Nadia
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Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 3:38 am
Location: Eastern PA, zone 5-6

To MOVE the grapevine OR to KILL the grapevine

Goodafternoon all...

I'd like to share my predictament. As some of you already know and as I discovered shortly that to be a gardener is to be patient yet decisive, snip or not, wait or wait some more, unfortunately I've never been patient til now. So, I wait, and wait, and waited, to see what in the world was going to happen to the grapevines I had discovered on my new bought land. After cleaning the after and propping them up and off the floor last year, I found a tag buried in clay and mud that said Concord. Spring came and was overjoyed to see how as the weeks got warmer the leaves extended and little clumps that after much reading should have turned into grapes. However, NO, instead I have and had yellow spots everywhere, weird looking bugs all over them... honestly I sprayed it with soapy organic water and then more water... no bugs but it was disasterous. I'm looking at them right now and all I can think is, cut and move them somewhere with better drainage and mulch and then there is another side that is saying "Nadia, I think these just barely survive up here in this mountain."
But the leaves are delicious to cook with. But I would like some grapes!! What should I do??? I have five of these hopefuls or hopelesses and not to mention another clustered group that I thought was poison ivy but no, more grapes, climbing up my dogwood tree, which I had thought was a magnolia, but... read and you will find how truly ignorant you are... it's a dogwood.

Help would be wonderful and I would be grateful, not to mention the grapes...

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Lucky you to have grape vines! That is another fruit on my list to grow someday, but I haven't figured out where I can plant them yet.

Edible Landscaping has been one of my favorite nurseries for a while and they have a good general care guide. According to this article, Concord is a good variety choice.

https://ediblelandscaping.com/products/vines/Grapes/ConcordGrape.php

What do you think? If they are already planted in a good location, maybe you just need to prune and train the vines for better disease management and production.

tomc
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Location: SE-OH USA Zone 6-A

Sun, sun, sun, sun, sun. if a dogwood is close enough for a grape to use as its trellis. its better'n even, your grapes are not getting full sun.

Grape needs at least a two-wire Knifflin trellis. As long as the ground its planted on (that gets full sun) does not pond, all it should need is annual application of bark mulch.

Your vines are showing disease because they are NOT up on trellis, in full sun. Grape anywhere may also need bordeaux and or dormant oil spray.

Should you remove the grapes, or remove competeing trees? Thats up to you.,

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ReptileAddiction
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How big is your property? I say if there are anything that you don't want to get rid of in the wayy of the sun then move them. If there is stuff youd be willing to get rid off keep them. After they go dormant I would build a trellis. Then come spring give them lots of compost and mulch. Then in a year you might get grapes. This is my 4th or 5th year with my grape and in the spring I should get my first grapes. It is possible the old owner had just planted them and that is why they have not fruited yet.

Nadia
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Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 3:38 am
Location: Eastern PA, zone 5-6

I have a little over ten acres. And the area where the dogwood is and the grapes are literally climbing over EVERYTHING and even into the hardwood there about twenty feet up. I finally got in there and found that at the base the grape is enormous!! I've never seen anything like it, the trunk is the size of a basketball!! No joke. There are many "sticky bushes" that's what the locals call them but I still can't find the telling diference between them and the wild black raspberries that are sooooooo sharp, the thorns just rip through my jeans. I was told recently to pour Round-up or Drano or the weeds will return my next year. But they are near the grapes. I know I sound nuts but the size of a basketball I don't think it's even possible to transplant something that BIG! Is it????

The others grapes .... a poster suggested more sun.... I think your right, most definately and about the pooling...

CharlieBear
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Location: Pacific NW

That grapevine may well be nearly 100 years old then. They can get huge. It is possible in theory to move them at that size with the right equipment and lots and lots of careful digging, but with a concord, if it is really a concord I wouldn't. Instead I would take cuttings in the spring about 12-14 inches long and bury 2-3 buds in the soil, like a potting mix say and see which ones grow. Then choose the strongest one or two the following spring and plant those where you want them.
The other option is to buy a plant in the spring and get whatever variety you fancy, seedless perhaps. In the meantime check around and see what varieties do well where you are. Around here concords haven't been doing all that well and we are moving slowly to other blue grape varieties that are producing better here (climate change and all).

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Gary350
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Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

Often people plant things like grapes in a sunny spot when trees are small. Then 30 years later trees are large and shading the plants.

My Aunt use to have the best grapes. She had a trellis it was 4x4 posts about 6 ft apart in one directions and 12 ft apart in the other direction. The top was zig zag boards for grape vines to grow over 7 ft above the ground. There was a grape vine at each post and every summer when I was in grade school she had 2 bushel baskets of grapes. 30 years later trees were big grapes were in full shade making no grapes.

If it were me I would find a (more better) or (less worser) or (more gooder) place in full sun to grow grapes. Buy new vines or move the vines you have.



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