time to prune

[reisjdmd]

hia ll
newbie question:
is it time to prune the vineyard here in the upper midwest {wisconsin}

 

[grapeman]

What is your weather like right now? You want to wait to prune until the air temperature is above freezing so the wood isn't still frozen. Don't wait so long that budbreak has ocurred, but I doubt if it is even close in Wisconsin. I don't expect to be able to prune here in NY for at least a few weeks. We keep getting whiteouts today and tonight is expected to be -5 deg with 40 mph winds, not good pruning weather(or much else).

 

[reisjdmd]

appleman, your weather sounds a little like ours. low today was around ten above; 6" snow on the ground. however, the weatherman [and he is ALWAYS correct] says that this weekend starts a long "warm" spell of highs in the 40's to perhaps 50. if this weekend is warm i will try to prune my grapes. i have been working on the old apple orchard for several days, and the smallwood i cut is pliable and the bark seems "soft." the buds seem to be growing. spring is near, near and yet so far away.


i plan to use the prunings to replant some missing varieties in our vineyard [the empty spots where the cuttings we put in last spring did not grow]sort of like our hosta farm. i thought i would store the cuttings in a moist dark palstic bag and then stick them in the ground when it is no longer frozen, like early-mid april. does that sound sensible???

 

[NorthernWinos]

Welcome reisjdmd......will be anxious to hear about your grape growing experiences...as well as your Hosta Farm [do you have a Web Site???] Love Hostas!!!

Here is some information...which you may have already read...some if it is from Wisconsin...so this may be old news to you.

http://learningstore.uwex.edu/pdf/A1656.pdf

http://w3.aces.uiuc.edu/NRES/faculty/Skirvin/cfar/wintprop.htm

http://www.bunchgrapes.com/cuttings.html

We are in NW Minnesota and try to grow a few grapes...so far just to test different varieties for hardiness...once I find some winners might try more...so far it's been touch and go for some of them...

Hope you keep us Posted on your ventures...Edited by: Northern Winos

 

[grapeman]

reisjdmd,
Be sure to make the cuttings so you can identify the top. If planted upside down, they won't root. Normally make a cut just below the bottom bud, make the cutting 3 buds long and leave about an inch above the top one, cut on a 45 deg angle. Tie them in bundles convenient to handle. You can store them in the cool moist bag like you say. If you have a rooting mat lay it out. Using a fairly deep container filled with moist potting soil, place that on the heat mat. Put your cuttings in the soil and leave them there for a couple weeks. You should see whitish raised areas on the bottom of the cutting. Those are callouses which will form the roots. Once you have those and the soil warms like you say, you can plant outside(after danger of frost is past). Callous a couple weeks before the last normal frost and they should be ready when you are.


I have plenty of zipsets if you would like to try some. PM me your address and how many you need and I probably could send you some.


http://www.monarchmfg.com/Starterpacks.htm

 

[reisjdmd]

thanks appleman and norhtern winos. great suggestions. nice group.

 

[Trigham]

Would love it if someone had a picture description of how to and what to prune or not prune for a newbie with a 25 yr old concord vine that has a stock as thick as my forearm in eastern canada? I pruned it last year and it produced about 40 lbs of grapes but think if tought properlyI may get enough for two 5 gallon batches of wine from it lol thanks

 

[NorthernWinos]

Here is some reading...choose your style..


http://mtvernon.wsu.edu/frt_hort/grape_pruning_basics.htm


http://www.cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_h/h-303.pdf


http://www.ehow.com/how_172725_prune-grape-vine.html


http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/pdf/1428.pdf


http://extension.missouri.edu/xplor/agguides/hort/g06090.htm

 

[Trigham]

WOw tons of good info thanks a heap,I really appreciate it!!

 

[jobe05]

reisjdmd,
If planted upside down, they won't root.

Appleman: I took 2 ???? what ever you want to call them, shoots i guess from my Cowart Muscadine last year (early in the summer) and put them about 6 inches into the ground, thinking they would root. I checked them in the fall to see if the roots were forming. Not wanting to disturbed them too much, i just dug down a few inches till I thought I had seen some roots. Last weekend I decided to cut the shoots from the main plant to see if they had taken, and whithin hours, the leaves were wilted and dead.


Will a Cowart Muscadine Propogate this way? I have read were they are almost impossible to root by cuttings.


What would you suggest?

 

[grapeman]

Apparently the roots hadn't formed sufficiently yet. I haven't had experience with any Muscadine grapes so can't say for sure. Here is a link to several propagation methods. Look for the layering section in the pdf. That is the most sucessfull method of propagation for Cowarts.


http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/HO-1.pdf