Planting Guide
Grapes
Types Of Grapes
We can grow three types of grapes in Western Colorado. American
Grapes are extremely cold hardy. They tend to have a tougher
skin and almost all are seeded. Examples of some American varieties
are 'Concord', 'Fredonia', and 'Niagara',. Most of our seedless
and wine varieties are European Grapes. European varieties are
not quite as cold hardy and can be damaged by an especially
cold winter. Examples of European varieties are 'Thompson Seedless',
'Black Monukka', 'Cabernet Sauvignon', 'Flame' and 'Zinfandel'.
American Hybrids are crosses between the first two. They have
better cold hardiness than European Grapes and have some of
the desirable characteristics (like seedless fruit) of the Europeans.
Examples of some American Hybrids are 'Canadice Red', 'Himrod',
and 'Fantasy'.
Planting
Dig
a hole twice as wide and only as deep as the rootball of the
grape. Be sure to adjust the hole so that the top of the rootball
is 1" to 2" above ground level. Next, remove the container.
Plastic pots can be removed by turning the grape upside down
and sliding it out of the pot. Place your grape in the hole
and refill it with a blended mixture of 1/3 Sunshine Peat Moss
or Soil Pep and 2/3 of your garden soil. Firm the backfill by
tamping it gently. The use of Fertilome Root Stimulator at planting
time will greatly reduce transplant shock and encourage your
shrubs to resume their normal growing habits more quickly.
Feeding
Grapes need only moderate supplemental feeding. The application
of too much nitrogen to the plant can result in fast, rank growth
of the vine with little, if any, fruit production. A light application
of Bookcliff Gardens Choice Vegetable Garden Fertilizer works
well. Iron deficiencies are not uncommon in grape plants here.
Use Fertilome Liquid Iron two to four times in the spring and
summer.
Watering
It is impossible to give a watering schedule that will be right
for everyone all of the time. Factors such as the soil type,
how big the plant is, how fast the plant is growing, air temperature,
humidity, wind and light intensity all will affect how often
a particular plant will need watering.
The basic rule of thumb is to water deeply, but infrequently.
Get the water down a minimum of 18" at each watering. his
encourages the plant to develop a deep, drought tolerant root
system. Then give the soil a chance to dry slightly between
waterings. It is common for people to kill or unnecessarily
stress their plants by watering too frequently. he roots of
a plant require oxygen in order to function. If the soil is
constantly waterlogged, there is not enough oxygen available
to the root system and the roots suffocate and begin to die.
Knowing this, our recommendation is to water deeply by building
a basin around grapes that are not watered by lawn sprinklers.
It should be wide enough to accommodate the root system of the
plant (generally out to the drip line of the plant) and high
enough to hold three or four inches of water when full. Fill
the basin full, let it soak in, and fill it a second time. Then
don't water the plant again until the soil in the basin begins
to dry. Don't just look at the soil surface, dig down 5"
to 6" to see how dry the soil is. The soil should be showing
some significant drying down at that depth. One little trick
is to scoop up a handful of soil from that depth and squeeze
it into a ball. If the ball holds its shape after you let go,
the soil is still wet. If the ball falls apart, it's time to
water. Using this method several times, you will be able to
determine your own watering schedule.
Pruning
Grapes should be pruned each year to help control the size
of the plant and to produce abundant, quality fruit. There are
two ways to prune grapes: Spur Pruning and Cane Pruning. Spur
Pruning is the easiest to do and therefore the preferred method.
However, certain varieties will not bear any fruit if Spur Pruned,
and must be Cane Pruned. Check with us at Bookcliff Gardens
to see which type of pruning your grapes require.
First Growing Season: Leave the plant alone, it will
grow a number of shoots.
First Dormant Season: Choose the best shoot and cut
the others off. Head back the remaining shoot to three or four
strong buds.
Second Growing Season: When new shoots reach about 12"
long, select the most vigorous and pinch off the others at the
trunk. Tie the remaining shoot to a support (stake, trellis
post, arbor post). When the shoot reaches the branching point
at the top of the arbor or trellis wire, pinch it to force branching.
Let two strong branches grow. Pinch any others to 8"-10"
long.
Second Dormant Season: Cut away all side shoots, leaving
only the trunk and two major branches. Tie these to the trellis
wire or arbor top.
Third Growing Season: Let the vine grow. Pinch off any
sprouts on the trunk. After this, spur and cane pruning differ.
Spur Pruning of Grapes
Third
Dormant Season: Remove all shoots from the vertical trunk.
Choose the strongest side shoots on the horizontal branches
and cut them back to two buds. Remove weak entirely, spurs should
be spaced 6" to 10" apart.
Annually: Every dormant season after this, each spur
will have two shoots that produced fruit the previous summer.
Cut off the weaker shoot. Cut the stronger shoot back to two
or three buds. These buds will produce fruit bearing shoots
next summer. Repeat each year. Always keep the trunk clear of
growth.
Cane Pruning of Grapes
Third
Dormant Season: Remove shoots from the trunk. Cut the horizontal
branches back so that two long shoots remain on each. On a two
wire trellis you can leave eight shoots per vine. Tie the strongest
shoot to the trellis. Cut the other to two or three buds. The
tied shoot (fruiting cane) will fruit the following summer.
The clipped shoot (renewal spur) will produce growth to replace
it the next winter, and fruit the year after.
Annually: Remove last year's fruiting cane. Select the
best shoot for next year's fruiting cane and tie it to the trellis.
Cut the next best cane to two or three buds to form the renewal
spur.
Our Guarantee
Thanks for buying a plant from Bookcliff Gardens. Our goal
is that you be successful with every plant you purchase from
us. We'll try to give you as much information and instruction
as it takes to make this happen. If you have any questions,
please ask! We'll do our best to answer them. However, since
this is not a perfect world, and in spite of the best of both
of our efforts, plants sometimes die. If this happens within
the first year after buying the plant from us, we will replace
it; give you an equal amount of credit; or refund your money
if you have your receipt. We limit our guarantee to replacing
a plant only once, and the guarantee does not apply to annual
bedding plants or house plants. If you're having a problem with
a plant, come in and talk to us about it; we'll try to find
out what happened so we won't lose another plant. It's in both
of our interests that the plants you buy from us grow and thrive.
We want you to be successful!
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Bookcliff Gardens
(970) 242-7766
755 26 Road (North 1st at I-70) • Grand Junction, Colorado 81506
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