You know you can take some cuttings of the grape vines (as Don
Ziemann
described to me) and put them in a deep pot with coarse sand
and water
it several times a day. (In March several years ago, Don sent
me three
cuttings, just looked like a hunk of gnarly wood 3 to 4 inches
in width
and about 12 inches long. They all developed canes which
leafed out and
by fall I could see new roots starting above the soil line.
(When I
repotted the following spring there was a plethora of roots.) I
still
have two of them, but have never been able to obtain grapes,
which I
expect is due to the lack of sun intensity here in New Jersey.
It was a
fun experience. :-(


But don't limit yourself to domestic wine grapes. Up and down
the North American east coast there are a plethora of native
grapes that can make very nice bonsai. In the oak woods down
here you can find muscadine grapes (Vitis rotundifolia) with
trunks as big around as my leg. I have one starting up that will
go in its first bonsai pot this spring, and a shohin size that
has been potted up a couple of years now.

I don't know what the native grape situation is in the west.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Our life is
frittered away by detail . . . . Simplify! Simplify. -- Henry
David Thoreau - Walden

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