About 10 years ago I bought the house we're in now and it came with a grape harbor and an existing vine. For years I had very little enterest in it for anything other than looks. Then I learned how to make wine and fell in love with my vine. Here though is my reason for writing. The original owners, after getting the trunk started, for some reason or another, cut the well established trunk to about 10 inches tall. So I have no trunk to grow and work with. So far every thing that has grown, has grown well but I have yet to get a lot of grapes. What can I do to make this vine produce more? I liked the idea of getting rid of the harbor and growing it the right way for wine grapes but the trunk is to short. Any ideas? Also, there is a woman who lives across the street who is from Israel and she cooks with the leaves wraping them around pieces of lamb wich I would love to try. But every spring she comes over and bugs me for as many leaves as I will let her have. I suppose that is another question. How much is to much when cutting leaves?
Take some cuttings this winter and start some possible replacement plants. See: http://www.bunchgrapes.com/cuttings.html Cuttings Then prune what you have as best you can: http://mtvernon.wsu.edu/frt_hort/grape_pruning_basics.htm Pruning Grapes in Home Gardens Follow the pruning instructions on the cuttings as well, a one gallon container will do for year 1, move to a 2 - 3 gallon in the first winter, but by this time you will have had your first pruned production season with the original vine, so if you think that the original plant is not improving much, plant one of the cuttings on each side of the old one BUT don't give it the chop just yet. See: http://berrygrape.oregonstate.edu/fruitgrowing/grapes/graft/graft3c.htm Field Grafting Grapevines Follow this link thru all the pages, around the 5th or 6th page you will see how to graft a couple of scions (which you will have pruned off the old plant next winter or whenever you decide the old one isn't doing well enough) onto the old trunk. This will give the old guy one more chance, and if it works (it should - this isn't rocket science) will give the new plant the advantage of a mature root system without the disadvantage of the old geometry. There may be a problem that you can't see from the outside near the top of the old stem that is causing the current growing problems, so be sure you have cut to sound wood. Ralph
