Grape Vine Help Please

[Skaboy607]

Hi,

Hoping for some help with my two vines that I planted a couple years ago.

I’ll be honest, shamefully I haven’t tended to them as much as needed. I haven’t ever pruned them back.

Enough was enough and yesterday I gave them some much needed attention. One has grown but not very tall so i cleared the top layer of soil and moss off, put some new compost in and watered with some plant food / fertiliser.

The other one has grown super tall but the leaves pretty much all fell off the other week. Maybe lack of water in the heat wave we’ve been having. Anyways I removed it from its pot and put it in a bigger one. I untangled all the roots as best I could and potted with new compost and watered with plant food and fertiliser.

I’m not sure what to do now though? I’ve read a lot on line but find it very confusing! Read about taking it back to a bud but not sure where is best?

The trunk doesn’t look very thick which concerns me.

All help appreciated. Thank you

[nickdub]

If you are able to, then I reckon knocking a hole in the concrete somewhere and planting them directly in the soil underneath would be the best bet. If that's not an option I'll leave someone-else to comment, as I have no experience of growing vines in containers long term.

[veggiechicken]

Hi and welcome
I know nothing about vines but, in answer to Nick, the tall vine seems to be above a drain so knocking holes in the concrete may not be a good idea.

[fishpond]

Pot them up into JI no3, and keep them well fed and watered.
Or plant them, when young, into well manured ground with supports & wires by their 3rd year,but do not damage the roots.

[fishpond]

Pruning is easy, but there are plenty of sites to read for that.

[devonuk]

Which way does that wall face? If it isn't somewhere between SE and SW they want moving to one which is.

I'd cut the top 2/3rds off the tall one.

[Baldy]

I'm not an expert but if you can get them into bigger containers that would probably do them wonders...
For some reason grape pruning give me a mental-block - the followng link makes sense to me right now...
https://modernfarmer.com/2016/02/pruning-grapevines/

My vine is in its fourth year in soil at my allotment - last year was the first time it produced grapes - lots of small ones - I've thinned them a bit this year so am hoping for less but bigger. Anyhow, there are grape experts here, so I'll shut up and wait for one of them to come along.

[nickdub]

Hi and welcome
I know nothing about vines but, in answer to Nick, the tall vine seems to be above a drain so knocking holes in the concrete may not be a good idea.

Hi VC,
- my eagle eye spotted the drain cover - and my razor-sharp intellect also deduced that as the vines were in pots, they could be moved before planting ie the holes could be along the wall a bit and not in exactly the same place :-)

Obviously if the OP is renting however, the owner may not be delighted to have their concrete dug up for vines - so tht's why I phrased my suggestion as I did.

All the best, Nick

[Jay-ell]

The fact that there was moss on the compost might suggest that it's too damp/too shady.

[fishpond]

The fact that there was moss on the compost might suggest that it's too damp/too shady.

Whoops, I missed that (getting too old)

[Deltawhiskey]

Hi Skaboy,
First of all, what varieties are they?
You can grow grapes in pots but you are obviously limited by the amount of soil available to the roots. One advantage is that you can place them where they get the maximum light and air. The disadvantages are that they are susceptible to drying out, the soil occasionally needs changing, the way the vine is styled is limited and the amount of grapes is limited. I have a couple I didn’t have space for in the ground in pots. I have been watering daily through the heatwave and the wind has blown them over twice.
Probably the best style would be Goblet or Moselle Loop. Both need no trellis, just a stake. Rather than give a full description, the internet has full instructions. Do make sure that the vines are placed to get at least three hour sun per day. Also, do not be worried about cutting the vines right back because they will put on huge growth the next year. If you do cut down make sure you leave two to three buds above the graft and do any major pruning of hard wood in winter.

David

[Skaboy607]

Hi,

Thank you for all the replies. I was sure I posted a response but having checked there was nothing here.

I’m not keen on digging up the concrete to plant in soil as I’d like to take the vine with me when I move. There is a spot in another area of the garden which I could use as it gets a lot of sun but this would have the same problem that I’d have to leave here. Soil around me is very clay and hard mixed with rubble also.

The varieties are a muscat blue (tall one) and a Phoenix? (Smaller one). Is it too early to prune right back? I thought this is done in winter? If I prune right back do new shoots grow out of the old buds or do new buds appear up the trunk?

Since reporting last weekend there have been new shoot appearing at the top so at least I haven’t Killed it!

Thanks

[nickdub]

as you're moving obviously best to keep them in containers - I would move them to the area which gets more sun though.
If you are going to be there through the winter perhaps the best move would be to dig holes and bury the pots in the ground - the vines should survive as long as their roots don't get frosted and the ground does not become waterlogged.

[Deltawhiskey]

Growing vines in pots is fine as long as you realise that in this weather you will need to water at least once a day and grow in a particular way. You also need to realise that any crop you get from the vines will be limited by the size of the pot they are growing in. The vines roots in the ground can reach as deep as 4 metres! Your best bet is to place them in the sunny area you mentioned and wait until the leaves have fallen before pruning. Push in a reasonably stout cane. Then cut back the growth to two or three buds, making sure you cut ABOVE the graft. Allow these to grow out and thicken then during the next winter cut these back to two buds. These will then fruit. I would leave no more than two or three bunches. As the canes grow on bring them together against the cane. This gives you 5he goblet shape from which the style gets its name.
Hope this helps.

David