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Where can I grow a grapevine?

StaceyjStaceyj Posts: 62
in Problem solving

I jumped in with both feet and bought a Vitis Regent grapevine without thinking through where to put it. I have limited sunny wall/fence space and have found an 180cm obelisk on a website and wondered if it would be suitable. Any advice or ideas...please!

Posts

  • MarineliliumMarinelilium Posts: 213

    Grapes like warm, sunny walls as the brick can lift night temperatures by several degrees. The grape can be trained up your obelisk Stacey but then the stem's fruit spurs like to fan out horizontally once they attain a metre.

    I have tried to cut one of my grapevines into extinction twice but the triffid just comes back stronger. They are  a bit like roses, in that there is soooo much training/pruning advice out there. In my humble experience I treat em  mean and it keeps em keen.

    My advice is :

    *never cut them after November 5th,  cut to five buds a stem

    *feed them February 5th (with chicken pellets)

    * and spray them in in 5th month May with a one fifth milk to water solution to prevent mildew. Sorted.

  • jatnikapyarjatnikapyar Posts: 419

    Marine is right, once they are established they need little pampering. Keep them well watered as well so you get juicy plump fruit. I was surprised to find that they are tough enough to survive heavy frost too!!

  • StaceyjStaceyj Posts: 62

    I think I'll try and clear a bit of wall space instead of the obelisk. If I have to train the side shoots once the vine is a metre tall, there won't be enough area left as it tapers to the top. Thank you for the advice Marinelilium and jatnikapyar.

     

  • AstraeusAstraeus Posts: 336
    There is some useful guidance on here so I thought I'd resurrect rather than start a new thread with a related question.

    Up here in Yorkshire, we're looking to plant a grapevine over a 5m long single pergola. Ideally we'd have one which bore seedless grapes but I think even Lakemont might be too precious for our climate - is that right? Then, looking to something like a Boskoop Glory, what are people's experiences please? The pergola will be in an open position with sun from mid morning to late afternoon - 7 hours or so. It will be very well sheltered and within a metre or so of a brick garage wall.
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    Grapes are much tougher than many people think. If you have ever seen a Swiss vinyard on your way up to a ski resort you would recognise that they can survive a hefty degree of frost. The Bordeaux region may be scorching hot in the summer but it gets bitterly cold in winter. German vinyards have the same climate challenges. The biggest climate issue here in the UK is getting the fruit to ripen so choose an early ripening variety and you should get decent grapes.
  • AstraeusAstraeus Posts: 336
    Thank you.

    I'm actually in Switzerland right now and thought exactly the same - their winters are far harsher but they prosper aplenty.

    Any recommended varieties?
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