Can anyone tell me what to be aware of in moving a grape? Does it have a tap root or just side roots? How deep would the tap root go? How much root would I have to save in order to move the grape successfully. Do grapes transplant well, or do they hate to be moved? I think it is an Interlaken. It is healthy and vigorous, and maybe 7-10 years old. It produces well when it gets the right weather conditions. It is very unhappy in my flower garden, and I want to give it to a friend who has a good, strong pergola built in a very sunny location. I have trained it as a single vine which climbs to the top of my fence, about 4 or 5 feet, after which I have allowed it to branch out. A vintner suggested that I wait until it goes dormant, but I'd rather move it sooner. I'm concerned that I have a very small window between its dormancy and the ground freezing. Has anyone done that successfully? The vintner also suggested that I keep the main vine intact and cut the secondary vines back to the first or second bud, and that sounds like good advice. Any help would be appreciated. Linda
hello, all good advice from the vintner, although i have not moved a grape vine myself you should have sucess as long as you try and get a good rootball. As an alternative scions ( hard wood cuttings of the new growth) can be planted into your friends garden. Grape shoots are easy to root and are vigorous growers once they become established.
Hi Linda: Looks like you get me again! I wrote this a few days ago. Moving a Grape vine that young should not be a problem. Just start to dig in a circle about 2 feet from the base of the vine. Dig straight down for the first foot or so and then angle inwards toward the base. After you have the circular cuts made and you have dug down a foot then with the angular cuts the vine should be able to be popped out with not a lot of trouble where you are. Here, it may be a totally different story with our hard pan. The area that I would have the most concern is whether to lift the vine out when it is dormant or while it is still green. Personally, I would rather dig it out right now before it goes dormant. I like to give the Grape some time to adapt to its new home before you get some serious cold weather. The cane preparation is the next major concern as I would leave about 4-5 scions on two strong lateral (in opposite directions) canes. I would cut the vegetative growth on the side nodes back to 2-3 nodes. The reason for this is that we want to give the vine some leaves not only to help the Grape but to let us know if the Grape is not happy with us after our transplanting. Another reason to cut the growth back just prior to moving the vine is to allow the vine to produce root growth soon after it gets over the shock of being moved. For a vine that size I would give the vine 2-3 gallons of a liquid Vitamin B1 mixed with water at one fluid ounce per gallon of water a few minutes after the vine has been transplanted to help with the transplant shock. Tony is quite correct though that Grape cuttings do root rather easily so you may want to save some of the older canes or some wood for yourself and start all over in a new location in your yard. Jim
Thanks so much, Jim. This is exactly what I needed to know. You are an amazing source of knowledge! You reinforced my gut feeling, which was that I should move it in early fall and give it a chance to put down some roots. We will dig up the vine within the next few weeks and move it. I was thinking of using rooting hormone. I've never heard of using vitamin B1. Is this vitamin a good thing for any plant one moves? I'd love to be able to put it somewhere else in my yard, but, as you may have noticed in the pictures of my Green Gage plum on the other thread, there really is nowhere else. The grape currently lives on the fence, about 15 feet to the right of the plum tree, and that is the sunniest spot in my garden. It just doesn't work here. It will be much happier at my friend's house. Linda
Hi Linda: < I was thinking of using rooting hormone. I've never heard of using vitamin B1. Is this vitamin a good thing for any plant one moves? > Indoleaceticacid would be your rooting hormone but that will not necessarily help for transplant shock. If you prune the vine way back before it is moved it will initiate root growth before it tries to generate new shoot growth. I use a Security brand Vitamin B-1 plus Plant Tonic solution. The Vitamin is the same many of us take as a vitamin supplement and it is Thiamine hydrochloride. The Plant Tonic consists of Boron, Zinc, Manganese, Molybdenum, Iron and Sulfur. I use it for any transplanting that I do and I've done it a lot. Some people may say the Vitamin is of no appreciable help but they might have a tough time taking my Plant Biochemistry course with that kind of attitude. Jim
