Grapes experts....
 

Last year my grapes were loaded with fruit but this year nothing! The plants
appear green and healthy, growing vigorously. Any idea why there might be no
fruit? I trimmed them back in the fall last year and noticed that my
neighbors, who also have grapes, cut theirs back in Feb. They have lots of
fruit.... so did cutting them back too early perhaps cause some problem?

Karen
Portland, OR

On Fri, 20 Aug 2004, Anonny Moose wrote:
Last year my grapes were loaded with fruit but this year nothing! The plants
appear green and healthy, growing vigorously. Any idea why there might be no
fruit? I trimmed them back in the fall last year and noticed that my
neighbors, who also have grapes, cut theirs back in Feb. They have lots of
fruit.... so did cutting them back too early perhaps cause some problem?

Not really an expert, but in general if you want a plant to bear fruit,
prune it while dormant (winter) when its energy is in the roots. Then it
will think it was winter killed and the survival aspect will encourage it
to reproduce (bear fruit and new growth). If you prune it while still
green, you remove its energy and stunt its growth (more like an
overcrowding condition).

I also thought that grapes bear fruit on previous year's growth. So
if you pruned off all current year growth last year, that might explain
the lack of fruit this year. You should selectively prune, not just
prune it all back. Weather can also be a factor, but apparently not the
issue in this case if a neighbor is doing better.

--
David Efflandt - All spam ignored http://www.de-srv.com/

You should have gotten grapes. I prune mine when they are dormant and the
grapes produce on new wood. However, I know of several grape plants around
the area that are ignored completely and they put on new wood every year
(not always in the right places), and put on grapes. This year was bad in
this area for grapes. I have pruned my friends grapes, and told people I
know how to prune and no ones plants have done very well at all.

There are several reasons why grapes don't produce. In the South, you might
need to add phosphate to the soil, or otherwise have a regulated
fertilization program.

Almost everywhere I have been, you need to spray them with a fungicide at
least once a year. Here we get late frosts, and that damages or at least
stunts the harvest. I know several that have put on grapes, only to die and
fall off later.

Get on the internet and type in "growing grapes". Then bring up what some
university extension office has to say about it. Learn how, where and when
to prune the plants. My brother has a 15 year old grape plant that had been
ignored for that long. I pruned it the first year after moving back, and he
had to give grapes to a local wine maker because he had so many.

My biggest problem is keeping the wife out of them until they have time to
ripen completely.

Dwayne

"David Efflandt" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 20 Aug 2004, Anonny Moose wrote:
Last year my grapes were loaded with fruit but this year nothing!

You should have gotten grapes. I prune mine when they are dormant and the
grapes produce on new wood. However, I know of several grape plants around
the area that are ignored completely and they put on new wood every year
(not always in the right places), and put on grapes. This year was bad in
this area for grapes. I have pruned my friends grapes, and told people I
know how to prune and no ones plants have done very well at all.

There are several reasons why grapes don't produce. In the South, you might
need to add phosphate to the soil, or otherwise have a regulated
fertilization program.

Almost everywhere I have been, you need to spray them with a fungicide at
least once a year. Here we get late frosts, and that damages or at least
stunts the harvest. I know several that have put on grapes, only to die and
fall off later.

Get on the internet and type in "growing grapes". Then bring up what some
university extension office has to say about it. Learn how, where and when
to prune the plants. My brother has a 15 year old grape plant that had been
ignored for that long. I pruned it the first year after moving back, and he
had to give grapes to a local wine maker because he had so many.

My biggest problem is keeping the wife out of them until they have time to
ripen completely.

Dwayne

"David Efflandt" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 20 Aug 2004, Anonny Moose wrote:
Last year my grapes were loaded with fruit but this year nothing!

I pruned them correctly, as described. Could it be the grapes just haven't
begun to develop yet? I'm in Portland, OR and the neighbor's various grape
varieties are loaded with fruit so I'd expect mine to be also. It's wierd.

Karen

"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...
I pruned them correctly, as described. Could it be the grapes just
haven't
begun to develop yet? I'm in Portland, OR and the neighbor's various
grape
varieties are loaded with fruit so I'd expect mine to be also. It's
wierd.

Do you have no bunches at all, or bunches with no fruit on them? If the
latter, it's lack of pollination, but the neighbor seems to rule that
out. Could you have sprayed with something that repels pollinators?

If there's no bunches at all, I don't know. Possibly some deficiency in
soil nutrients?


I see no bunches at all. I've pretty much ignored them since pruning - no
spraying or fertilizing - just as I did last year and just like the
neighbors, but last year there was an abundance of fruit. Oh well, the lush
green growth over the arbor looks good anyway, so it's not a total loss.

Karen

"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...
I pruned them correctly, as described. Could it be the grapes just
haven't
begun to develop yet? I'm in Portland, OR and the neighbor's various
grape
varieties are loaded with fruit so I'd expect mine to be also. It's
wierd.

Do you have no bunches at all, or bunches with no fruit on them? If the
latter, it's lack of pollination, but the neighbor seems to rule that
out. Could you have sprayed with something that repels pollinators?

If there's no bunches at all, I don't know. Possibly some deficiency in
soil nutrients?


I see no bunches at all. I've pretty much ignored them since pruning - no
spraying or fertilizing - just as I did last year and just like the
neighbors, but last year there was an abundance of fruit. Oh well, the lush
green growth over the arbor looks good anyway, so it's not a total loss.

Karen

I would like to grow wild Concord grapes. I live in Massachusetts.
Where can I find info on how to grow them? How long does it take? Do I
start from seed? When do I start? I have seen some grapes in the wild
in other cities. Can I start from a clipping?

Robert La Ferla
wrote:

I would like to grow wild Concord grapes. I live in Massachusetts.
Where can I find info on how to grow them? How long does it take? Do I
start from seed? When do I start? I have seen some grapes in the wild
in other cities. Can I start from a clipping?

Concord is descended, I don't know the exact route, from the little wild
"frost grapes," but I can recall a huge curtain of rather nice concords
growing wild in South Hamilton, on the noath shoah of MA. I'm sure you can
grow them from cuttings; take year-old wood 3 buds long or so and stick in
the ground in the spring. You can get more scientific than that, but a
good percentage should take root.


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

Robert La Ferla
wrote:

I would like to grow wild Concord grapes. I live in Massachusetts.
Where can I find info on how to grow them? How long does it take? Do I
start from seed? When do I start? I have seen some grapes in the wild
in other cities. Can I start from a clipping?

Concord is descended, I don't know the exact route, from the little wild
"frost grapes," but I can recall a huge curtain of rather nice concords
growing wild in South Hamilton, on the noath shoah of MA. I'm sure you can
grow them from cuttings; take year-old wood 3 buds long or so and stick in
the ground in the spring. You can get more scientific than that, but a
good percentage should take root.


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

Robert La Ferla
wrote:

I would like to grow wild Concord grapes. I live in Massachusetts.
Where can I find info on how to grow them? How long does it take? Do I
start from seed? When do I start? I have seen some grapes in the wild
in other cities. Can I start from a clipping?

Concord is descended, I don't know the exact route, from the little wild
"frost grapes," but I can recall a huge curtain of rather nice concords
growing wild in South Hamilton, on the noath shoah of MA. I'm sure you can
grow them from cuttings; take year-old wood 3 buds long or so and stick in
the ground in the spring. You can get more scientific than that, but a
good percentage should take root.


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

I would order one from a reputable company or business that knows what kinds
are good for your area. and plant it this fall or in the spring. Other
wise, Gary had a good idea. I prune my grapes in February, and the pieces I
cut off that are brown (year old) rather than green, I plant.

I plant them in pots rather than in the ground. I put 2 buds in the dirt
and leave two buds sticking out. Don't let them dry out, and in the spring,
I move mine into a place that is shaded in the afternoon. Those that lived
will put on leaves. I keep them alive all summer and plant them in the fall
when it doesn't get so hot.

Another way is to find an established plant that has long vines. Lay one or
two vines on the ground and cover some of the leaves with dirt (about 2
feet apart) in the spring. Then in fall, cut the vine between the piles of
dirt and dig them up so you can plant the roots under each of the dirt
piles. If done correctly you will get a plant with a good start of roots,
and 12 to 18 inches of vine that is ready to plant.

Dwayne


"Robert La Ferla"
wrote in
message news:aiRZc.107187$Fg5.92463@attbi_s53...
I would like to grow wild Concord grapes. I live in Massachusetts.
Where can I find info on how to grow them? How long does it take? Do I
start from seed? When do I start? I have seen some grapes in the wild
in other cities. Can I start from a clipping?

I would order one from a reputable company or business that knows what kinds
are good for your area. and plant it this fall or in the spring. Other
wise, Gary had a good idea. I prune my grapes in February, and the pieces I
cut off that are brown (year old) rather than green, I plant.

I plant them in pots rather than in the ground. I put 2 buds in the dirt
and leave two buds sticking out. Don't let them dry out, and in the spring,
I move mine into a place that is shaded in the afternoon. Those that lived
will put on leaves. I keep them alive all summer and plant them in the fall
when it doesn't get so hot.

Another way is to find an established plant that has long vines. Lay one or
two vines on the ground and cover some of the leaves with dirt (about 2
feet apart) in the spring. Then in fall, cut the vine between the piles of
dirt and dig them up so you can plant the roots under each of the dirt
piles. If done correctly you will get a plant with a good start of roots,
and 12 to 18 inches of vine that is ready to plant.

Dwayne


"Robert La Ferla"
wrote in
message news:aiRZc.107187$Fg5.92463@attbi_s53...
I would like to grow wild Concord grapes. I live in Massachusetts.
Where can I find info on how to grow them? How long does it take? Do I
start from seed? When do I start? I have seen some grapes in the wild
in other cities. Can I start from a clipping?