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Grape vine withering and looking unhealthy

MikeIpMikeIp Posts: 12
in Problem solving
I recently bought a mature grape vine from a garden centre. When I purchased it a few leaves looked brown and withered but the rest of the plant looked healthy. A few weeks on having had a good water and feed half of the plant still looks to be struggling whilst the other is green and healthy.

I have included a few photos, could someone kindly help me identify the problem?

Many thanks!


Posts

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    It looks a little like spider mite damage and I think I can see some of the webbing at the tips (which is diagnostic) when I zoomed-in to your first photo:

    They can be a problem in hot, dry weather, even outside.  They probably came with the vine as they prefer glasshouse conditions.  They are tiny and to see them you'll need to use a hand magnifying glass.  You can buy predator mites but those are usually used in greenhouses etc. and/or spray with something called SB Plant Invigorator which sort of glues them in place where they die, but isn't a pesticide as such.  They are resistant to most pesticides anyway (not that you'd want to spray those on something you are going to eat fruit from later!)
    A regular spraying with a fine mist of water will help keep numbers down but I would use the SB stuff initially (as it's also a tonic and feeds the leaves) to get numbers down and then mist all of the vine regularly.  If that doesn't work, you could try the predators but I think they  are more sensitive to temperature than spider mites, so a cold night outside might kill them, although I've had great success with them clearing a conservatory where every plant was showing signs.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • MikeIpMikeIp Posts: 12
    Many thanks for that quick and informative reply. I have purchased the SB Plant Invigorator and will give that a try. Thanks again!
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    Good luck with your vine @MikeIp !
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • dean0darli0dean0darli0 Posts: 1
    I have to agree it's spider mite, I had an infestation in the door way during the summer. 
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    @dean0darli0 they may not see your post. This thread dates from May 2020.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
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