Hi everyone! Recently I received some grape plants that a neighbor give to me. I would like to know some recommendations on how to grow them! I was thinking on planting them on the sides of a pergola but I don’t know if that would be better than to planted like commercial growers do using poles and wire to guide the vines. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks
Ruben:
Please add where you live, hardiness zone, and what varieties they are. That might help someone respond better based on your location and type of grape (V. vinifera, V. Labrusca, ect.). A lot of the vinifera grapes are pruned differently than labrusca grapes (cordon vs kniffen system). And if in the south with muscadines it may even be different.
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I live in 8b, and I have 2 seeded dark grapes.(one is Concord) I planted them 5 feet apart, and year 3 they needed support as they became woody. I went toHome Depot and got a $200 cedar arbor kit, sanded, stained, and set with metal stakes into clay soil. I tied the vines up to it, after 4th year the main 3 hard vines held itself up.
Thanks for your responses @Spartan and @David_DeafGardening sorry about the missing info. I live on the eastern shore of Virginia USDA zone 7b-8a The two varieties I have is Concord Grape and Vanessa Grape (don’t know the scientific names ) I was thinking on building a pergola and let them grow all over but didn’t know if would be better like the commercial set up based on the varieties I have. Thanks for your comments
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Ruben:
I grow concord grapes and others. I have tasted but not yet grown Vanessa. My grapes are grown on a wire trellis. The vines are planted 8’ apart. The trellis has one wire at 3’ from ground level and another at 5’. I actually wish I had them at 4’ and 6’ because having the lower one at 3’ means it is impossible to do any herbicide for weed control later in the season as the vines/fruit are hanging too low.
Mine are trained/pruned under the 4 arm Kniffen system. I prune them heavily every March and take off about 75% of the vine. With the Kniffen system I leave about 50 buds total per plant on 4 canes. The best canes to leave are from last years wood and as thick as a pencil. I also leave a renewal spur by each cane I left for this year.
Concord is also grown out in Oregon commercially for grape juice industry using the cordon system just like wine grapes are pruned to.
The cordon system has 2 short arms and the spurs left on the arms after pruning are draped downward with the weight of the new growth.
The key to anyone one growing labrusca grapes is to heavily prune and leave one year old wood for fruit bearing. My labrusca vines can easily grow 10’ long in a season so pruning them back is a must.
Growing grapes on a pergola is really neat but they still will need to be pruned each year. To fill out the pergola, you will need to let the vines grow fairly long to cover the structure. The issue is you will then need to prune them back from the branch tips each winter while dormant to promote lots of new growth yet not overfill the pergola with vine. An unpruned pergola after a few years can get really thick with vines and actually create too much shade and not so much decent quality fruit if left to be overgrown.
If you want the esthetic value go for the pergola. If you want an easier way to grow grapes with the highest fruit quality and highest yield then grow on wire and prune either Kniffen or Cordon system pruning.
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Thank you so much @Spartan for all the great and valuable information you have given me, which ever way I’ll go I will take in consideration all this info. Thanks again
That is all I needed for my 2.
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