bleeding vines

[wzazdzez]

I'm in north alabama and have planted some merlots and cabs this year.One of the problems that they have here is it might be 60 degrees outside today (and it is) and it might be 20 degrees in a couple of days. Next year I'll probably trim the vines late and try to bleed sap out of them. Any suggestions would be welcome. --------------"There's a whole lota slip twixt the cup and the lip."

 

[AlFulchino]

a couple of warm days is not enough to worry about.....I am assuming that they are still dormant, ( you did not say).

What do you mean 'bleed the sap out of them'???

Trimming late is often a good way to keep the buds that you want you protect as the outer buds are the ones that want to pop first and if you have a late first the vine has sent the sap to the outer buds and kept the close ones un-open and protected......the downside is that it backs up your workload.....i am at the point that i can really no longer wait until april one to hit my vines...last yr i prepruned starting in mid feb and will have to again this yr

early pruning helps the bleeding issue in another way...if you wait too late then all the bleeding over the vine is an issue in humid environs...and you will be asking for more disease pressure

all a balancing act

 

[wzazdzez]

It's not a problem yet, I just planted them this winter. But I've read that in the south east it's a problem because we have more of the mild days in the winter and then a few of the very cold days and that canes and trunks can split. And in the summer it's very very humid and I know I'll have issues to deal with that too. I thought that it was sap that bleeds from the vine. Is it not? ----------------"There's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip."

 

[AlFulchino]

trunk splitting is also an issue up here w things like ornamental cherry trees and some young maples because the sun warms up the sun facing trunk while the back side is shaded and frozen...if you are concerned about this you could place one of the grow tubes around the truck to get it thru your winter....the shade will even out the temp on the north side of the trunk

what you are speaking about is the main reason that many of my vines have multiple trunks

while trunks can heal there are no good things that can come of it long term, among them grown gall, where soil borne bacteria enters the wound via things like splash from rain.....when you see this you have to prune at least six inches below the wound and that may not be possible w a grafted vine....vines on own rootstock will be ok once a shoot comes up from the ground

also, sap does bleed from the vine....when pruning is done early enough it is minimal...done later in the year you will see a mess of it....looks nice when its flowing....but when it gums up its an ugly thing to see

 

[grapeman]

Yes it is sap that bleeds out of the vine. What practical purpose could that possibly have to try to make them bleed? If it only gets to 20 degrees I really don't think you need to worry about the temperature change too much. Good luck with them and I hope you can make some great wines from them in a few years.

 

[FTC Wines]

Thanks for the good info. Last year I pruned in March & I had a lot of bleeding. This year I plan on pruning end of this month. Our temps. here this year have been as low as 9* & as high as 60*. Pruning has always been a little daunting for me. Roy

 

[AlFulchino]

how many yrs you been pruning FTC?

 

[FTC Wines]

This will be my 3rd year. Merlot's been in the ground 3 yrs, poor red clay soil, but they had their 8 ft. spread the 2nd. year. Catabawa's are same age but much more vigorous. Roy

 

[TxBrew]

I'm in north alabama and have planted some merlots and cabs this year.One of the problems that they have here is it might be 60 degrees outside today (and it is) and it might be 20 degrees in a couple of days. Next year I'll probably trim the vines late and try to bleed sap out of them. Any suggestions would be welcome. --------------"There's a whole lota slip twixt the cup and the lip."

Do you have other vineyards around growing the same variety?

Look forward to some pictures of your setup.