How To Grow Grapes / RHS Gardening

To fruit well, and for the crop to ripen successfully, grapevines need regular attention throughout the growing season. Information on the different care tasks is shown below and in our guides to indoor and outdoor cultivation of grapes.

Related RHS Guides

Indoor cultivation of grapesOutdoor cultivation of grapes

Watering

Water newly planted grapevines during dry spells in their first growing season The period of time when an individual plant is in active growth. This will depend on the local climate and light levels, and can vary between different plants, although it is broadly from spring to autumn. to help them settle in. Once established, vines grown with their roots outside shouldn't need any additional watering. Although vines trained against walls or fences may require some additional watering if they’re in a rain-shadow – where the wall or fence reduces the amount of rainfall they receive. Grapevines planted inside a greenhouse or in containers require regular watering during the growing season.

Related RHS Guides

WateringHow to water containersCollecting rainwater

Mulching

With outdoor vines, apply a mulch Mulch is a layer of material, at least 5cm (2in) thick, applied to the soil surface in late autumn to late winter (Nov-Feb). It is used to provide frost protection, improve plant growth by adding nutrients or increasing organic matter content, reducing water loss from the soil, for decorative purposes and suppressing weeds. Examples include well-rotted garden compost and manure, chipped bark, gravel, grit and slate chippings. of organic matter, such as garden compost, in late winter or early spring. Aim to apply a layer 5–7.5cm (2–3in) deep. Mulching Mulch is a layer of material, at least 5cm (2in) thick, applied to the soil surface in late autumn to late winter (Nov-Feb). It is used to provide frost protection, improve plant growth by adding nutrients or increasing organic matter content, reducing water loss from the soil, for decorative purposes and suppressing weeds. Examples include well-rotted garden compost and manure, chipped bark, gravel, grit and slate chippings. will improve your soil, help to retain moisture and suppress weeds. With a greenhouse vine, mulch the rooting area just before growth starts in spring. Mulch should not touch the stem, as this may lead to rotting.

Related RHS Guides

Mulches and mulchingHow to mulchOrganic matter

Feeding

Grapevines growing in regularly mulched soil shouldn't need any additional feeding. However, if harvests are particularly poor, or your plant is showing signs of nutrient deficiency, apply a granular fertiliser to the soil in early spring. Use our page on nutrient deficiencies to work out what is lacking and apply the recommended feed, following instructions on the packet.With greenhouse vines and those in containers, start feeding a month after growth starts in spring, using a high-potassium liquid feed every two to three weeks. If growth is poor, use a high-nitrogen or balanced liquid feed. Stop feeding when the grapes start to ripen and colour up, as extra feeding at this time may spoil their flavour.

Related RHS Guides

How to feed plantsFertilisersHomemade fertilisers

Removing flowers and fruit

With newly planted grapevines, for the first two years after planting, remove all the flowers so the plant’s energy goes into getting well established. Then, in the third year, allow only three bunches of grapes to grow, and in the fourth year allow about five – or slightly more if the plant is growing well. After that, the vine should be well established and can crop fully.You can improve the size, sweetness and quality of grapes by reducing the number of bunches on each stem, and even the number of grapes per bunch. The ideal amount of bunches per plant depends on the age of the vine and the training system you use, see Pruning and training below. Reducing the number of grapes in a bunch encourages even ripening and improves air circulation, which reduces fungal diseases. But it’s a fiddly job, so is usually only worth doing on dessert greenhouse vines. Use vine scissors, which have long, narrow blades, or nail scissors, and carefully snip off about one in three grapes per bunch. Afterwards, check the bunches two or three times a week and remove any grapes that are diseased or damaged.

Greenhouse grapevine care

Ventilation and temperature

Grapevines like well-ventilated, warm, dry conditions, to deter fungal diseases and improve pollination. So keep the vents open in summer and autumn, especially around flowering and fruiting time.In September, gradually remove the leaves to expose the branches to sunlight and improve air circulation. Some varieties, such as ‘Muscat of Alexandria’, benefit from extra heat, so for these place a small fan heater in the greenhouse in spring (to aid growth) and in autumn (to aid fruit ripening). In winter, don’t heat the greenhouse and ventilate it freely in still, cold, dry weather until early spring, as vines need a period of chilling to initiate flowering.

Improving pollination

Almost all grape varieties are self-fertile and mostly pollinated by wind, though insects may also contribute to pollen transfer. Greenhouse vines often benefit from some additional help with pollination. During flowering, at about midday on a sunny day when the atmosphere is dry and the greenhouse is well-ventilated, either shake the stems or stroke a cupped hand over each bunch of flowers, to transfer pollen between them. The latter is a more reliable method for early season Muscat-type grapes, where pollination can be temperamental.

Removing tendrils

Consider removing the tendrils of indoor vines as soon as they appear, as they tend to get tangled up with the fruits and they help shoots to scramble off in wayward directions, making pruning and training more fiddly.

Propagating

Grapevines can be grown from hardwood cuttings Hardwood cuttings are taken from mid-autumn until late winter from vigorous healthy shoots of the current year's growth - this will be woody but pliable. Use for deciduous climbers, shrubs, trees (including fruit) and some evergreens such as hollies. taken in late autumn or winter. Softwood and semi-ripe cuttings Semi ripe cuttings are taken from summer to mid-autumn (Jul-Sep) from healthy stems grown this season. The base of the cutting is firm, while the tip is still soft. Use for climbers, herbs, evergreen shrubs, conifers and hedging plants. can also be taken from late spring to mid-summer. Commercially, grapevines are often propagated by whip-and-tongue grafting This involves joining the roots of one plant to the stem of another related plant, so they fuse together to form one plant. There are various methods, all requiring great skill. Grafting is mainly carried out by commercial growers to combine one plant’s qualities of flowering or fruiting (the upper section or scion) with the vigour or resilience of the other (the roots or rootstock). Fruit trees are often grafted, along with a few ornamental shrubs and trees, and in recent years grafted vegetable plants (mainly tomatoes, but also chillies, cucumbers, aubergines, etc) have become available. on a rootstock.

While it is also possible to grow grapevines from seeds (pips), it’s a slow process and the resulting plant is likely to produce lower quality fruit than its parents. There are also biosecurity Measures aimed at preventing the spread of potentially harmful organisms (pests, diseases or invasive species) into the environment. These include sourcing plants responsibly, quarantining new plants and practising good garden hygiene. risks associated with growing from the seed of supermarket-bought fruits, so this should be avoided.

Related RHS Guides

Hardwood cuttingsSoftwood cuttingsSemi-ripe cuttings