We harvest and root grape cuttings at home

Grapes made from cuttings can be grown at home. If you follow the advice and be patient, the result will be successful. Cultivation begins in the fall with the harvesting of cuttings, includes storage, kilchevat and rooting. The final stage is planting a well-developed seedling.

But where to plant grapes, in the garden or on the balcony, it is worth considering in advance. Growing on the balcony requires a special approach and the ability to create suitable conditions.

Harvesting cuttings

Harvesting of cuttings begins in the fall when pruning grapes:

• choose a healthy lignified shoot about 1 cm thick with "live" buds;
• it is cut into pieces, each of which has 2 kidneys;
• pruning of cuttings is carried out 2 cm above and 2 cm below the nodes, the cut is made with a sharp knife to get an even cut;
• more planting material should be prepared than it is planned to plant. When rooting, some of the shoots will be discarded;
• cuttings are soaked for 15 minutes in a bright solution of potassium permanganate to destroy pathogens;
• after soaking, the planting material is slightly dried.

It should be noted that the buds of grape cuttings are located in such a way that it is very difficult to determine where the top and where the bottom of the cut is can be confused. To prevent this from happening, it is worth marking as follows:

• the top of the cuttings is cut in a straight line;
• an oblique incision is made under the lower kidney.

This way, there will be no confusion, and you will not have to wonder why the roots do not awaken.

Advice

When deciding to plant grapes, opt for varieties that are adapted to your climate. It is better to try grapes from the neighbors, and if you like the taste, ask for a few cuttings in the fall than to bring a seedling from another area, not knowing how it will adapt to the weather conditions.

Storing cuttings in winter

At home, it is best to store planting material in a basement or refrigerator. The temperature should be between + 3 ° and + 6 °. You can store cuttings on the balcony, but only if the temperature regime there is stable and corresponds to the specified range.

Advice

If the cultivation of different grape varieties is envisaged, they should be signed so as not to be confused. Tags can be prepared from a plastic bottle, which is cut into small strips, and the name is written on them with an indelible marker. Also, the designation of cuttings can be done if threads of different colors are tied to each shoot and on separate paper write which color corresponds to which variety.

The prepared cuttings are wrapped in a cotton cloth, which needs to be wetted and wrung out properly, and then placed in a plastic bag and removed to a cool place.

The cuttings should be revised every three weeks. They are inspected and checked so that mold does not appear and that they do not dry out. In case of mold, the cuttings are soaked in potassium permanganate or in a solution of fungicide against fungal diseases and dried. Then wrapped in a new damp cloth. After that, the grapes are examined more often. If the planting material begins to dry out and shrivels, it is completely immersed in water for a day to restore the water balance.

Preparing for rooting

Rooting begins between late February and April. In order for the cuttings to have shoots and roots, it takes about a month. If the expected date for planting grapes is mid-May, then planting should begin in the first ten days of April.

You can start growing earlier, but you need to think over and create suitable conditions for the growth of the seedling - so that it does not release a thin, pale shoot with long internodes, but grows strong, saturated color. This can be a sunny window on the balcony or a window sill in a room, where you can reduce heating and create additional lighting.

Before rooting, the planting material is checked and those cuttings are rejected, the germination of which is unlikely.

• The bark should be evenly colored brown, no damage, no mold.
• The lower cut is updated with a sharp knife. The cut border should be a deep green. Blackened or browned wood indicates that the shoot is not suitable for planting.
• The lower bud is cut and the wood is also examined at the cut.

The cuttings are soaked for a day in water with a small amount of potassium permanganate, and after that the lower end is placed in a solution of a root growth stimulator for the period specified in the instructions.

Rooting

At home, before the rooting of grapes, kilchev is carried out.

Kilchevanie is a method in which the lower part of the cutting is kept warm, which provokes root growth, and the upper part is cool, which slows down the growth of the shoot.

It's easy to do this at home:

• cuttings of several pieces are placed in a glass jar;
• water is poured so much that the end of the shoot is in it no more than 2 cm (excess water will cause decay processes);
• the jar is placed on the battery so that the ends of the shoots are at window level.

Thus, the heat to the lower ends of the shoots will come from the battery, and the upper part can be cooled by ventilation. Growing in this way at home is effective and does not require the cost of purchasing a kilchevator.

Evaporating water must be constantly topped up. Two weeks after the start of the process, the upper bud will begin to grow and release the leaf. Roots will start to form a week later. You can pinch the shoot over the first leaf. This will speed up root growth.

Advice

To accelerate the formation of roots on the lower part of the cutting, longitudinal notch grooves should be made with a sharp object.

Landing in a container

When the roots grow to 1.5-2 cm, the seedling must be planted in a small container with loose fertile soil. You should not delay the transplant: the earlier it is carried out, the better the grape seedling will develop.

For further growing, it is necessary to provide the seedlings at home with a cool place, illuminated throughout the day. It is best to place containers on a glazed balcony or loggia.

It is important to observe the watering regime: the soil must be moist, but it is impossible to overfill. The top layer of the earth can be allowed to dry slightly.

Top dressing in the process of growing a seedling is not necessary.

A transplant to a permanent place in the garden is carried out when the soil warms up to + 10 °. If night frosts are likely, the grape seedling will have to be covered.

Growing on the balcony

Growing a vine on a balcony is tempting, but maybe not always. In order for the plant to receive enough nutrition, light, the processes of vegetation and photosynthesis are not disturbed, suitable conditions must be created on the balcony.

• The balcony should be spacious so that there is room for the full growth of the vine.
• It is desirable that the windows face south or southwest. The windows on the balcony should be in the entire opening. Only when illuminated by the sun will berries set for most of the day.
• In winter, the temperature should be maintained from -2 to + 10 °, so that the plant has a full dormant period to restore strength.

Important!

On the balcony, it is possible to grow only low-growing varieties, in which a vine with short internodes is formed. The main part of the shoots will have to be removed, and pruning should be carried out constantly throughout the summer. To prevent depletion, only 2-3 grape clusters can be left on one vine.

Additional equipment required:

• it is necessary to purchase a large container with a volume of at least 200 liters, the corresponding amount of fertile land;
• additional lighting is necessary in the spring, after the leaves begin to bloom, and in the fall, before the foliage falls. Daylight hours should be at least 10 hours.

If it is possible to create suitable conditions, then you can try to get a harvest on the loggias. Only practice will show what the result will be.

Output

Growing seedlings by cuttings in an apartment is effective if you follow the recommendations. So that the efforts do not go in vain, planting material must be prepared more than required, because some of the shoots will not take root.

The likelihood of growing quality bunches of grapes on the balcony is minimal. If you can create the conditions necessary for the full development of the vine, then you can try. Only after conducting an experimental experiment can we talk about the results.