Grape Phoenix

Product Description

Phoenix Grape Vines Growing Tips.

Care Guide For Grape Vines - Vitis vinifera Phoenix

Your grape has been grafted using a grafting wax and this should not be removed. It will naturally fall off in a year or two.

Position: Grapes need as much sun as possible outdoors. South, southeast or southwest facing walls are best. Good drainage is vital – do not bother planting a grape if water logging is a problem. All soil but clays and shallow chalks can be used but the best types are gritty or sandy soils enriched with organic matter.

Preparation: The key is to spend some time on soil preparation before planting and this should be carried out at least a month before planting. Cultivate a 2 ft (60 cms) squared area at each planting site (all weeds should be removed at this stage), digging as far down as you can get, incorporating lots of well rotted farm yard manure – it is important that it should be well rotted because fresh manure will burn the vines roots. Another good source of organic matter is lead compost created from oak, ash and lime trees; beech leaves are best avoided, as they tend to be a little too acid for vines. Before the Romans took an interest in vines they grew naturally in woods and forests, climbing trees in search of sunlight to ripen the fruit they produce, this is why the key to growing grapes successfully is lots of organic matter in the soil to recreate the leaf litter found naturally on the forest floor. Consolidate the surface and scatter 2 oz (50 g) of Growmore over the area before planting.

Planting a Grape vine: Plant at 5 feet or 1.5 metres apart. If you are planting a pot grown vine make sure the root ball is not too root bound or has been grown in a small pot for too long so that the roots have started to spiral in the base of the pot. The planting depth should be just below the original compost surface in the pot so that the root ball is just covered with soil. If you are planting a bare root vine insert a cane for support before planting and plant firmly to the old soil mark. In all cases the vine should be planted so that the roots are always kept cool and the head should be grown into the sun or towards a sunny spot on a wall or trellis etc. To keep the roots cool you can place large stones or rocks around the base to help shield the soil from direct sunlight.

How to grow a Grape vine: Grapes are usually trained either on wires against a wall or supports in a greenhouse. If training against a wall fix these wires horizontally at 1 ft (30 cms) apart between vine eyes set 9” (22½ cms) away from the wall. Plant grapes carefully using a cane for support. Trim the main leader (rod) to 2 ft (60 cms) and tie the rod to the cane support. Trim all side laterals to 1 bud. In the first two years you should concentrate on forming a framework within the vine plant. This involves training the side branches and tying them to wires or trellis supports. The key points in this are not to tie the vine too firmly as the branches will expand over the next two years and the ties might constrain the branch too much and cause damage. By training the side branches horizontally this will help encourage fruit production later. During the first two years we recommend feeding with a liquid feed once a month through the summer to help create the framework that will later support the grapes. The vine will produce fruit in the first two years; this fruit is best left on the vine but thinned by removing two thirds of the grapes that have formed within each bunch. Finally in the third year you can plan to produce some usable fruits. At the start of the year mulch with well-rotted farmyard manure around the base. You should no longer be feeding with liquid feed during the summer. The grapes will form again on the fruiting spurs and should be thinned in each bunch this time by one third. They will develop over the summer then in late July you should remove some of the vines foliage around the grapes to allow the more sunlight to ripen the bunches. At the end of the year you should tie in the new shoots cutting then back by a quarter to encourage the formation of new fruiting spurs the following year.

Pests And Diseases for Grape vines: Scale, spider mite, powdery mildew, grey mould, downy mildew and shanking. Washing with Jeyes Fluid in the winter has the advantage of killing all the pests that are over wintering in the stems and buds. Mix 1 part Jeyes Fluid to 30 parts water and spraying it on to the vine until it runs off soaking the stems and branches.

Please note: All newly planted plants take longer to come out of their dormancy in the first spring following planting and this delay can vary greatly between individual plants so please give your new grapevine two months to begin growing. Please ensure that the area where they are planted is kept moist as lack of watering or rainfall will increase the delay in the plants beginning to shoot as well. Frequency of watering must be increased once they begin growing as they have insufficient roots when young to tolerate drought and this will cause the plants to fail. Never allow newly planted bushes to fruit in the first season as this also places a strain on good root establishment.

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