Can I trim Reliance grapevine roots?

[Larryh86GT]

My 3 Reliance grapevines just arrived the other day and it's too soon to plant here. It's just too darn cold and wet. If I dug a hole in my backyard now it would just fill up with water with all the rain we have had. (Not to mention the $#&^% snow that came down today). So to keep the vines healthy and from drying out I planted them temporarily in my veggie garden. I notice they are very nice and healthy looking but the roots are pretty long - around 18 inches or so. Can I trim the roots back somewhat before I plant the vines where they belong and if so how far back is safe to trim the roots ??

Larry

 

[grapeman]

You can trim them, but I would prefer to dig a bigger hole and spread them out. Your vine food reserves are in those roots, so the more you trim off, the less food to feed the vines until they get growing on their own well. It would be like performing liposuction on a hibernating bear. You could do it, but it would make survival less liikely if you had hard times for a while.

If you do trim, keep them about 10 to 12 inches long minimum.

 

[Larryh86GT]

I was afraid you were going to say that Richard. I was hoping to avoid digging that large of a hole to plant them in.
Thanks

 

[grapeman]

I usually do about a 12 to 16 inch wide hole, and when I put the vine in I set it in the center and give it a slight turn. That spreads the roots pretty well. I avoid having to trim the roots a lot and keep the root reserves. I only buy the straight one year vines anymore instead of the 1 xtra large. The roots on those are four feet long and have to be trimmed- just more work.