Rooting cuttings is one of the simplest and most reliable ways of propagating grapes, making it easy to get a large amount of high-quality planting material. Subject to a few simple rules, growing grapes from cuttings is excellent even for inexperienced beginner gardeners.
Where and what grapes can be grown from cuttings
In grapes, cuttings of almost all varieties are easily rooted. However, for the southern viticulture zone in the areas where the dangerous quarantine pest is spread - phylloxera (grape root aphids), it is advisable to grow only special phylloxera resistant varieties on their roots. These include:
- Moldova,
- In memory of Negrul,
- Alpha,
- Aurora Magaracha,
- The first-born of Magarach and others.
Classical traditional European grape varieties are very quickly affected by phylloxera, settling in them not on the leaves, but on the roots underground, where the pest is almost impossible to destroy without destroying the plant itself. Affected bushes soon die from rotting of the root system. Phyloxera is distributed in most countries of Europe and the Mediterranean, in the Crimea, in the Caucasus (including in the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories), in the Rostov Region, in Ukraine and Moldova. In these regions, old European varieties are grown only on special phylloxera-resistant stocks.
Phyloxera - the most dangerous quarantine pest of southern vineyards
There are no phylloxera in Belarus, central Russia, Moscow region, Volga region, Kazakhstan, the Urals and Siberia, and grapes of any variety suitable for winter hardiness, ripening and taste can be easily cut. Moreover, the root-owning culture of grapes is much more preferable here - such plants are easier to recover from preserved roots after freezing the aerial parts in severe winter.
When and how to harvest grape cuttings for planting
The best time to harvest grape cuttings is autumn after the shoots ripen, starting in October and before the onset of steady colds. In the spring, this is undesirable because of the high probability that the shoots will be frozen or dry over the winter.
In my practice, there was one case when we successfully wintered and after spring planting, pruned grapevines were safely rooted, all winter lying simply on the ground under snow. But it was a local winter-hardy variety of non-covering grapes, and that winter was especially mild and even in temperature.
In the fall, healthy young vines of grapes are selected for cuttings. They should be well ripened (with a brown bark surface), green on the cut and have a thickness of about 1 cm. Usually cuttings are cut from 30 to 70 cm long, making slices 3-4 cm from the kidney and removing all leaves.
Grape cuttings harvested in the fall after the ripening of the vine
If the cuttings are intended for long-term storage or transportation over long distances, they can be dipped immediately after cutting into liquid paraffin to reduce moisture loss (before soaking and planting, the lower cut must be updated so that the cuttings can absorb water).
Autumn planting of grape cuttings in a permanent place
In the conditions of Ukraine and the southern part of Russia, the autumn planting of freshly cut cuttings immediately to a permanent place is most appropriate. They simply stick the lower end into the loose moist earth and watered. The lower end of the handle should be at a depth of about 0.5 m, and only the upper kidney remains above the surface of the soil.
For autumn planting, long cuttings that can be planted at an angle are preferred.
Video: autumn planting of grape cuttings
In our Middle Volga region, the autumn planting of cuttings immediately to a permanent place in the garden usually turns out to be quite successful for local frost-resistant varieties of uncovered grapes.
In Belarus and the southern regions of central Russia, autumn planting of cuttings of winter-hardy northern grape varieties is also possible. For a more reliable wintering over the upper end of the shoot, you can pour an earthen mound with a height of 20-30 cm, which will need to be carefully removed in the spring after thawing the soil.
Cuttings of southern grape varieties in the Moscow Region and climate-similar regions with a short summer, as well as any grape varieties in the Urals and Siberia, are cleaned for winter.
Winter storage of grape cuttings
At home, it is easiest to store cuttings in an ordinary household refrigerator at a temperature of 1-3 ° C, placing them in a plastic bag. At higher temperatures, there is a danger of premature awakening of the kidneys. You can save cuttings in the basement or cellar in a box with slightly moistened sawdust or sand. It is advisable to periodically inspect them in order to adjust the temperature and humidity conditions if necessary. Prematurely awakened cuttings should be urgently removed from the store and put on the root.
Planting grape cuttings in spring
Spring planting in open ground cuttings without roots is possible only in the southern regions with long summers and mild winters, although there it is much easier and more expedient to plant such cuttings in the fall immediately to a permanent place. In the conditions of the Moscow Region, the Urals and Siberia, cuttings planted without roots immediately in the garden do not have enough time to take root sufficiently in the fall and most often freeze out during the first winter. Therefore, in regions with short summers and harsh winters, cuttings are grown in advance in a greenhouse or just in a room on a windowsill before planting.
Germination of cuttings at home
For the Moscow Region, the best time to start pre-planting germination of grape cuttings begins in late February - early March. For beginning gardeners it is better to take cuttings with three or at least two buds (eyes) for this.
The rooting of one-eyed cuttings having a very small supply of nutrients is possible with a lower heating device (you can use a heating battery) with good ventilation (constantly open ventilation windows), so that roots will appear earlier than shoots from the temperature difference.
Technology of preplant seedlings of cuttings:
- Carefully inspect the cuttings removed from the cellar or refrigerator, updating the oblique section about a centimeter below the lower kidney. A live, high-quality stalk on the cut should be fresh and green. Overdried (brown and brittle) or rotten cuttings for planting are not suitable.
- Cut the lowermost kidney of the handle (blind) so that the shoot can appear only from the upper kidney.
Cutting preparation: renew the cut, blind the lower kidney, slightly scratch with a knife
- In the lower part of the handle, carefully scratch a few longitudinal grooves with a sharp knife for better root formation.
- Soak the cuttings for a day in clean filtered water at room temperature to restore moisture reserves in them.
- You can treat the cuttings with a root stimulant according to the instructions for the drug.
- Put the cuttings with their lower ends (5 cm) in a container with a small amount of water.
The easiest way to sprout cuttings in a jar with a little water
- Put the container on a warm bright window sill and do not forget to monitor the water level, periodically adding to it as it evaporates. The most active root formation in cuttings occurs at the interface between water and air.
Root formation occurs at the border of water and air
Video: germination of grape cuttings in water
Planting sprouted cuttings in bottles
Algorithm of actions:
- As soon as small roots (1-3 cm) appear in the cuttings standing in the water, it is necessary to transplant them into the ground. Longer roots often break off during transplantation.
After the roots appear, the cuttings must be transplanted from a can of water to the ground
- For planting, any ready-made soil for seedlings and indoor plants with an acidity in the range of 6.0-7.5 or a home-made mixture of leaf humus with coarse-grained river sand is suitable. The minimum amount of land for each cuttings is 0.5 liters (but better from 1 liter or more).
It is convenient to use cropped plastic bottles for planting, in the lower part of which it is necessary to pierce several holes to drain excess water.
It is convenient to grow seedlings from cuttings in plastic cups or cut bottles
- Planted cuttings should be placed on a well-lit windowsill or in a heated glazed loggia with a temperature above 15 ° C.
Rooting cuttings should be kept on a light windowsill
- After planting, the cuttings should be regularly watered, preventing the drying of the soil.
Planted cuttings should be watered regularly
Planting grown cuttings on a permanent place in the garden
It is possible to plant rooted cuttings in the garden in a permanent place after the end of spring frosts (for the suburbs this is the end of May - beginning of June). For this:
- Near the pre-installed supports (the easiest way to build a trellis from a wire stretched between the posts), you need to dig out the landing pits with a depth of 0.5 m and a diameter of about 40 cm.The distance between adjacent pits is about 1.5 m.
For grape planting, dig holes with a depth of 0.5 m and a diameter of 40 cm
- At the bottom of the pit, place a sapling with an earthen lump, sprinkle with fertile soil with the addition of humus and pour plenty of water (1 bucket of water per plant).
- If the plants are very small, the final filling of the planting pits with earth is carried out gradually during the summer as the shoots grow.
- It is advisable to cover the planted plants with agrofibre to protect from direct sun and possible accidental frosts, especially during early planting.
Video: planting the grown cuttings in the garden
Care for planted grape cuttings
During the summer season, the ground in a young vineyard is regularly loosened and weeded. In hot, dry summers, watering is required 1-2 times a week, 1 bucket of water for each plant. Growing shoots as they grow are tied to a trellis. If in the first year buds appear on the plants, it is better to cut them off immediately so as not to interfere with the development of the roots.
The buds formed in the first year are best cut off so as not to weaken the young plants
In autumn, young grapes must be removed from their supports, laid on the ground and covered for the winter in accordance with the winter hardiness of a particular variety in these climatic conditions. From the second year after planting - care like an ordinary adult vineyard.
Propagation of grapes by summer green cuttings
Grapes can be cut in the summer.
One-eyed green cuttings are used when propagating new valuable varieties
The use of one-eyed (with only one bud) green cuttings gives the greatest yield of planting material from one plant, which is especially important for the propagation of new valuable varieties.
The main drawback of green cuttings is the need to arrange the first wintering of seedlings obtained in this way in a basement or greenhouse. Therefore, rooting the green cuttings is best immediately in the cups, which are easy to transfer to the right place, without disturbing the roots with an extra transplant.
The technology of rooting one-eyed green cuttings:
- Choose healthy, well-developed green shoots of the current year no less than a pencil thick. After cutting, immediately place them in a bucket of water. This is best done in cloudy weather.
For cuttings, shoots with a thickness not less than a pencil are chosen
- From the selected shoots, cut the cuttings with one node. The upper cut should be 1-2 cm above the knot, the lower cut should be 3-4 cm below the knot.
- Cut large leaves on cuttings in half to reduce water evaporation. Existing stepchildren (small shoots at the base of the leaf) should be left whole.
When grafting large leaves, cut them in half; leave the small stepsons at the base of the leaves whole
- Insert the cuttings with the lower end into the cups with a loose and moist soil mixture with the addition of sand so that the base of the leaf petiole is at ground level. Pour over water.
Rooting green cuttings is better in individual cups
- Place the cups with cuttings in a greenhouse with a temperature of 20-25 ° C. If it is located in a sunny place, its glass should be whitened beforehand to protect it from direct sunlight.
- The soil of the cuttings should be constantly moist. After 2 weeks, roots will appear, and after another week, the growth of new shoots will begin.
The seedlings of green cuttings are very small, so for the first winter they are cleaned in the basement or greenhouse
- Rooted cuttings should spend their first winter in a greenhouse or basement, and in the spring of next year they can be planted in a garden in a permanent place.
Video: propagation of grapes with green cuttings
Reviews
The main thing is that they are not overdried. With thick cuttings, seedlings are always more powerful.
Companion//forum.vinograd.info/showthread.php?t=6133&page=2
I’ve been doing grapes for 4 years, I used to cut it in the summer, green cuttings root quickly and without problems, by the fall it is already a small plant.
Marisha//www.tomat-pomidor.com/newforum/index.php?topic=1793.0
The best time to work with cuttings in the middle lane is February-March. Early landing on a short daylight does not give a win (vegetation is weak).
Yakimov//dacha.wcb.ru/lofiversion/index.php?t16373.html
Growing a luxurious fruit-bearing grape from the cuttings is quite simple, if you know and follow some simple rules for propagating this crop. Particularly promising is the cultivation of root grapes from cuttings for the northern zone of viticulture, where the absence of phylloxera allows you to do without special stable stocks.
