Help with my grape vine please!!!

[ourarka]

Hoping someone on here can help me with my grapevine. It is grown outside, SW facing up a pergola. Last year it was in a deep container and did really well, but in the autumn I transplanted in to the ground as most people advised this was best in the long term. It seemed to start well and has a few fruit clusters, but the last few weeks has hardly put on any new growth and the leaves have now started developing brown patches (almost like dying back in autumn). Any thoughts anyone? (Sorry, may need to turn your head to see pictures properly!)

[FB.]

The leaves look a bit small. That usually signifies a problem with the roots or soil.

Did you break many roots when your transplanted it?

Is your soil very poor?

Has the plant gone a bit short of water while it is adjusting to its new home?

[ourarka]

Soil was pretty good where I planted if I remember correctly, and hole prepared with extra compost. Our soil is slightly acidic clay (though that spot is easy to work - not heavy clay).

Don't recall breaking too many roots as it came from a pot so wasn't too tricky.

As for water, it was obviously not short of it over this winter! I must admit I haven't watered it much the past six weeks and the weather has really dried up.


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[FB.]

I must admit I haven't watered it much the past six weeks and the weather has really dried up.

Newly-planted plants of almost any type have a tiny and shallow root system compared to established plants and they can struggle in first year or two because they just don't have enough roots to find what the plant needs. So the plant either dies, or it gets lucky and manages to grow enough roots quickly enough to fuel what the leaves need.
Give it a pint of water today and another pint tomorrow, then see how it looks in a week or two.

Transplanting is different to self-sown seedling plants of all kinds; the self-sown seedlings don't tend to die from lack of water because the first thing a seedling does is put most of its energy into sending out a taproot. In my experiments with fruit tree seedlings, in the first couple of months of growth it is not unusual to have a taproot going straight down over a foot deep even though the bit above ground is just a couple of inches high with about four small leaves. A plant is nothing without good roots.

[ourarka]

Will do - fingers crossed. Do you think this summer it is best to water a little every day, or a soaking every few days?


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[FB.]

Will do - fingers crossed. Do you think this summer it is best to water a little every day, or a soaking every few days?

From experiments with various fruit trees I've found it better not to water plants in the ground every day because the persistently wet soil causes root and lower trunk rots. A good soaking once per week is probably about right for young fruit trees in their first year or two, but an established plant shouldn't need any watering at all.

[Printemps]

I'd put my money on it being downy mildew, which would respond well to an anti-fungal treatment, remembering to spray under the leaves as well as the topsides.

This used to be a favourite of mine but I've just read that Westland Plant Rescue Fungal Killer is being withdrawn on 30 June 2014.

[starloc]

Looks like downy mildew to me as well, spray with milk....dried full fat milk is best , Its something like 15g per litre of water, I also dust with sulfur powder

Seems to get rid of it, I take the bad leaves off as well

[ourarka]

Thanks everyone. Given the warm, dry conditions do you think it's more likely to be powdery mildew? Will this check the growth? Anyway, milk it is .... and Ill look for an anti fungal spray. Fingers crossed.


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[ourarka]

I've had several different answers to this over a few forums, and no one is really sure! I've tried several things including spraying and feeding but you can see that it continues to worsen and has still put on no more growth, so I have drawn one conclusion as follows:

Last year = big pot = very happy
This year = ground = very sad

.... so I think the best thing to do is put it back in a big pot. So my question now is, should I replant it now .... Or wait until autumn (when it might be a lot sicker)? Should I prune it back and get rid of the sick growth?


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