Help, thrown into the deep end

[Coaster]

I have a friend who has decided to grow vines here in Central Texas and he surprised me with three of my very own. I've contemplated it before but not seriously so I'm not certain what to do. I very much want these to have the best chance of making it this year.
I have a Norton stock about 12" with 3" roots and two Black Spanish vines, 6"-8" with tiny roots.


He received them Friday and planted Sunday. I picked mine up from him yesterday and put them buckets withgarden soil and compost from him. I "just" buried the roots. I will plant them this weekend but I need to dig the holes (lots of rock to dig thru) and get something for them to grow on. I was thinking of a single post for each vine (4X4) 7' tall with "x" cross members (think of looking straight down on the post and having four arms come out in a N-S, and E-W combination) at 3' and 6'. I saw this once on the web as how some oldMonastery did it in French. It makes the vine "bush" like. I will cover the ground below each vine in weed fabric and rocks. I will need to enclose each vine or the group of them in deer fence as they are plentiful here.


Anything you can share with me to get me started would be of great help. What ever info you need, let me know.

 

[grapeman]

Well you have taken the first step Coaster, that's a start. I hope someone in your area can help with advice on these, since they are southern varieties of grapes. I have no experience with them so can only speak with generalities.


It sounds like you have rooted cuttings since you mention tiny roots. That is going to be tricky in Texas with all the heat. I would say to grow them a while to get the roots larger, but then you run into the danger of too much heat. Whichever way you go, make sure that the soil they are in stays moist but not wet. I would say the first year you could get away with the large stake, or even a small one. I really don't know how well they will grow as a bush. Maybe someone else can chime in on that.

 

[chiefmike]

Coaster...Both of those varieties are great in your area. Like Appleman said, looks like you have rooted cuttings. Hopefully you have at least two buds at the top of the cutting.

The best way to plant these in our neighborhood is to dig a hole about a foot deep and eight inches in diameter. Fill the hole about half full of water and set the vine in the hole. Then work in the soil you removed and work it in around the roots well. when the hole is filled with your muddy concoction, gently pull up on the vine until the two buds are exposed...this also orients the roots better.

Keep the plants watered well...about an inch or two per week and they will soon start to grow...faster than you might would imagine. If you keep the weeds and grass away from the young vines, and provide sufficient water, you can grow these two varieties all the way to their established cordons in the first season. Due to these vines' vigor, I would suggest you google and explore training them to a GDC or similar type trellis...especially the Black Spanish. If you don't give that variety a lot of room to "roam" it can turn into a vicious gorilla on you very rapidly.

 

[OilnH2O]

... AND TAKE PICTURES! THEN POST THEM!

 

[smurfe]

Good luck with those vines. Norton's make a great dry red wine. As close as you can come to a Cabernet in these parts.

 

[Coaster]

Thank you all for the info. I am hoping to start the hole digging this weekend.

 

[Coaster]

What spacing would you use? 8 feet?

 

[grapeman]

I would think 8 feet would be about right. Not knowing their exact growth habits I can't say for sure, but you aren't planting a lot, so you will have plenty of room around them to get lots of air. Because of that, you have more flexibility. Have fun and get some pictures going soon!

 

[chiefmike]

Eight feet is perfect for your area. Good luck, and I can't wait to see the pictures of your new "babies".

 

[Coaster]

Should I use grow tubes the first year? Would allow me to add the deer fence later.

 

[grapeman]

You can use the tubes, but it will be temporary. You want to remove them if you expect temps above 90 or so or it will burn the leaves. Where you are, that probably will come fairly quickly.

 

[Coaster]

Would it matter if I plant them BS-Nor-BS or should the two BS be next to each other?


Because of the property layout the line will be E-W. Should one of the two be at the West end for the long sunlight or will it matter?

 

[Coaster]

Here the 3 are, still working on the deer fence so they are in buckets. We got over 3" of rain last night/this morn so not sure if I can dig holes today.
The Norton

The two Black Spanish

 

[grapeman]

That's a lot of rain. I hope you were able to get them in. It's nice when you can get them planted in/after rain. No need to water them then.