Grapes are often ignored in home gardens, and yet are one of the most widely produced fruit in the world—as well as beautifully ornamental plants. We have plenty of tips for growing grapes in your own backyard.
Grape vines not only produce sweet and versatile fruits, they add an element of drama to a garden or landscape. They are vigorous growers, and with the proper pruning, they will produce fruit with ease and can last longer than 30 years.
There are three different types of grapes: American (V. labrusca), European (V. viniferia), and North American native Muscadine (V. rotundifolia). American grapes are the most cold-hardy, while European grapes, usually more for wine than the table, do well in warm, dry, Mediterranean type zones. Hybrids are available. Thick skinned Muscadines thrive in the South.
Make sure you purchase grape vines from a reputable nursery. Vigorous, 1-year-old plants are best. Smaller, sometimes weaker, 1-year-old plants are often held over by the nursery to grow another year and are then sold as 2-year-old stock. Obtain certified virus-free stock when possible.
Reader Comments
Leave a Comment
Flowering grape in October .
I am growing my first grapevine in tropical Jamaica . The vine is healthy and beautiful and I am delighted . A few days ago I notice flowers . This is October Is this normal ?
grapes
This has a lot of cool info and all real facts.
Grapes falling off
My grapes are falling off of the vine. They are firm and don't show any sighs of pest or disease, yet they are falling off... Could it be not enough water?
growing grapes
I haven't printed my grape vines last year,is it too late in the summer or can I go ahead and do it?!!!
New Grape Plants
I just planted grapes about 3 weeks ago for the first time. We got to them late. The plants I got are only a few inches high and were dormant when we received them. One of them has gotten buds on it and I have been keeping up with them as they come. The others just look like little sticks and don't seem to be doing much. Since I'm new to this, I'm not sure if this is normal, if it's because we planted late in the season or what. We water every couple of days and they are in full sun all day in PA. We did not fertilize but I'm wondering if we should. We built an arbor on rocky soil so we made boxes for our soil. They are open underneath so the roots can go where they want as necessary (or as they can in the rocky soil). I used your directions for planting in good organic soil. Arbor is 16' x 4' with lattice on the two sides and across the top. A soil box on either end - inside arbor - and one in the middle where the supports are. I have 2 plants on either end of the boxes. The boxes are 16 inches high. Any help or advice would be appreciated, as I just ordered 4 more plants to complete the area. I want to do this right the first time.
How many kilos of grapes does
How many kilos of grapes does a plant produce annually?
Grapes
Our tiny grapes set on but now they are drying up. They are only the size of small seeds. Plants are 4 yrs old and have produced a large amount of fruit the last 2 yrs. In checking the guide we have planted, pruned and good support according to all directions, can’t figure out what is causing this problem.
Concord grapes
My vines are in their 4th yr. last yr. I had soooo many grapes. This yr. only a few small clumps. Hardly any!
Can anyone tell me why this happened? Also when can I trim the leaves off? Do I have to leave them until all leaves are dead?
Older Grap Vine Care
We recently moved to a new home with a grape vine. It does not look like it has been groomed correctly. The center of the plant is think with foliage and the structure built around it has not support vine growth. The structure is roughly five tall and two feet square at the center. I have attached wire to support from adjacent structures and will also permit vining.
How much can I trim from the plant without stressing it and how high up from the base?
how much to trim?
See the notes above under “Care” and consider this advice we recently provided to someone else:
You need to prune. (You know that you will not have fruit this year, right?) Per above,
In this case, you need to prune it to the shape you want. Since no pruning has been done for years, that means you need to prune back to older wood. One-year-old wood (shoots that grew last year) will contain fruitful buds but it is best to prune back to the trunk. Next year, in early spring/late winter, maintain the shoots with buds.
grapevine
i just planted my grapevine about 2 weeks. It started climbing nicely, got to about 3 feet high and i noticed that the top bunch of young leaves was cut by a grasshopper most likely. will it continue to vine or is that the end of my grape vine?
vine damage
If the plant has buds further down the main trunk, then it is likely that some of these will open, forming lateral shoots. For first year growth, choose the healthiest and most vertical of these new shoots and train it to be the new main trunk (tied loosely to a stake). Keep all leaves along the trunk but remove any unwanted lateral shoots for the first year. Remove any fruit that might form.
If growth on the new trunk looks weak over the summer, cut the vine back to two buds in fall; this will set the plant back a year, but will encourage more vigorous growth the next year.
Need help with well established grape vine.
I’m wondering what time is the best time in a day to water the vine. Also what is too hot for a grape vine?
watering grape vines
If you have an established grape vine, you don’t normally need to water after the first growing year. Usually, summers bring an inch of rainfall every 10 days or so. But if it gets really dry, you can give your new plant a good, thorough soaking. The best way to do this is to let your garden hose trickle slowly. This gives the water a chance to soak in instead of running off. It’s important to note that even if you’re in the midst of a brown-lawn drought, you don’t want to water too much. Once every 10 days or two weeks is plenty. Worse than dry, thirsty roots is waterlogged, drowning roots.
Neglected Grapevine
I bought a house with a small grapevine on a trellis 3 years ago . The first year it produced a fair amount of grapes. It has been neglected since, and i'm looking for advice on how to proceed from here.
how to recover a neglected grape vine
You need to prune. (You know that you will not have fruit this year, right?) Per above,
In this case, you need to prune it to the shape you want. Since no pruning has been done for years, that means you need to prune back to older wood. One-year-old wood (shoots that grew last year) will contain fruitful buds but it is best to prune back to the trunk. Next year, in early spring/late winter, maintain the shoots with buds.
Advice
Awesome answer, it answered most of what I was going to ask. But, I still would like to know is it too late to dig up and move to a new area ?
Cane and Leaf Yellowing with Reddish-brown Splotches
Midway through the growing season last year, my grapevine canes and leaves began yellowing with reddish-brown splotches. Disease? Soil issue?
Grape planting- Novist
Hello All ... i like to plant Grape vine plant in my yard ... anybody has any mature plants?
Wilting of Leaves of Grape Cuttings
I have planted grapevine cuttings at my home nursery in month of mid-February 2018.
After 3 weeks buds are appearing and turns into leaves which after 3-4 days they start wilting and the whole bud dries and falls.
Can anybody advise me to overcome the situation?
Grapevine Cuttings
Make sure the cuttings are getting enough water. Keep them out of direct afternoon sunlight if possible, as it may be too hot for young plants that are just getting started.
Grape cuttings
Hey, I have been doing grape cuttings for awhile now. I have had my best luck when I take the cutting, soak in water for an hour, dip the cutting in rooting hormone, place the cutting in a plastic bag containing moist peat moss or a similar medium. I close the plastic bag and place it somewhere dark and warm. In about one month, the cutting will have callused and have roots developing and likely buds forming. When you have the roots and buds forming then plant in a pot in indirect sunlight. Let it grow a little longer before moving outside, when the weather allows it. The callusing part has been critical for my success.
Sounds like maybe poor
Sounds like maybe poor drainage, too much water. I put a couple inches of graval in bottom of pots to make sure I have good drainage. Also, keep them out of direct sun (but not deep shade). Early morning and late afternoon sun is okay.
Helpful Post
Hello,
Thank you for this post! it is timely.My name is Eyaalada,I am from Nigeria.
I am considering starting a grape farm but I am not sure if it will work for me since my continent wasn't mentioned. Kindly furnish me with the necessary info.
Best Regards,
Eyaalada Akari
Cultivating vines
I have my grandfathers grapevines and would like to cultivate more from them. Michigan grapes. I remember him saying put 3 buds below ground and 3 up. Do you have specifics on how to do this?
Grape cultivation
Hello,
I am planning to cultivate grapes in 5 acres of my farm in Bijapur, Karnataka (India). Actually its very dry and very very hot, with very less water. Need your advice for the following:
1. What fertilizer should I apply while planting dog ridge.
2. How much water should I apply (it would be good if you give me age-wise chart of water application in ltrs)
3. What are main virus and its remedies.
Right now only these questions. If and when I have more queries I would write to you.
Thanks
Partho
Grapes
I have 1 single grape planted in our back yard. It has been there for more than 20 years and was there when we purchased the home in San Diego Ca. This last year we had a ton of grapes and harvested them in late September or early October 2017. I have since then pruned back for my next growing season. Now in the end of November I have clusters of grapes sprouting. Is this normal? I have never experienced this. They normally start in the summer. Thanks.
comment
this website is very useful.
i am looking forward to learn more
Using tree stumps as supports?
I know this is a completely off the wall idea and perhaps you'll tell me I'm nuts but I have to ask: I recently cut down 3 birch trees that died due to drought, but left the stumps tall (6-8') with the idea of creating visual interest with a climbing plant(s). This is in my front yard so visual appeal is important. I dug a circular hole between the trees and chopped away tree roots down about 1'. The soil is loose even down around the tree roots, not hard pack. Do you think I could train a single Concord grape vine to grow up the trunks? Perhaps using chicken wire or similar as support? Thanks.
grape supports
Interesting idea! If you train one plant up a tall stump, then it will need something for the tendrils to cling to and support the weight. Chicken wire wrapped around the trunk can help, or a series, perhaps, of eyebolts top to bottom along a trunk, where vertical wires are threaded to which you can tie the stem as it is trained to grow upward. Are these locations in areas with enough sunlight? Are the 3 birches remaining in the ground, and if so, are they close together enough to tie horizontal support wires between 2 or 3 to act as training for lateral branches of the grapevine? Horizontal wires may help with training if you are interested in higher yields, but for just a decorative accent, it is worth a try to have the vine simply grow up the trunk (with support). Good luck!
Pages