Growing Concord grapes

[Dennis Griffith]

I planted 6 Concords this spring (my first Concords) and they are doing good. I have them trained to the top condon and along the top wire as far as I want them to go and I snip the end so that it can start on cane growth. So my question is, are Concord vines considered vigorous? I accustomed to growing other vigorous vines (America, Buffalo, Sheridan) and the America vines I planted at the same time as the Concords have already have both top cordons and have numerous canes. The Concords are not starting canes and I see no sign of a bud to use as a second top cordon. All of the primary leaves look healthy with little sign of disease. Are they spending their energy on root growth? I must say they seem very resistant to downy and powdery mildew as with the America vines it's a constant battle. Any input is appreciated.

 

[treesaver]

Dennis, I've had concord vines for about fifteen years, and while a lot of people look down their nose at concord, it makes a very nice, fruity dry wine. The truly nice thing about them is that they are big producers, easy to care for and make a decent wine. Most people think of concord only as communion wine, like Gallo has made for years, that is over powering sweet. I sometimes back sweeten just a bit for the sweet wine drinkers, but like mine dry! Welcome to the carefree grape to grow!

I went back and reread your post, and yes they can be vigorous, mostly where they are planted and the soil they are in controls the amount of vigor. They are about like any grape, too fertile of ground can cause excess vigor. I think you may be expecting too much too quick on the growth of your vines. I wouldn't expect any crop till at the soonest, the third year, and yes, they are putting down roots. Any grape clusters in the second year should be removed to make the plants healthier.

 

[CK55]

Dennis, I've had concord vines for about fifteen years, and while a lot of people look down their nose at concord, it makes a very nice, fruity dry wine. The truly nice thing about them is that they are big producers, easy to care for and make a decent wine. Most people think of concord only as communion wine, like Gallo has made for years, that is over powering sweet. I sometimes back sweeten just a bit for the sweet wine drinkers, but like mine dry! Welcome to the carefree grape to grow!

I went back and reread your post, and yes they can be vigorous, mostly where they are planted and the soil they are in controls the amount of vigor. They are about like any grape, too fertile of ground can cause excess vigor. I think you may be expecting too much too quick on the growth of your vines. I wouldn't expect any crop till at the soonest, the third year, and yes, they are putting down roots. Any grape clusters in the second year should be removed to make the plants healthier.

Totally agree, I used rootstocks to control several of my vigorous vines because they just get out of control on my Sandy soil otherwise.

Concord does make a decent wine. I know several people who say a lot of good things about it.

I don't have any American vines just vinifera. Although if I had Norton vines I would be happy because they are phylloxera resistant and make a good wine.

 

[Dennis Griffith]

Dennis, I've had concord vines for about fifteen years, and while a lot of people look down their nose at concord, it makes a very nice, fruity dry wine. The truly nice thing about them is that they are big producers, easy to care for and make a decent wine. Most people think of concord only as communion wine, like Gallo has made for years, that is over powering sweet. I sometimes back sweeten just a bit for the sweet wine drinkers, but like mine dry! Welcome to the carefree grape to grow!

I went back and reread your post, and yes they can be vigorous, mostly where they are planted and the soil they are in controls the amount of vigor. They are about like any grape, too fertile of ground can cause excess vigor. I think you may be expecting too much too quick on the growth of your vines. I wouldn't expect any crop till at the soonest, the third year, and yes, they are putting down roots. Any grape clusters in the second year should be removed to make the plants healthier.

They appear to be healthy with little sign of DM (biggest problem I have). As I said in the original post, they did reach the top wire and are trained for the first cordon. They still show no further shoots other than trying to send out a shoot at the end where I truncated. They have plenty of space to root, so that must be what they are working on. Thanks for all the responses.