A: This information comes directly from a University of Florida publication on muscadine grapes. “The shoots of muscadine grapes arise from buds in the leaf axils of past season’s growth. The fruit of muscadine grapes is comprised of 6 to 12 berries per clusters on current year’s growth. Flowers appear after several weeks of shoot growth usually in late April. Muscadine grapes seldom sustain frost injury in the spring due to their late bloom date. Certain cultivars are susceptible to winter injury if a drastic decline in temperature occurs before the vine is acclimated to cold winter temperatures. Pruning in November or December can exacerbate the degree of winter injury. For this reason the best time to prune is mid-February to mid-March. Normally most vines, when acclimated can tolerate temperatures down to about 15°F without injury. After a grapevine has been trained to a desired configuration it must be pruned to keep it manageable and to ensure maximum vine performance. As indicated above, major pruning is normally done during the dormant season, although touch up pruning can be done during the growing season. You may notice that pruning cuts bleed when soil temperatures are high, but there is no evidence that this is injurious to the vine.”

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