In the allotment that ive got, the is a large type shed/cum greenhouse, i am currently repairing it and putting a new roof on it etc, the Grape vine appears to be still alive as green inside, but the are no leaves or sign of them, has anyone got any experiance of them?, its had a large amount of expousure to the elements this winter etc, but it did fruit last year.
Exposure to the elements will have helped - I was always told that grape vines need a period of cold.
Mine hasn't got any sign of leaves yet, but I've only had it a year, so I'm not really sure when they come out. I planted it in early June, and the man from the vineyard said the vines were only just ready to go out.
Sally
Just don't prune it at this time of year or you'll have a flood on your hands!
I wouldn't worry too much at all about the cold, plenty of wine growing areas get a good hard frost... think of the rolling hills of Champagne... mile after mile of glistening chardonnay and pinot noir in the winter sun!
If you planted it last June then... you're perhaps leaving it a little late for any pruning. Soon the sap will start rising and a big cut for any formative pruning/shaping will bleed out a bit. If you've not done so already then I'd crack on with that.
A close look at the twig/branch structure and you will be able to see just where there are buds forming... a lot depends on how you plan to raise the plant and the variety but a cut back to two/three buds on any one year old growth will stimulate the vine into some amazing growth.
Dunno if you had any leaf/vine health problems but right now before bud-burst might be a good time for a quick splash of Bordeaux Mixture... particularly if you've had a bit of blight on any local toms/spuds.
My vine leaf buds haven't burst yet, thinking about it they are quite late starting normally
You mean a flood of sap?, the grape vine is quite old i think, possibly about 10 yrs old but no signs of new buds forming. It just looks a bit "woody"
When they're dormant they tend to look almost dead, have you done the old bark scraping test?
Well ive snapped of a twig and its green, the is sap dripping from the end of a vine
I had the same thing with mine when i took over the allotment last year, most of the glass was out of the greenhouse so it had been exposed to the elements.
We have a local garden centre that has a very large vine in their greenhouse so asked him for advice. had a few bunches of grapes off it last year but there was a lot of shoots that needed pruning due to the time of year i.e. now. he told me not to cut it back as it will bleed itself to death?? so just left it and rubbed off most of the buds just leaving one every 2ft to develop.
Have cut it back this winter so will see what happens this year.
If i were you i would leave it and just leave a few buds to grow and see what happens, if sap is running out the it should come into bud / leaf soon.
Hope this helps.
Thanks, not overly worried, if it doesnt live then will still have a large greenhouse type thing to make use of:)
While in the area where the grape vine is accidently broke a stem and its been dripping for ages, will it stop?
No, wrap some tape round it
What sort of tape should i use?
Quote from: Philbasford on April 29, 2006, 19:54:06
While in the area where the grape vine is accidently broke a stem and its been dripping for ages, will it stop?
If all else fails Phil, you could take a candle and try sealing it with hot wax. Vines drip for England (or more usually, for France....) and although it can be very worrying it means the plant has a very healthy root system. It'll dry up of its own accord eventually, but excessive loss of sap will cost you fruit further up the stem.
My vines have only just started to burst into leaf now - my dad's (6.5 miles south of me in a microclimate in Portsmouth) came out a fortnight ago.
Right thanks!, dont think i fancy trying hot wax, wil just have to see what it does, the vine is very over grown and needs cutting back in the early winter, dont think ill get much fruit this year as its in quite a state.
One bit of control you should be doing is to rub off unwanted shoots before they get too big. They won't weep (much, if at all). Try to restrict the vine to no more than 1 upward-facing bud/shoot per foot of trained (i.e. to be fruited) stem.