How to Plant Grape Vines in Your Garden

Grapes are great vines for landscaping as well as for harvesting fruits. Most gardeners grow grape vines for ornamental purposes.

If the region where you live gets plenty of sunshine at least for most part of the year, it would be well suited for planting grape vines.

Grape vines are sun loving plants and would require plenty of sunshine not only during the fruiting days but also for their stem and leaf development. Make sure you plant these vines in a spot which receives direct sunlight.

You should check with your local cooperative extension to determine the grape varieties which would grow well in your area.

There are several grape cultivars available nowadays with varieties which are more winter hardy. If your area receives long cold winters you should consider going in for a variety which is winter hardy.

A few varieties of table grapes you can consider growing are

Seedless varieties

• Canadice
• Concord Seedless
• Jupiter
• Mars
• Einset Seedless

Seeded varieties

• Golden Muscat
• Alden
• Ontario
• Van Buren

Planting Grapes from Nursery Stock

This would be the most common method followed by most beginners. You get the benefit of an early start as well as a sturdy plant.

The grape vine may be sold as a bare root or a in a burlap of soil.

Dig a hole large enough to accommodate the roots of the grape vine, the height of the hole should be enough to submerge a small part of the stem just above the roots.

Create a small mound at the bottom of the hole and spread out the roots on the mound. Backfill the soil and water lightly to remove any air pockets. Don't compact the soil hard with your hands.

Place some mulch around the plant. You can use peat moss for this purpose. Water lightly to keep the soil damp.

You should consider building a trellis to support the grape plant as it starts growing. Building a trellis at home is quite easy, you can use PVC pipes for posts and chicken wire as the gauge.

Planting Grapes from Cuttings

You can grow grape vines from cuttings quite easily. The best thing to do is to take a dormant cutting. When the vine has lost all its leaves towards fall, you can cut a sturdy cane near the base of the vine.

You can take cuttings from any healthy grape vine, just make sure the cutting is taken from a cane which is at least an year old.

The diameter of the cutting should be about 3 inches. The cutting should have four or more nodes on it. You can make the cut straight or at a slight angle. If possible apply some root hormones to the base of the cut.

Now its time allow the cutting to callus and develop roots. Most people place the cutting wrapped in moist paper in a warm location till the roots start appearing.

Once the roots start developing it is ready to planted in the soil. The best time to plant would be by early spring so that by next fall the vines grow sturdy enough to handle the winter.