shoots from older wood are generally sterile. It is important to leave the correct amount of fruiting wood. Pruning is basically the same for all trellis systems. Only the arrangement of the fruiting arm is different. Two systems of training are used, the upright or vertical and the overhead or horizontal system. In the upright system, a 3-wire trellis is used, the lower wire being 2 ft. from the ground and the others 2 ft. apart. On the trellis the arms may be horizontal along the wires or fan-shaped from a low trunk. With this system the cane is taken to the top wire and the first year or when vigorous enough, and then topped to make it branch. The resulting laterals are trained along the wire to make the arms. The overhead trellis provides more bearing surface per vine. The vines form a complete canopy about 7 ft. from the ground. The vines are trained to a single trunk 7 ft. tall with the arms radiating from the top of the trunk like spokes of a wheel. A mature vine will have about 8 arms. During the dormant season each year, cut back all shoot growth of the past summer to fruiting spurs 4 to 5 in. long. Remove shoots entirely that are not needed for spurs of fruiting arms. On young vines leave spurs of one year fruiting wood about 6 in. apart. As the vines get older, they develop clusters of spurs, or spur systems. Generally, thinning of these spurs is necessary after the fourth or fifth fruiting year. This thinning will force new spur growth to replace older spurs. Info: Muscadine Muscadine Muscadine Muscadine

I purchased two grape plants (Thompson and Flame) from the nursery a few weeks ago and recently put them into large pots. They each came with a bamboo stake, but I am planning to add some sort of trellis in the pot that I can tie the vines to. Should I make a simple square or fan-shaped trellis with 1x2 and stick it into the back of the pot (it is 16+in deep). This seems easier than burying 4x4s into the earth, but the redwood at my local big box is not very cheap. Any other simple suggestions? Also the first grape plant has a vine sticking out 90 degrees from the others. I'll have to bend the vine back to tie it to the trellis. Does that sound right? Also a question about pruning - They seem to be thriving with long branches and plenty of leaves, but am I supposed to be pruning all but one branch, or should I be waiting until winter when the plant becomes dormant first?