What to look for when buying grape vines from your nursery

Buying grape vines from a nursery:

The are basically two “types” of grape vines you can buy from you nursery and they are grafted and non-grafted vines. The grafted vines has a rootstock from another variety and there are a few reason why breeders do that.

There are a few Vitus Riparia and Vitus Labruska cultivars (with really ugly grapes, if any grapes at all!) that is more resistant to nematodes and phylloxera than some of the cultivars used in the wine and table grape industry. Breeders use these cultivars as rootstock for the non-resitant cultivars, in order to get a more resistant vine.

Sometimes, when a variety is a weak grower, and the grape grower needs a more vigorous growing grape vine for some reason, the breeders then use a more vigorous growing rootstock. Never use a vigorous rootstock on highly fertile soils, but instead use these rootstock varieties on dry-land vines or in very dry conditions.

Many of these rootstock varieties are more resistant to certain soil abnormalities like low pH, very wet conditions or even limestone abnormalities. Make sure you know what is going on inside you soil, before deciding on a rootstock.

I personally never plant a non-grafted vine, because of the danger of phylloxera.

The non-grafted vine is a normal cutting made from a mature vine and and then rooted and planted out. This method is mostly used by the home grape grower as making a scion needs special skills.

In case you are going to buy a grafted vine from your nursery, there are a few things you should look at:

1. Make sure the graft union has healed properly and that there are no openings between the rootstock and the carrier.
2. Make sure the union is strong by slightly bending the grafted vine – don’t over bend it, it will break. If the union didn’t attach well, it will brake easily.
3. The rootstock must have well developed, strong roots, with no signs of defects.
4. Take a look at the bark of vine, it should be undamaged with a dark brown color – not black as this can be an indication of some fungus spores (from the previous year)
5. The canes of your vine should have grown at least 8 inches the previous year and preferable there should be more than on cane.
6. No visible roots should come from the graft union – if there are roots, remember to remove them before planting, otherwise your vine loose its resistance to diseases inside your soil.

Happy grape growing my friends.

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Danie

“The Grape Guy”

Tagged with: how to grow grapes

Filed under: growing grapes • how to grow grapes

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