Growing grapes from seeds
As I mentioned in the previous post, I will do a series of posts about questions new grape growers ask.
Today I want to discuss another question asked by so many grape growers: “Can I grow grapes from seeds?”
Because it is very hard to get hold of planting material or cuttings, in some parts of the world, grape growers are forced to try and grow grapes from seeds extracted from the grapes they buy in supermarkets or grocery stores.
Growing grapes from seeds is not the ideal way of reproducing a grape vine as the genetics of a variety is not completely carried over by the seeds - in other words, if you plant a Concord seed, and you successfully get the seed to germinate, the chances are good that the new grape vine will not have all the true Concord characteristics!
This is a very time consuming process as it can take up to three years to propagate a new grape vine from seeds.
Another big problem with growing grapes from seeds is the fact that a very low percentage of the seeds will germinate. The grape seed is covered with a very tough seed coat that keeps the seed dormant until ideal conditions for germination. The seeds from grapes, needs to go through a process called stratification to obtain a higher germination percentage.
Stratification of grape seeds:
The stratification or cold treatment of grape seeds is essential if you want to succeed with growing a grape vine from seeds.
After extracting the seeds from the berries, you need to put the seeds in peat moss or damp paper towel, inside a refrigerator for at least 2 to 3 months. The peat moss must be kept damp throughout the whole process, but not too wet (soggy). The ideal temperature for stratification is 35 - 40 ºF (1 - 3 ºC) and should be kept at this temperature throughout the whole process.
Grape seeds can be held in stratification for a long time (even years), as the seeds will not germinate under these cold conditions.
Planting out the seeds:
After stratification, take the seeds from the refrigerator and plant them in seed pots and ensure the temperature is about 70ºF (20ºC) during daytime. If your climate is cold, you can use heat mats to increase the minimum temperature. Heat up the seed pots at night if your temperature is lower than 15ºC.
After a few weeks (if you are lucky), then some of the seeds will germinate. After the seedling is about 1 - 2 inches high, it can be planted out in a bigger pot. Make sure you keep the soil moist, but not too wet. It is advisable to grow the seedlings in the pots for a full year, before planting them out.
If you have successfully grown grapes from seeds, let us know about how you did it by adding a comment below.
Take care
Danie
Tags: grape vine pruning, growing wine grapes, grape growing climate, how to grow vineyard, grape vine sale
Hello Danie,
It really an interesting topic. I”ll try to grow vines from seeds. Is there any way to accelerate fruiting?
Thank you,
Regards,
Mohammed
From Bangladesh
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Danie Reply:
September 22nd, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Hi Mohammed,
Let us know if you succeed
Danie
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Dear Sir. I have two grape vines out. They grow off good but they are as bare as can be.something got on them.They look like you pull all the leaves off. What do you put on them to get them to grow and how often do you put it on, And what do you spray with. I have never grow grapes before, Thanks.
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Hey Danie! I enjoy your emails and blog…
I have a question… I have some grape vines (Cab Sauv.) that are two and three years old and they have been losing their leaves in the past two week. It appears that they are dying but, the vines seem to be strong…
any suggestions?
Doug O.
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Danie Reply:
October 28th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Doug,
Isn’t the vines just going dormant? - just asking
If not, then you should look out for signs of fungus disease.
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Hi Danie
Well yes I have a vine that I started from seed to tell you the truth I did now how to do it so I just put the seed in a pot kept it damp and it started to grow in I think about a mounth it was with all my other plants and got watered with them and I forgot what was in that pot until it started to grow. When I saw it comeing out I put it in the ground and it is still grownig infact it is now about 8″ or more I hope next year it will do just as good. If there is no grepes thats ok at least I got it started it has been fun to see it grow. When I first started to grow grapes I didn’t know about you and just as soon as I can afford the price I plan to take your course so I can do a better job. I enjoy you news letters so keep them comeing I save them all. Thanks George Schmidt
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Danie Reply:
October 28th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Hi George,
Good job my friend. Glad you enjoy the blog
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Hello Danie,
I do enjoy reading your blogs.
I am learning a lot and hope to start some cuttings or vines.
The ones(2) I purchased at a local grocery store never sprouted at all. They were dead when I bought them. You informed me how to check them to see if they were alive…They were not! So, now I know how to check them out in the future by scraping a bit of the bark. I guess I will try again in the Spring. Here in Northern California..(Paradise,CA.) We do not have much of a Winter..Snow sometimes in Nov.Dec. or Jan. It lasts for a week at most. Some years no snow at all. Temps. in the 30’s at night..The 20’s hardly ever. and only a day or two if at all. Trees and bushes start budding in early Feb. and its a green leafy world again by the end of Feb. Pretty soft life..
Thanks again,
a John in Paradise
Thanks for all your help.
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Danie Reply:
October 28th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Hi John,
I remember giving you the advice about scraping the bark, although it was quite some time ago! I suspected your vines were dead - too bad
anyway, better luck next season.
Danie
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I have tried a different method to make the seed grow. Here how i did it. Choose a bunch of good seeds. Sun dried the seeds for half a day (in Malaysia we got plenty of sun year round) and then plant it the pot. It works for me, i guess the sun heat broke the protective coating of the seed. But as you said, not all seed will germinate. My problem here in wet tropical country, the seedling is very prone to diease.
Danie, may i ask u a question? How can we grow seedless grape with out the cutting? Can I grow it from the fruit stems using tissue culture technique?
Tq.
Dol malek
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Danie Reply:
October 28th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Hi Dol,
Great job! Yes, tropical climates pose more risk for diseases because of the wet, humid conditions - perfect for fungus spores to germinate and spread.
Dol, there is no way you can propogate a seedless grape except from cuttings or green cuttings. The guys in labs do this all the time, but it is a very complex procedure - not even I am sure how it’s done.
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Hi There,
I am really enjoying your mail about grapes, to say the least. Each time I get something from you I run outside and check my grape vines. This has been my first year for getting grapes and like you suggested before, I was not greedy and pulled half of the little grapes off and left the rest. They did very good, small for their first production, but good.
I went into the tree site and checked out the Empress Tree. I planted one 3 years ago and it’s only 6′ tall. How come my tree isn’t bigger by now? 12′ is a lot of growth but if it’s that hardy, I’m apparently doing something wrong. Suppose I cut it down to the ground, will that help?
I took some of the seeds from my new grapes and stuck them in potting soil to grow new plants. Water them faithfully; but according to you, I will have to dig them out and put them in a wet paper towel and in the fridge. Will this work or is it to late with the seeds?
I really enjoy all the info you are providing to all of us so keep it coming. I look forward to each tip you send. Thank You.
June Stier
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Danie Reply:
October 28th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Hi June,
You can still stratify the seeds as long as they don’t show signs of life.
Glad you enjoy the blog.
Danie
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Danie,
I have been getting tips from you for only a few short months. As I
told you we have a few grape vines in our yard. My mom used to care
for them,but is now in a nursing home and cannot communicate with us. My dad and I trimmed our grapevines back last fall and we thought we had done too much. From your blogs we have learned we did
not trim enough. The little trimming we did do did produce grapes this year. We also tryed the planting of the shoot. We now have a new vine growing that is to the top wire. Do we need to cutt the top
or start training it on the wire? We will be ordering your book, but
right now money is a little tight due to my daughter just started
college and my dad is on a fixed income. We do want you to know that
you have taught us a lot in the last few months and we know that there is more to learn. Thank You for your help. We now have healthier grapevines than we did last year. We had no grapes and all
and this year we have done better
Thank you again
Nan Weaver
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Danie Reply:
October 28th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Hi Nan
Good job - glad you could learn something from the blog.
Once your vines reach the desired hight, you can start training them on the wires to develop the permanent structure of the vine.
Danie
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should i prun my muscadine vine ?
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Danie Reply:
October 28th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Hi Ray,
All grape vines, no matter what specie, should be pruned. You will get a higher yield, better sugar and coloring.
Danie
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hello dear mr. danie
I have 4 plants of grapes planted
from seeds by nature i am waching them
until coming winter and then spring
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I’m going to do a little experimentation. I have a vine in the UK, I it use to make sultana’s. So I’m taking a bunch of seeds, and going to try these process’s.
1. Naked Seed + Paper Towel + Fridge
2. Naked Seed + Commercial Peat Moss + Fridge
3. Naked Seed + My Own Soil Recipe (Made of Vine Leaves) + Fridge
I will test a few seeds from each sample every month, Whats the best soil for that? Else I might just have to use my own grape leaf soil.
I will test this method every week.
4. Whole Grape + Fridge. (letting the fruit provide moisture & soil) I’m hoping the sugar’s in the grape juice will help breakdown that germination delay feature and hasten the germination process.
And for the early trials I’ll try this with a portion of the seeds before planting
5. Bake and then plant the seeds. (the Malaysian Method)
I will Submit my results for you in a few months…or so.
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Danie Reply:
October 28th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Hi Vyv,
Would love to hear what the results was. Let me know.
Thanks
Danie
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Hi,
It is a good idea that you have created a blog for us people to lear about Grape growing.
It is very informative and easy to understand.
could you throw some light on which variety I should grow in Dehra Dun. Dehra Dun is at the foothills of the Himalayas and about 2000 feet above sea level.
Thanks
satish
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Danie Reply:
October 28th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Hi Satish,
Are there grape growers near where you live. Normally it is best to get some tips from them as to what variety suits your climate the best.
Danie
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I am from a tropical climate and I put my gape seed in a compose soil in a container, during the rainy season, and place under a tree where it get sun half of the day, and within a months time my grape seeds starts germinating.
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Danie Reply:
October 28th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Great job Andrea!
How are they doing now?
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MY 5 YEAR OLD SON WANTS TO PLANT SEEDS FROM SOME GRAPES WE HAVE EATEN. UNFORTUNATELY, THEY HAVE BEEN SITTING ON MY DINING ROOM TABLE FOR ABOUT 2 DAYS IN A PAPER TOWEL…ARE THEY HOPELESS?I LIVE IN OHIO, PLAN TO PLAN THEM INDOORS. ANY HOPE.
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Danie Reply:
October 28th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Not sure D,
Only way to find out is to stratify, plant them out and then
pray
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I planted my small vineyard (1/4 acre - 150 vines) this past Spring. Planted from rooted cuttings, all but 5ve grew and one actually had a bunch of grapes on it. But the biggest surprise is that I found wild grapes growing on my fence around the property. Made some powerful grape juice!
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I have some grape seed that sprouted in my garden. Will vines from seed come male and female? I understand that male vines do not produce grapes.
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I successfully grew grapes from seeds. My method is plant 50 seeds in a pot, and put the thing indoors under a flourescent grow light for 12 hours a day. Keep the soil damp, but not wet by watering it once every week or two and the temperature room temperature. After 3 months, about 10% of your seeds will start to grow. The trick is you have to be very patient and wait about 3 months for the seeds to start growing. After 4 months, another 10 percent will start growing.
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What an interesting blog this is! I’ve found more good information here than I have on several websites.
I never thought about growing grapes from seed, at least until yesterday. That’s because I found a good-sized grape vine hiding behind one of my rosebushes! I suppose a bird deposited a lucky seed there, and come to think of it, it’s not so odd. I live in Eastern Washington State, USA, and absolutely everyone grows grapes around here.
At any rate, I was quite excited, carefully dug it up and moved it to a location with rich, moist soil and lots of sun. Afterward, I checked your blog, and…it turns out that “rich, moist soil” is not so good, and I should have planted it in the rocky, sandy stuff by my back fence! Live and learn; I’ll move the poor thing again later.
And it turns out that growing grapes CORRECTLY is quite an art! When I was a child, we had a big old Niagara vine, but it never produced much fruit–now I know why! Too much shade and no pruning or vine-training whatsoever. I had no idea you had to do all those things.
Well, I don’t know whether this foundling vine will produce good fruit or not, but I’m going to raise by your rules and advice, just as if it were a prize specimen. Who knows? Maybe I’ll have a new and interesting crossbreed!
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I live in Perth, WA, and have noticed several grape seeds have germinated from the neighbour’s vines. It is now coming into spring here, temps likely to be mid 20’s then in summer mid 30’s. Are the seeds likely to survive and produce fruit.
Michele
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I Have grown 2 vines from seed i just planted 5 seeds in a pot and 2 or them germinated but it took a couple of months.
This is now the third summer starting (NZ) the plants are nearly 2 feet high.
No fruit yet but ive been told it takes 3 years from a cutting here
so im guessing its longer from seed.Does anyone out there know?
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Hi, I bought some red grapes from my grocer and was surprised to find they had seeds in them. So since I love growing things from seeds, but, have had very little, to no success with it, I figured, why not try anyway. So I took some grapes that were going soft, did not take the seeds out of the grape meat, just put it all in some potting soil. three weeks later, I had four seedlings growing. I lost one to my own carelessness. My problem now is keeping them alive through the winter. I live in north central Florida and it gets cold here at times. I hadn’t expected the seeds to take but, am thrilled but scared. Any advice on care is greatly appreciated.
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hi Danie! I am from Central Alberta/Canada .I’m wondering if it’s any chance to grow grapes from seeds(here,the winter is longer then the summer,but I plan building a greenhouse).I suppose that I have to keep the seedlings inside the house for 2 maybe 3 years ?!
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Hi Friends,
I am from Philippines and Sri Lanka. Organic farming is my hobby. I found this site today when I was browsing through.
I have a suggestion which I learned from one of my agriculture professor friends in my city in Philippines. He taught me as to how to germinate hard coated seeds. There are several methods. One is sand paper slightly the hard coat not scraping inside. Thereby the water is absorbed by the seed easily for germination process. Also what I learned was that the seeds must be sun dried before planting. But I do not know whether this is applicable to grape seeds. I will try it and see when the weather is favourable here.
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Greetings!!! My name is Eugene Cain. I was hoping you could help me…I found your website and you’res is the only one that I found
where I can ask a question!! I really appreciate that!!! I have several Grapevines I planted from seeds about 6 years ago. The plants are big and strong and healthy!!! I trained them to grow on my fence and I prune them each year. The problem I am having though is that every year…when the Flower Clusters come out, after a while they just dry up and fall off. I have seen this for about 3 years now…and I never get any grapes. I don’t know what is wrong. I suspect that maybe I just have female plants. I planted some more vines 2 years ago, but they have not produced anything as of yet. If this is the case… is there any way I can get some Grape Pollen somewhere to pollinate the vines myself???
I don’t even know if this is possible…thanks for your help and website!!! Sincerly, Eugene cain
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im doing viticulture for an agriculture assignment. do oyu have any more tips?
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Hi,
I managed to get a couple of seedlings from seeds. They are just 2 weeks old now. Hope they’ll grow well. I soaked the seeds and then scrubbed them before directly planting into the soil.
Harsha.
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Hi, Eugene,
I’m a newbe at this also, but I believe you’re right about having all female plants. It seems, the female plants take faster and better than males. I don’t know if you can pollinate them your self, sorry. I was going to ask if there were bee’s in your area though.
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Hi, I have started seed grapes. I just threw the seeds in a flower bed beside the house. Some of the seeds come up the next year. So I have them in a planter and will see if they grow this year and if so will plant in the ground and see what happens. I wondered, do you have to freeze the seeds to crack the shell to get them to grow? Now we live in NY so when I throw the seeds out they do freeze in the winter, but I wondered if you HAVE to freeze them? Thanks.
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hi
im studying permaculture, and have studied wine at plumton college, sussex, england.
for my organics project i chose to try growing grapes from seed, so see how they differ from each other. i got some seed from a black hamburg vine that had been grown in a conservatory in limeric, eire.
the closest they got to stratification was being in an envelope in my van over winter. i then planted them into a modular tray in late february in a poly tunnel in kinsale, rep of ireland. so far 5 have come up, some with seed casing over them others not. i believe the seed casing is there as they were planted too shallow (only 5 mm).
they are about an inch high, and look healthy. i will now prick them out, plant them individually, and put the tray on a heated bench, im sure more will germinate with the extra bottom heat.
regards,
matt
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If I had read this page first, I never would have done it.
But, on a whim, I planted the seeds from the red table grapes I was eating in the same seed pots with my loquat seeds. I figured, if the loquats didn’t sprout, the grapes might.
I didn’t follow any procedure. I just scooped the seeds off the plate, and poked them into the dirt. It turns out that nearly all of my grape seeds sprouted and now I have two dozen seedlings ranging from one to three inches tall.
What really interests me is that one sprout seems to be an ‘albino’. It was totally white, leaves and stem, for the first two weeks, although a few flecks of green are beginning to appear in the leaves now. It’s the runt of the litter, but it’s my favorite. If it makes it through infancy, I’ll plant it in the most honoured spot in the garden.
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Hi from Sydney, Australia. After I had eaten the grapes, I put about 12 Scarlet Globe grape seeds onto a very wet kitchen paper towel mat into an enclosed clear plastic box and left it on the kitchen windowsill for about 3 weeks, well, I think it was about that, because we were away overseas and when we came back, there were 3 seedlings pushing against the lid. Lid is now off, but as we are going into winter I am not sure if they will survive outside. I will try to pot them - very gently! - into compost and keep them indoors until warm enough to put outside in spring (September-ish). I am thrilled that they appeared without any effort on my part - no stratification etc. Will report on how they do.
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Hi again from Sydney. I have potted up the seedlings in their wet paper bed and with ordinary seedling compost. Guess what! TWO more seedlings have appeared. in the past week. All are just seed leaves at this stage but I am hopeful of avoiding damping-off. Will report further.
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I love your story. I planted grapes from 2 yr. old wood and had a tough time getting them to grow; out of several pieces of the wood, only three canes are producing. I put a piece of the wood completely under the dirt with some potting soil and I think that it’s growing into a plant. But I need to see a picture to be sure.
Love your story. For awesome grapes, try to get some Fantasy grapes. This is what I’ve been growing from the wood and I’m very excited. Next year we might have some Fantasy grapes. Their color is remarkable and the taste is heavenly.
Your friend,
Lisa
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I live in northern New Brunswick Canada. About 4 years back my neighbor who had purchased plants and sucessfully grown two different varieties of grapes had a bumper crop and asked me if I would like to harvest the grapes to make a batch of wine from scratch. I thought this would be an interesting adventure so I agreed to take them off his hands.
I made the wine and when I was done with the mash(leftover seeds and skins)I decided to see if the seeds in the mash would grow. I tilled up a nice sunny spot in the back yard and conditioned the soil. Spread the mash along the prepared section of ground and tilled them into the soil.
Next spring the grape plants were sprouting up like crazy. I let as many as I could grow and they have been growing each year and surviving the winters. This year is the first year that any of the plants are producing grapes. Not a great amount, but a hint of success none the less. Can’t wait for the fall to see how the grapes develop and taste.
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