Propogating Grapes, Revisited.

Mom's Grape Arbor - Native W/ Seeds

Yesterday, Nate and I pruned the Concord Grapes by the Ice House, so today, I thought I would prune Mom’s Grapes, which are Native W/ Seeds. There was once a shed there, since it was torn down, these grapes grew on there own. Sometimes, I think birds plant these seeds on purpose.

 It was such a beautiful day, cold and all. You see, I didn’t stay outside long. I clipped off the canes I wanted to clone, and promply took them to the Green House. Once inside, I was happy as always to see it was above 70 F.

When you are selecting canes, try to get second year growth. You may notice that the part  of the vine that grew within the last 12 months is missing the outer layer of bark, and has a smooth feel. These should be avoided. Any part that is not first year growth will sprout new growth, but the vines that  are about the thickness of a pencil seem to do best. Try to cut the vines into sections with three buds.

Cut vines into sections with Three buds as shown.

After cutting up the vines into three-budded-canes, I was left with two piles; One is the desired part of the vine, and the rest is left-overs. To be humane, the pile of left-overs should be burnt. This will prevent the small vines from attempting to grow. There chances are slim, as they only have one bud, and I don’t like to encourage plants to grow that have little chance of making it.

Two piles of results, one canes, the other garbage.

Next, it’s time to fill some pots or cups with Miracle Grow. I’ve used small stryofoam cups, reused from Tomato plants last year.

First Tray Complete.

Since the cups were so small and light weight, I added a second cup to help hold the canes upright. This should prevent the roots from being damaged by the cane being bumped around.

When done with all of the vines, I was left with 4 trays of 8 canes, or 32 clones that I hope will all grow.  

32 Propogating Vines