Training Young Muscadines - Confused about Single Trunk...

10 years ago

I recently planted some muscadines (2 Black Beauties and an Ison) in my back yard and as I've researched, I understand that I need to work on training them in the first couple seasons.

When i look at diagrams and training literature, I see that most train a single trunk up to the wire and then train to have two cordons going in opposite directions. Simple enough.

But it looks like the muscadines that I bought were trained by the grower to have two trunks? See attached picture.

Should i cut one of the trunks away? Should I leave both and train them both up to the wire?

Any recommendations on what to do given with what I have to work with.

Thanks!

Featured Answer

poolecw

10 years ago

I used 4x4x8 pressure treated posts and 9 gauge wire. It was overkill but I wanted it to still be there in 20 years.

You will want to cut one (left) trunk. I don't know why the nursery left it like this. Also cut the side shoots off as well. I chose to use a four arm kniffin trellis. Some say that muscadines do better using only a one wire system (with one arm going in each direction) but I decided to go with a two wire system. If I find that yields are lower than expected, I can always cut off the bottom two arms. I applied 10-10-10 once per month from April through August.

This is a Summit muscadine that I planted last year. I planted it in March and it was about 2' in length after planting. The picture below was taken in August.

Comments (7)

bamboo_rabbit
10 years ago
Not a grape expert but if it were mine...yes you definitely want just a single trunk.

I would remove the trunk on the left. If you already have your trellis up I would tie a string from the wire to that right side and start pulling it up to get it a LOT straighter. It will never be 100% straight and does not need to be but you want it to be a lot straighter than it is now. You also need to remove those side vines. You want to concentrate the growth up so you reach the wire and can then snip the vine to get your arms started.

If the plant wants to uproot itself from the pulling upward you can lay a board across the ground next to the vine and put bricks on the end to help hold the vine down. Pull up gradually over the coarse of a couple weeks.

If you do not have your wire up yet get the wire up lol......or a post or something but that zig zag vine needs some work.
valis101
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks bamboo_rabbit! Time to start putting in some posts! :)
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bamboo_rabbit
10 years ago
And a tip....be smarter than I was:) Go with good posts the first time. I ended up having to replace my posts a year in with much beeffier ones..6" diameter round posts. It was double the work and I should have known better instead of using what I had on hand.
muscadines978
9 years ago
All of the other guys are giving you great info, just follow their advise. Just a note: most growers don't train their vines before selling them. That is why your vine has 2 main trunks. The best of luck to you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Musadines And More
garymc
9 years ago
Wow, Poolecw, I don't think I've ever seen a more perfectly trained muscadine vine.
poolecw
9 years ago
Thanks garymc. I spent a lot of time with them during establishment.

Too bad the nursery sent me the wrong vines. This vine ended up being some other type of grape (unknown). So, I am going to dig them up and order some more from a reputable muscadine nursery line Isons or Bottoms Nursery.