# Cuttings just delivered from vineyard



## jtstar (Apr 4, 2010)

I just recieved about 150 cuttings fresh from a vineyard from western Nebraska I have taken them and wraped them in paper towels and dampened the paper towel and put them in the frig. for now until I have some ground outside perpared to plant them my question is do I need to callous them before planting them in the ground or can I plant them directly into the ground.


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## Racer (Apr 4, 2010)

I am not an expert on starting cuttings(I've only done a few dozen) but can say you'll have greater success if you get them to callous first. In order for the cutting to take, it needs roots to be able to feed and collect water for them. Then it can have a better chance to support the green growth on top.


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## jtstar (Apr 4, 2010)

Racer said:


> I am not an expert on starting cuttings(I've only done a few dozen) but can say you'll have greater success if you get them to callous first. In order for the cutting to take, it needs roots to be able to feed and collect water for them. Then it can have a better chance to support the green growth on top.



Hi Racer I have never done this before can you explain to me how you went about doing it


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## Racer (Apr 4, 2010)

Here's a link to starting both dormant and green cuttings. Sorry I cheated with the link but I'm a terrible typer. 
If you have a temperature controlled heat mat or a radiant floor heating system you can pot your cuttings up and set them on the warmed surface. Just make sure it doesn't get above 80º to 85º otherwise you could over heat them.


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## jtstar (Apr 4, 2010)

Racer said:


> Here's a link to starting both dormant and green cuttings. Sorry I cheated with the link but I'm a terrible typer.
> If you have a temperature controlled heat mat or a radiant floor heating system you can pot your cuttings up and set them on the warmed surface. Just make sure it doesn't get above 80º to 85º otherwise you could over heat them.



Thanks Racer I guess I would have to consider my cutting to be of the dormate type seeing they don't have any leaves on them yet this will be a big help


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## Racer (Apr 4, 2010)

Your right, at this time of year your working with dormant cuttings. Have you read the OMG! post by desertdance on the other website? She has a good picture of her cuttings in starting sleeves.

Can you get green cuttings from the same vineyard this season? Or are you at the vine count you want to work with already?


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## jtstar (Apr 4, 2010)

Racer said:


> Your right, at this time of year your working with dormant cuttings. Have you read the OMG! post by desertdance on the other website? She has a good picture of her cuttings in starting sleeves.
> 
> Can you get green cuttings from the same vineyard this season? Or are you at the vine count you want to work with already?


 
I think if I can get these cuttings to root for me it would put me in the neighborhood of where I will want to be at this time until I get better establish at wine making because I have yet to make any wine with grapes of any type on my own. This will give me eight different varieties of grapes when I get these growing I do have four more grape varieties that I am still interested in adding to my vineyard


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## Racer (Apr 4, 2010)

Like I said before if you can get the cuttings to callus over and start to form roots first you have alot better chance of the cuttings surviving for you. There is only so much stored energy in the cuttings that the new vines have to work with. If roots can get a start before the buds push and give you some green growth the cuttings have alot better chance to keep up with the water needs of the vine as it continues to grow later in their first season. 

It sounds like you have the grape growing bug just as bad as me (if not worse). I hope you can get large percentage of the cuttings to take for you this year.


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## grapeman (Apr 7, 2010)

I just saw this post jstar. The number one secret to sucss with the dorman cuttings you have is bottom heat to get them to callous. The callous you are looking for looks almost like a light brown tumor at the cut end of the cutting right at the very bottom. Fom the callous you get roots starting to push out around the rim of it. 

Find a source of steady heat at about 80-85 degrees F. It takes 5 days at that temp and about 5 weeks at 70 degrees- so it make a huge difference. The roots will NOT form withou a callous. SOME of them might root if just placed in the soil, because they might callous at the lower temps eventually before the top growth dies. That's why you try to keep the tops cool and the bottom very warm.

To keep things a bit more brief (less typing), here is the text from Double A Vineyards directions on rooting cuttings. Remember all rights go to them for this.

*PLANTING CUTTING CARE*
1) When you receive your cuttings inspect them to make sure that they are still moist and properly labeled.
2) Small quantities of cuttings can be stored in a refrigerator in plastic with moist packing material around them. Avoid freezing them because this will dry them out. Avoid Storing vines with fruit as ethylene gas is released by ripe fruit and this can kill buds.
3) Larger quantities can be buried in the ground in a sand pit or a well drained soil. Dig a trench as deep as the cuttings and then cover them with 6-8 inches of soil. The cuttings should be placed bottom side up (flat end of the cutting) so that it will warm in the spring and form callous. This is the white tissue that roots originate from. If it is very dry in the spring you may need to water the cuttings.
4) Small quantities of cuttings can be calloused by placing them upside down in moist peat moss and placing a heat mat on the base of the cuttings. A temperature of 80° F is ideal for callous formation. The idea is to heat the base of the cutting to form callous and keep the buds cool so they do not begin to grow until the callous has formed.
5) Once cuttings have calloused they can be planted in the greenhouse or the nursery row. Make sure that the soil does not dry out, since the cuttings have no roots, but too wet is not good either. A wet soil is generally a cold soil and we want a warm rooting zone.​


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## myakkagldwngr (Apr 9, 2010)

I'm finding this thread very interesting and informative.
My question is, what about a rooting hormone like root tone. Back in my get in trouble days, I did quite a few cuttings from some plants and we "always" used rooting homone.
Take the cutting, dip it into water about an inch, dip it into the hormone and the plant into small containers with a good grade of potting soil. Keep the soil most for a week or so and root growth was almost guaranteed!
How about with grave vine cuttings?


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## Racer (Apr 9, 2010)

I have used rooting hormone before too. Just haven't done enough cuttings to say whether or not it makes a difference for me.


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## DesertDance (Apr 9, 2010)

I have all my UC Davis Cuttings, plus cuttings from my vines, in propagation mode. 

There are about 200 cuttings, The first half, 3 buds burried, 2 buds showing, in moist mix of 3 parts perlite and 1 part peat, in planting bands punched for air pruning kept in their trays and kept moist. 

The other half have 1 to 2 buds, and are laid down in a 1.5" trench covered with crumbled soil and kept damp in the full hot sun per the Old Greek.

I'm hoping for 25%, and I will simply die if they all live!! OMG! 200+ vines?


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## Racer (Apr 9, 2010)

DesertDance said:


> I have all my UC Davis Cuttings, plus cuttings from my vines, in propagation mode.
> 
> There are about 200 cuttings, The first half, 3 buds burried, 2 buds showing, in moist mix of 3 parts perlite and 1 part peat, in planting bands punched for air pruning kept in their trays and kept moist.
> 
> ...




I think I see a change in the name coming real soon then.

speakeasycellars and vineyard!


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## DesertDance (Apr 9, 2010)

Racer said:


> I think I see a change in the name coming real soon then.
> 
> speakeasycellars and vineyard!



Here is what you don't first understand when you bleach your hair. It does neutralize your thinking process, so don't do that Racer!! 

Honestly, I did not expect UC Davis to honor my entire order and to give me 5 cuttings per varietal. Those cuttings were HUGE! I had to snip off two buds so I could fit them in my planting bands from Monarch, but they were seriously green! So, do I toss them? Not my style! I went with the wisdom of the Old Greek, and buried the cut tips on their sides, all green with swollen buds in damp soil. We'll see which method works best!! I did not worry about callousing other than sticking them in black plastic for a week or so. That is a whole other deep subject........

What amazed me was my own pruning cuttings. I labeled them, wrapped them in a damp towel, and stuck them in the BBQ fridge for 2 months. When I gave them a little snip, OMG!! GREEN!! 

And it's only been a week, but the only one showing signs of green is MY cutting, Mourvedre. This is good. I would like 5 of each varietal because I need to blend, and it sounds like a fun trip to me. 

I asked Alice when she was feelin' tall. And she agreed! Other than that, I do have a little vineyard, and I know what that fuzz means, and there is a lot of fuzz on a lot of my buds! God Help me!!

Suzi


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## DesertDance (Apr 10, 2010)

And for the record, I used zero rooting hormone!!


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## DesertDance (Apr 12, 2010)

On this day, about 10 days after I put them in the Zipset planting bands, 19 cuttings are leafing out. I now know what those buds do prior to leafing, and I see 50 more about to go!! Do they have roots? No clue! But they will stay in their bands for a long time. I'll fertilize them and keep them protected for a month or two, and then I'll make a decision to put them in the vineyard, or into pots for another year.


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## Racer (Apr 12, 2010)

That sounds good so far! Just dont let them dry out totally. I've lost my share of them from that little mistake. Always happens to me after they get set outside and conditions dry them out quicker then I thought it would.


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## DesertDance (Apr 13, 2010)

Not a chance Racer! I live in the desert. It is HOT here. They will all be under shade cloth and on the drip system, in ground or in pots. ALL my vines are on the drip system and they get frequent water..like 2 times daily for 3 hours. No mildew here. Too dry. Too much wind.


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## myakkagldwngr (Apr 13, 2010)

Okay, now for the BIG QUESTION!
What did you have to give for these cuttings and how quickly was the shipping? I'm dying to get some vines going, but just can't afford the $9.00 per vine from Ga, plus shipping. That's not in my budget. I would love to get some cuttings if that would work, but they would have to be from the only variety that grows and tolerates our wonderful weather here.


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## DesertDance (Apr 13, 2010)

myakkagldwngr said:


> Okay, now for the BIG QUESTION!
> What did you have to give for these cuttings and how quickly was the shipping? I'm dying to get some vines going, but just can't afford the $9.00 per vine from Ga, plus shipping. That's not in my budget. I would love to get some cuttings if that would work, but they would have to be from the only variety that grows and tolerates our wonderful weather here.



I ordered most of my cuttings from UC Davis last June (First Come First Served). The UC Davis Site is here: http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=12254 The cuttings are FREE and they ship in March-April. You pay shipping only. I don't know what they charged, but sticks don't weigh much! I probably paid about 20 bucks max. My other cuttings were from my own vines taken when I pruned. I took the best of those first year cuttings, wrapped them in a damp towel, stuck them in plastic and put them in the fridge for a couple months. 

When the UC Davis cuttings arrived, I took my own cuttings out of the fridge and planted them all together in 3 trays of the Monarch Zipset plant bands in a damp mix of 1 part peat to 3 parts perlite. The home grown cuttings are growing just as nicely as the big fat UC Davis cuttings, but the UC Davis cuttings have a better chance I think because they are thicker sticks!

If I were you, I'd get busy and call all the local vineyards that grow the kinds of grapes you want and see if they still have cuttings left from this year's prunings. If they do, see if they'll let you buy them. 

Here is a link to the National Grape Registry http://ngr.ucdavis.edu/varietylist.cfm All the varieties available from nurseries are listed, and when you click on the variety, you can find where to purchase it.

If you can't afford a whole vineyard, you can always start with one or two vines, and when you prune those, you can get free plants from your own cuttings. Last summer in the dead heat, I pruned some green cuttings, stuck them in water, and out of 10, 2 rooted. I planted them, and they are very cute little vines this spring. One is 6" tall and every day has new leaves. One is 13" tall and has peeked out of it's planting sleeve. 

Also, if you can't afford a vine or two, maybe you should rethink. Vines are like kids. They cost money and take time! Fertilizer, Bird Netting, Pesticides, Water, trellis, soil amendments, and stuff like that. Sunshine is Free!! 

Good luck!


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## myakkagldwngr (Apr 13, 2010)

Thanks for the information about the cuttings. I actually got a few today from a couple vines an uncle has. I can't even tell you what variety they are. 
I can imagine growing your own vines can be a project and I actually like the growing part. I've been a veggie farmer for quite a while in one of my other lifes. Then by mistake got into construction and that's what's in the pits now.


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## jtstar (Apr 25, 2010)

I have had my cuttings in the frig since I got them in damp paper towels so today I got them out and applied a rooting compound on them then stuck them in a perlite and peat moss mixture I don't have any heating pads to set them on so right now I have them sitting in my kitchen which is the warmest room because of all the south faceing windows


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## Wade E (Apr 25, 2010)

Fingers crossed for ya there!


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## jtstar (Apr 25, 2010)

Wade E said:


> Fingers crossed for ya there!



I agree first time I have done this


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## Racer (Apr 25, 2010)

I hope they root and grow great for you.


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