The following was received via email: Hi My name is John. … across from our family [and] the house has a grapevine i think concord grape easily over 100 yrs. old is going to be torn out to construction to be devoloped. My guess that the vine is even older. I think closer to 150 really. !!! How to move it ? if possible or ? please respond soon. Its in lower Magnolia in Seattle, less than 1 month to do. Quite the story of the Scalese and Greenwood familys. The house is very old , one of the few houses left of the R.R. tracks going thru Interbay. Thx John
Hi John, That question has come up before. You might want to read through this thread: http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=4513 Cuttings may be a better option.
hello. I moved 3 different grape vines 3 years ago. I believe them to have been around 60 years old. Only 1 survived. It was very disheartening. I would take cuttings and try to root also perhaps grafting onto new root stock before digging up the vine and moving as the plant may perish. Prune ing heavily before a move is advisable anyway. good luck. where are you located? Try to recreate the environment the plant is used to and start digging up the vines roots farther and deeper than you would normally think was necessary. pattykake
Cutting back during transplanting is of benefit only to the planter, by making the subject smaller and easier to handle, and not of benefit to the plant.
If your going to do it this time of year you might want to wait for all the leaves to disappear, then you know it is dormant, or really close to it. Then if your digging, dig deep as it will have a large root, get as much as possible, then transplant right away. If there is a back hoe coming to tear down the house, then get them to dig the plant out and carry it to your truck or whatever, save your back and the grape. Good luck. Carol Ja
John, why not join the forum and then post some photos of the vine. There are some capable people that can provide some information in how to dig up, transport and transplant such an old vine. Paul and Chris have shown in other threads that they know what to do and how to transplant a large tree or large shrub the right way. With such a large vine it will require some preventative pruning prior to trying to uplift and move it. Don't let others tell you that you cannot move the vine now. People have done such things in Portland with rather old Pines as late as mid November. Just a few quick questions: How far will the vine have to travel from its current location to where you want it to be planted? Vines that old tend to have been stressed for several years, at least here they generally are, have you done some probing to see where the roots are and how far they extend outward from the base of the vine? What is the health of the vine right now? As a hedge against going to the extreme cost of moving this vine it may be wise to take some cuttings and just heel them into some sand if need be for the Winter. I think you should hire a professional arborist such as an ISA arborist and see what he or she can recommend as to the likelihood that such an old vine can be safely moved to start with. Find someone that will not be overwhelmed by the chore at hand but will know what needs to be done. Even then there is a risk factor that such a vine may not make it. A professional will tell you your options and then the decision is yours as to whether you still want to save this venerable vine or just take some cuttings and hope that some of them will root for you. Jim
