I agree that you need to do a little research on grape pruning and training. They can be very vigorous and get out of hand if not pruned properly. "Over pruning" them will not cause permanent damage, but can lead to zero fruit if all the fruiting buds are cut off (fruit buds are on 1-year old wood). I tend to agree with desertdance that it sounds like you now have two 1-year old shoots that should fruit well this year (a picture would really help). The real question is what kind of grape vine is it and it is worth messing with? Why bother if the fruit is not good - replace it with a known variety and harvest good fruit.

I'm new to this forum, and I do want to thank Myardor, fruitnut, harleysilo, and others here for the info, pics, and suggestions. One reason I come to forums like this instead of trying Google first is that Google usually gives me tons of extraneous information and links to sites that aren't all that relevant and/or are mainly commercial advertising sites. Usually, if I can ask a question of someone who's knowledgeable in a field, it's a lot more efficient than just searching through the library's card catalogue or wading through all the stuff that Google yields. However, if I ask a question in a forum, I don't expect people to go out and do my library or google research FOR me if they don't already have the info. :) I just see forums as places for people to share info and opinions and experiences they already have - or to direct each other to good info sources. Speaking of "pruning," :O back in May I had a guy doing some yard work for me and he was totally incapable of following instructions or directions. Long story short, after we had carefully moved all the long offshoots from my 22-year-old purple Concord grapevine onto the trellis I wanted to train them to, he proceeded to take a chain saw to the 5-inch diameter main trunk of the vine, right near the ground! (No, I didn't kill him, but I wanted to!) The stump hemorrhaged sap for at least 2 to 3 weeks. I tried grafting some shoots from another (Champagne) grape onto the stump, but I don't think that "took" because it was too late in the season. Anway, new growth has been sprouting from the old stump ever since late June, and the leaves look very healthy. Does anyone how long I'm likely to have to wait for a decent crop of grapes from this severely "pruned" old grapevine?

Depends on what types you want and maybe where you are in CA, but I see them all the time (bare-root) at Walmart, Home Depot, and Lowes. Also OSH, and I have seen them at Costco but that was ?last year or before? They're usually table grapes, but just recently I have seen wine grapes for sale in a 3-pack at w-mart and I have seen wine grapes at Home D. In fact, if you move quick, you may still be able to get bare-roots on clearance around now.... I bought my grapes at Home D-- I like Concord and Muscat, so thats what I bought, couple of plants each. I have heard that you can eat wine grapes, and since I live in "wine country" of course I considered it, but I bought what I know I like. Plus I think you can make wine from muscats...hehe... Some varieties need lots of heat, I think Thompson is one. I haven't had them long, about a year, and this depends on where you live, but here where I am in the SF bay area with "June gloom" they can be prone to fungal infections, so I need to be careful with pruning so that they are open for air circulation. Those Concords are supposed to be sensitive to anti-fungals like copper and sulfur so I am just gonna try to be careful. My dad grew grapes near here years ago and they did fine, I don't think they gave him much trouble. I have read that they prefer deep occasional irrigation and like hot dry summers, and for richest flavors they prefer hot days with lots of sun and cool nights, but I am not sure if that is wine-grape thing only or not. I just try maintain the Mediterranean-type climate for them with a some summer water. I also try to give them a little bit of a balanced all-purpose fertilizer but that is just instinct and not education or experience on my part. I don't otherwise pay much attention to them. Isn't there a grape forum? Or is it just wine... I love grapes on a patio cover or pergola...the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena has a lovely one with clusters of green grapes hanging down. HTH.

Linda, I cut a green (not dormant) vine about as round as a pencil, approx. 12" long with at least 3 nodes. I cut the vine with the bottom node as the bottom of the cutting. Make sure you know which is the top and the bottom of the cutting. I immediately soak the bottom node just to make it damp enough so the rooting powder sticks to it and plant it in a small pot filled with potting soil with the bottom node and wood in the soil up to the next node. I have a 14" pot that I put 5 cuttings in, Another 8" pot that I put 4 cuttings into, etc. I have pots for all varities of grapes labeled. I keep the soil moist but not soaked. I make sure the pots are in the sun long enough to keep warm but not hot. In a few weeks you will see green from the exposed nodes. Linda, this is what I do with complete success but I would suggest googling propagating from grape cuttings to find out the proper way. I'm probably doing a half dozen things wrong but it works for me. Good luck, John