In message , Merlin
writes

I want to move a vine approx 4yrs old from a north/west facing wall to a
south/east facing wall (no other options) but I need to know when and
what I need to do with the vine before the move. It has been neglected
in its present position and has spread all over the place.
Do I cut it back to near ground level and move it.
Or take cuttings and start it again.

Don't try to move it or take cuttings until December/January when the
sap is at its lowest. At that point you can take cuttings *and* move the
vine itself. Already with a four-year-old vine you will find it has very
long roots. Get as much as you can out and then snip the rest off. No
need to take soil with it but don't, on any account, let the roots dry
out, and try to do it on a frost-free day.

A young a four-year-old vine should adapt itself to its new position
easily enough. Cut back to one main stem about a foot long, but make
sure you have a few buds from this year's growth as it is from these
that the vine will start to push out new shoots in the spring.

When taking cuttings, make sure you have lengths of about 12 inches or
so, the thickness of a pencil, with nodes at the top and bottom. For
that length you'll usually have three to four nodes. Put them into a
spare piece of ground and leave them for at least a year, keeping them
weed free and moist, of course. You'll find that most of them will
strike.

I'm in the process of creating some pages on the cultivation of the vine
which you may (or may not!) find helpful. They're still in their early
stages, though!

Try http://www.mesnil.demon.co.uk/vines.htm

And now, by coincidence, today I'm going to pick my grapes and make this
year's wine!

David

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