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Dying Grapevine

Sally212Sally212 Posts: 8
in Problem solving
Hi all.   I bought a lovely new grapevine last year and planted it up in a new planter with new compost against a south facing wall.   It was growing beautifully.  This year, however, it appears to be dying.  Can anyone identify the problem or help me to save the vine ?  Many thanks. 

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Grapevines need to get their roots down very deep into the subsoil  … I’m afraid that yours is very unhappy in a container of compost. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Yes Dove is correct 
  • Sally212Sally212 Posts: 8
    Thank you both for your comments.  I did take advice when I bought the vine and made the planter and soil mix to the recommended size and type.  Unfortunately, putting it in the ground isn't an option as we have very heavy, wet, clay soil.  Maybe, this is an experiment that isn't going to work.  
  • barry islandbarry island Posts: 1,847
    Won't grape vines grow in clay soil then? I have been thinking of growing a vine in a small greenhouse planting it outside and training it into the greenhouse, it will cut down on watering being outside. Bob Flowerdew wrote an article in 2012 I think saying that the best way to restrict vigorous growth was to plant the vines in containers in the greenhouse and to train them up a single post, in the winter they can be moved outside where any pests will be killed by the cold, then by moving them back inside the greenhouse in stages during spring they will crop at different times. I may give it a go at some time in the future.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I know of vineyards in Suffolk on clay soil, so I googled just now … top of the page was this 
    https://www.slowine.com/the-many-benefits-of-planting-grapevines-in-clay-soils/#:~:text=The%20best%20soil%20for%20growing%20grapes%20is%20a,rich%20texture%2C%20in%20addition%20to%20having%20adequate%20nutrients. 

    It seems a lot depends on the variety. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Sally212Sally212 Posts: 8
    We have no soil near any walls and creating a support away from the house would leave it very exposed. My planter is 1'6" wide, x 5'6" long and 1'6" deep with a tall trellis at the back. Too big to move about. My advice was that the soil/compost needed to be free draining, which our clay soil isn't, so I felt a planter was my only option.  I didn't cover the vine over the winter and we had temperatures down to -14deg, so that could also have been my problem.  I will nurture it for another year, covering it in the winter this time and see how it turns out.  Thank you all for your thoughts. 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Our vine is on a trellis ‘fence’ in the garden … it’s alongside part of the terrace so makes an effective screen for our outside dining area. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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