Anyone Growing Double Trunks?

[RedSun]

If I remember it correctly, in very cold weather, it is better to train the vines to double trunks. So the vines are still fine if one trunk is winter killed. Then you just grow another new trunk.

Not sure how many folks here train the double trunks. I do not think we need to change the trellis...

 

[grapeman]

I do try for double trunks on the more tender varieties. If you don't grow a double trunk you can always let a shoot grow from the base each year so if something happens to the trunk, you can use that extra shoot the following spring to form a trunk.

 

[ibglowin]

That is exactly what happened last year on one of my vines. Had a three year old trunk that didn't bud in the Spring. A few canes burst up and I let the strongest cane grow and whacked the others back. That cane reached the top wire before the end of the growing season and was headed down it by Fall. It normally can take 2 years for one of my vines to reach the top wire from a vine just planted as a cutting.

 

[Sage]

Yes, all of mine are double. Also, double from below the ground, not just a "Y" above dirt level.

Yes, it paid last year when I had several damaged trunks. On the damage ones, I cultivated new trunks up from the dirt to replace the damaged ones. I did it on several that had minor damage too. I'll decide this year on which I'll keep.

 

[BlueStimulator]

I am new to growing/wine making and did this with both the single cordon wire row and the double cordon wire row. I was very glad I had. I figured I would kill a few plants with my brown thumb and inexperience. Last fall, the vines first fall we had a big cold snap early. We went from nights in the high 40's with no frost to 14 degrees in 3 days. I had one vine I thought was a goner but after two weeks in the spring 2 shoots came up. Other vines has significant die off but all made it. I didn't want to waste all those new roots by replanting. It is sometime better to be lucky than good

 

[BlueStimulator]

Sage where on the dry side of the state do you hail from? I am in Yakima specifically West Valley.

 

[Sage]

Sage where on the dry side of the state do you hail from? I am in Yakima specifically West Valley.

30 miles E of Walla Walla at the lower elevation of the Blues. I'm 9 miles S of Dayton on the N touchet rd. The fire's about 10 miles S of me right now and the Heilo's are refilling right below my house out of the river. I was irrigating and they were making 15 min round trips including refilling so It might be even closer now.

 

[BlueStimulator]

Stay safe the smoke is really bad up here in Yakima. We were in Lake Chelan the day all the lightening sticks started up there.

 

[OilnH2O]

Sage, I think I saw some of your smoke here in Missoula in the last few days! In fact, the OP - "Red Sun" must be visiting somewhere out here, because we've had "red sun" (through the smoke for those of you who don't know about summers in the West) everyday for over a week!

To answer the question, mine are sorta like Grapeman said - I tend to let them grow when I have them - but only because I hate to cut one "in case"! Heck, I've got one vine with 3 trunks (but that vine will likely have only one... or, maybe two, next year!)

 

[garymc]

I had a lot of vines with a Y and then 2 more Ys going up to the Geneva double curtain wires. Now I have a lot of vines with 2, 3, or 4 trunks going up because I lost all of them down to the ground last winter.

 

[Sage]

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!

It doing a good job of raining right now so the fire will die down some and so will the smoke!! This rain should be right over the fire just South and also one just East of me.

 

[dorfie]

We have always trained our vines with two trunks. i guess i never really questioned it! but yah doing it for colder areas makes sense.
We let the first year just grow wild, then the next spring we start to train and form the cordons and stuff

 

[Sage]

I just planted 61 plants. I planted them extra deep to make it easier to get 2 good main trunks developed. They are about 8-10" deeper and I will fill dirt in on some of the smaller plants as they grow before winter sets in. The bigger plants are already filled in.