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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Canadice grape vine doesn't fruit

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  • From: "Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Canadice grape vine doesn't fruit
  • Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:34:42 -0700

It still sounds like a nutrient imbalance, or possible something toxic in the environment. I don't know of any disease or insect that would selectively remove flower clusters that way.
That makes it likely that a replanted vine could have the same problem unless you can locate and correct it.
If you are going to remove it, dig down to where the roots come off the bottom of the trunk. That will be where they came out of the bottom of the original cutting. Cut the roots a couple of inches out from the trunk and take out the vine. The roots are unable to sprout new shoots and will die, though they can stay alive in the soil up to four years.
Without knowing the cause of your problem, I hesitate to recommend any grape for replanting.
-Lon Rombough
NEW grape pruning video: http://www.bunchgrapes.com/dvd.html View a short, low resolution clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q58zFY0B1M
Grapes, writing, consulting, my book, The Grape Grower, at http://www.bunchgrapes.com Winner of the Garden Writers Association "Best Talent in Writing" award for 2003.
A video about The Grape Grower : http://cookingupastory.com/index.php/2008/04/18/the-grape-grower/


I've had this Canadice grape vine for years, and I've only gotten fruit
once. In every other year, it grows flower buds, and then they abort
and fall off without blooming. I've attached a photo of one that fell
off at the bottom of this post.

Lon suggested it might be too much nitrogen (the vine abuts the lawn,
which gets corn gluten every spring and fall) and I wonder if the
problem might be aggravated by less-than-full sunlight. It only gets a
few hours of direct sunlight, and gets light high shade the rest of the day.

The one year that it did fruit, the fruit was good, but didn't knock my
socks off. It tasted a little better than good grapes at the
supermarket, but not nearly as good as my uncle's "New York Muscat", nor
as interesting as plain old Concord. So I want to give up on it and try
something else.

Here are my questions:
1) Can I plant another grape where a grape was?
2) What's the best way of removing this one to make way for a new one?
Or should I try to graft?
3) Any other ideas what the problem is?
4) What cultivars might be less susceptible to this problem, and taste
better than supermarket grapes?



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