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cfox248

Growing grapes in a pot - is it possible or a ridiculous fancy?

cfox248
9 years ago

I did use the search function on here, and I did find a relevant thread, but all the pictures in the thread were not working for me, sadly.

Long story short: I've recently ordered a few plants from a particular online supplier and the plants ended up getting to me in awful condition. They did not pull through, and I got my money back... in the form of store credit, so I have to use it or it's a waste of money. I do not want to but another of the plants that died since they came to me so small and scrawny they weren't worth their price. There's a lot of things I'd like to buy (Looking for something fruiting or edible) but since I'm in Minnesota, it's gotta be in a pot, and many things (like the Hass Avocado I want so badly) do not do well in pots or are more trouble than they're worth.

Grapes came to mind, but I don't even know if that's possible. I don't know much about growing grapes. Can they grow in a nice big pot with a trellis to climb on? It looks like you have to chop them back every year, is that correct? So I wouldn't have to worry too much about the plant outgrowing the pot, save for a root pruning or a repot every few years? Is it even worth it? I love grapes, I'm curious as to how many grapes one plant would give me. Specifically looking at Concord grapes.

I do end up with a nice room with supplementary lighting over winter to keep my potted citrus and bonsai happy, so I could stick it in there, I think... Do they go dormant?

Comments (8)

  • drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
    9 years ago

    Yes, go post the question in the Fruit and Orchard forum, there people who grow grapes in pots will advice you. Fruitnut has some of the best grape vines I ever saw, and they are in pots. He does not post here. He may answer there.
    A new dwarf type is now available, or soon to be offered. It's called Pixie. It can be grown in small pots. But any grape most certainly can be grown in pots.
    Here is a photo of fruitnut's grapes. It's always better to get advice from people who have experience. Good luck!
    These grapes are in pots
    {{gwi:44863}}
    {{gwi:44864}}

  • cfox248
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you! I will go post over there. Those grapes look amazing! I might just have to try it!

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    9 years ago

    ...Or you can get a fine answer here, too ;-)

    Yes, grapes will grow well in a large container. You don't need to prune them back too hard, just a maintenance trim, so you still have some vines to produce fruit the following season.

    Here's a grape that my sister's boyfriend and I dug up a few years ago and put in a container.

    Josh

  • drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
    9 years ago

    Grapes are kinda complex and hard to explain in a single post. On pruning two basic methods depending on grape type exist. Cane pruning and spur pruning.
    Many good books exist on the subject. I learned how to prune my grapes from the pruning book that Lee Reich put out.
    For a crash course in grape pruning check out this video.

    Here is a link that might be useful: pruning grapes 2014

  • cfox248
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks for that link! One of the things I am a little big confused about is WHAT to prune. The video says you always want to leave 18-24 inches of last year's growth... Does that mean that I will indeed have a grapevine that's constantly expanding, rather than one that I can prune back to keep a certain size?

    Grapes fruit on 1 year old wood, so logically I would need to keep some of last year's wood if I wanted it to fruit. Then, the next year, do I cut off that wood and just keep the new stuff that grew? Would the new year's growth come from the "Trunk" area or continue growing from the last year's wood?

    I guess I just have no idea what to prune and what to leave, and how to apply that to a container. I'm totally baffled about what to prune after I would plant my grapes and they end their season, and then what to prune the next year, and so forth.

    I attached a picture to this post. This is kind of what I was thinking in my head - you train the canes into that T shape, and then they grow all the new growth and fruit and stuff like it looks in the first pic. then you cut it all off early in the year so it looks like the bare T in the second picture. Rinse and repeat. So the canes would stay in that T shape (or in my case around a tomato cage) and each year those canes would send out new growth and fruit I could cut off later to keep the size about the same.

    However, I am not so sure I have that correct at all.

    Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:44861}}

  • cfox248
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Sorry for the double post - I think I found a page that explains it. Take a look and tell me if I have this right.

    So if I have something like that - a single loop around the pot. I let the vines grow up and train them around that loop. The vines fruit and give me grapes. Then it goes into dormancy. In early spring, I cut off all of that down to close to the base, and train some of the new vines that have sprouted there up and around the loop. THOSE vines give me fruit, etc... then I cut them back in the spring to near the base again, leaving some of the wood for the new vines to come from... Repeat each year.

    Is this correct? I cut off pretty much all of last years growth, and train the new vines up each year? (I thought the grapes only fruited on 1 year old vines?)

    Here is a link that might be useful: potted grapes

  • drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
    9 years ago

    You are close to correct. Remember it fruits off one year wood, so each year you need to regrow that one year wood.
    You can only prune in late winter/early spring. They bleed too much otherwise. You must prune before they start to grow. Just thought I would mention that, it is important.
    It is confusing, a bunch of canes will grow off the one year wood, these canes will bear the fruit. Yes leave a few nodes so more canes can grow. Always do this to whatever you prune.
    I often say each plant is different, what soil, what fertilizer, how you prune, it varies for each species.
    Using one or two potting mixes for every plant will never work, it is not good info. I would use whatever fruitnut uses. My grapes are in ground, so have little knowledge about potting soil for grapes.
    Now if you need to spur prune, it is different. You figured out cane pruning. Some grapes have to be spur pruned. but let's not go there. Most can be cane pruned. If you need to learn spur pruing it is really easier, so no worries.

    Sorry fruitnut has not responded, hopefully he will, if he doesn't, I'll ask him in a couple days. He has insight into container culture for grapes.

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    9 years ago

    I used bark, pumice, and potting mix as a growing medium. Haven't re-potted for several years, although I really should. The tree is at my sister's house, and not convenient to do re-potting work there.

    Josh