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How to Grow Grapes: The Complete Guide

Photo Credit
Pixabay
Botanical Name
Vitis spp.
Plant Type
Fruit
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Soil pH
Slightly Acidic to Neutral
Hardiness Zone
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

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Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Grapes

Catherine Boeckmann

Grapes are harvested in early fall, and then planted in the spring. Learn more about growing grapes! Not only are they a beautiful ornamental plant but also these vines produce sweet treats that are wonderful for eating, juicing, and winemaking. 

About Grapes

Grape vines not only produce sweet and versatile fruits, but they also add an element of drama to a garden or landscape. They are vigorous growers, and with the proper pruning, they will produce fruit with ease within a few years and last for 30 years or more!

For home gardeners, there are three main types of grapes to consider: American (Vitis labrusca), European (V. vinifera), and French-American hybrids. American grapes are the most cold-hardy, while European grapes—usually better for wine than the table—do well in warm, dry, Mediterranean-type zones. Hybrids tend to be both cold-hardy and disease-resistant, but are not as flavorful as European grapes. Another type that is grown in the U.S. is the Muscadine (V. rotundifolia), which is native to the southern United States. The Muscadine grape’s thick skin makes it best suited for use in jams, wine, or other processed grape products.

Make sure you purchase grape vines from a reputable nursery. Vigorous, 1-year-old plants are best. Smaller, sometimes weaker, 1-year-old plants are often held over by the nursery to grow another year and are then sold as 2-year-old stock. Obtain certified virus-free stock when possible.

Eager to get started? We have plenty of tips for growing grapes in your backyard!

Read Next

Planting

  • Grapevines should be planted in early spring after the date of the last hard freeze has passed. Vines are usually purchased as dormant, bare-root plants.
  • Most grape varieties are self-fertile. To be sure, ask when you are buying vines if you will need more than one plant for pollination.
  • Select a site with full sun. If you don’t have a spot with full sun, make sure it at least gets morning sun. A small amount of afternoon shade won’t hurt. Your soil needs to be deep, well-drained, and loose. You also need good air circulation.
  • Grape vines will need to be trained to some sort of support to grow upward. This will also cut the risk of disease. The support needs to be in place at planting.
    • One option is a sturdy trellis or arbor. The arbor may have two, four or six posts, depending on whether it’s attached to the house or another structure. The top can be secured with 2-inch by 4-inch wooden slats that hold the arbor together and topped with 1-inch by 2-inch wood pieces to create the latticework for the vines to grow on. You may also need corner braces to secure the whole structure. Grow the grapes, one per post, selecting the strongest cane. Allow it to grow to the top of the post the first year, securing it to the post as it grows. 
    • If you are low on free space, try growing grapes on a stake. Pound in a sturdy stake next to the grapevine and securely attach it. Keep the vine growing vertically. Let the vine grow to the top of the stake the first year, then top it. Allow 4 to 5 side canes to grow. Remove all the rest.
  • Before planting grapevines, soak their roots in water for two or three hours.
  • Space vines 6 to 10 feet apart (16 feet for muscadines).
  • For each vine, dig a planting hole 12 inches deep and 12 inches wide. Fill with 4 inches of topsoil. Trim off broken roots and set the vine into the hole slightly deeper than it grew in the nursery. Cover the roots with 6 inches of soil and tamp down. Fill with the remaining soil, but don’t tamp this down.
  • Water at time of planting.

Growing

  • Do not fertilize in the first year unless you have problem soil. Fertilize lightly in the second year of growth.
  • Use mulch to keep an even amount of moisture around the vines.
  • A mesh net is useful in keeping birds away from budding fruit.

Pruning Grapes

Pruning is very important. Grapes produce fruit on shoots growing off of one-year-old canes. If you have too many old canes (from no pruning), then you’ll get fewer grapes. If you prune back your vines completely each year, then you get lots of new growth, but again, few grapes.

Pruning is done in late winter when the plant is dormant, usually around March. But for the first year or so, the goal is to create a strong root system and trunk. Plant in spring and prune back the grapevine to three buds. Then wait until the first winter.

  • If you are growing grapes on an arbor or trellis: Grow the grapes, one per post, selecting the strongest cane. Allow it to grow to the top of the post the first year, securing it to the post as it grows. The first winter, top the cane and allow it to grow side branches along the top of the arbor. If you let the vines just continue to grow, they will produce dense shade, but little fruit. Prune the grapes each winter by removing those canes that fruited the previous year, cutting back one-year-old canes to five to six buds, and leaving some renewal canes pruned back to two to three buds. The goal is to have canes on the trellis spaced 2 to 3 feet apart. Remove any weak, thin canes. You want to leave enough fruiting canes on the trellis to fill it back in each summer, but not so many that it becomes a tangled mess.
  • If you are growing grapes on a stake, cut back the side canes in the first winter to three buds on each. These will send out shoots that will produce grapes the next year. Remove all weak and spindly growth, especially along the lower parts of the trunk. The second winter, prune back the healthiest canes to six to ten buds, select two canes as renewal spurs, and prune those back to three buds on each and remove all other canes. Repeat this pruning each winter. Your trunk should be able to support four to seven fruiting canes each year as it gets older.

Types

Note: Seedless varieties will produce smaller grapes.

  • ‘Edelweiss’: Hardy in zones 4–7 (–20°F), early white variety. Table and wine.
  • ‘Reliance’: Hardy in zones 4–8, seedless, pink table grape.
  • ‘Seibel’: Hybrid, wine grape. Cold hardy.
  • ‘Swenson Red’: Hardy in zones 4–8, red table grape.
  • ‘Magnolia’: White Muscadine wine grape. Sweet. Best in zones 7–9.
  • ‘Valiant’: Eating grape hardy to Zone 2.

Harvesting

  • If grapes aren’t ripening, pinch back some of the foliage to let in more sunlight.
  • Grapes will not continue ripening once picked from the vine. Test a few to see if they are to your liking before harvesting, usually in late summer or early fall.
  • Grapes are ripe and ready to harvest when they are rich in color, juicy, full-flavored, easily crushed but not shriveled, and plump. They should be tightly attached to the stems. Sample different grapes from different clusters, and the taste should be between sweet and tart. Check our ripeness guide for more tips on color.
  • Grapes can be stored for up to six weeks in the cellar, but grapes can absorb the odors of other fruits and vegetables, so keep them separate. Use cardboard boxes or crates lined with clean, dry straw. Separate bunches with straw or sawdust. Check often for spoilage.
  • See our article on making jams and jellies with fruit from your garden.
Gardening Products

Wit and Wisdom

Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) resemble grapes only in that they grow in clusters, but that was sufficient reason for early European explorers in Barbados to bestow this name on them.

Pests/Diseases

Recipes

Chicken, Fennel & Fruit Quinoa Salad
Easy Grape Jelly With Two Ingredients
Fruit
About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s ÃÛÌÒÁµÈË found each other. She leads digital content for the ÃÛÌÒÁµÈË website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana. Read More from Catherine Boeckmann
 

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Comments

Hi Dan,

You are right, grape vines are sensitive to weed killer. All chemical weed killers would harm the vines, and if you plan on eating the grapes it’s best not to spray anything. Try to dig up the weeds as best as you can by hand, and then spread a thick 3-inch-layer of mulch or compost over the ground. Over the winter, lay a tarp over all weedy areas, leaving it to prevent new weed growth next spring. As for the age of the vines, it’s hard to tell the exact year, but you could ask the old owner if he remembers when he planted them. Lastly, you should remove the flower clusters as we suggested. If the vines have not been pruned in a year or two it’s best to have them focus their energy on growth, and then to prune them next spring. It’s a long process, but next year’s grapes will be healthier and more abundant. 

Shelby B (not verified)

7 years 5 months ago

Hello! I just bought my first home and with it came a Pergola with established grape vines all intertwined throughout. It looks like the previous owners haven't pruned or cut back in awhile. Some of the vines have started to grow into other surrounding plants/bushes. Any advice on where to begin and how to maintain? I know nothing on how to grow grapes. I live in Maine if that helps. Thanks in advance!

paul straw (not verified)

7 years 6 months ago

i purchased 2 starts from a northern Illinois catalog co i ordered red seedless i ended up with a blue seeded. i was wandering ,because the canes already over took the arbor i put up for them,should they be pruned now to keep them in check or let them go? i did prune in early march.next i bought 2 red seedless from a local store the leaves are turning brown around the edges . do you have any suggestions?thank you

paul straw (not verified)

7 years 5 months ago

on may 23rd i asked about in season pruning of concord or blue seeded grapes and a question about red seedless vines

Grace Armstrong (not verified)

7 years 3 months ago

Hello,

There is such a thing as summer pruning of vines. If this is a new vine and the arms or trunk have grown to the point that you want simply remove the growing tip at the end and it will stop growing at that particular point. The growth of canes in this growing season can be pruned as a summer pruning but it is recommended that you leave at least 15 full size leaves behind on each cane for each cluster of grapes growing so that they can ripen the grapes.

Kelli Zink (not verified)

7 years 6 months ago

I moved into house and have a HUGE, beautiful, vine on one side of our chain length fence. A neighbor said it used to produce grapes, but I have seen none. Would a massive pruning project help next time it's dormant? I mean trunk is at least 8 inches in diameter and probably hasn't been pruned in MANY years.

Well, we would be guessing if we were to try to identify this plant. If it is in leaf, why don’t you bring a few leaves to a local nursery and ask them to identify it—at least, to confirm it is grape. (Maybe they’d come out and take a look at it if they are into solving mysteries!) Once that is known, you can plan. Pruning would be a good idea, if it is grape. (Any chance it’s wisteria?? Also, you do not mention it’s having support other then a chain link fence; how high is the vine?? We’re just curious.)

Ann (not verified)

7 years 6 months ago

I have wild grapes growing in my yard in Illinois that produce flower clusters but no grapes. Based on the flowers, I believe them to be male. Do you know if there is a source for female grapes online?

Jenni (not verified)

7 years 6 months ago

I have 2 established grapevines growing on a split rail fence between our yard and neighbor. There is grass (and some weeds) growing under the canes and up to the main trunks. I believe that we should clear the ground around the main trunks, but not sure how big an area to clear or if we can then put mat and mulch or stone in the cleared area.

Appreciate your thoughts!

You want to keep grass and other plants/weeds from growing under the grapes. Weed and hoe gently under the vines to kill seedling weeds and deter other things from starting. The best mulch is your time. If the area at the base of the vines is clear, the soil will heat up and maintain higher soil temps to encourage growth. grass or other plants at the base cool the soil.  As a result, growth in spring will be delayed. Keeping the soil clear of grass and weeds will produce the best results. So no mat, no stones, just busy hands under the vines.