The Best Season for Planting Grapevines, Transplanting Time, and a Detailed Breakdown of the Price per Plant

Grapes generally ripen in August and September. For grape growers, they will choose the right season to plant grapevines.What is the best season for planting grapevines? How much does one plant cost? When is the best time to transplant? Grape planting is generally done in spring, and few growers plant in autumn, but in recent years scientific research and frontline production practice have consistently shown that autumn planting of grapes produces better results than spring planting, and in regions with suitable conditions, grape planting should be carried out in autumn.

When Is the Best Time to Plant Grapevines

Grapevines are generally planted in autumn. Autumn temperatures are suitable, and for young seedlings the weather and climate are both fairly suitable for cultivation. It is recommended that grapevines be planted in autumn during the seedling stage!

After summarising, cultivating grapevines in autumn has the following advantages

1. The survival rate of grapes planted in autumn is greatly improved. The temperature variation in autumn is smaller than in spring, and the humidity of the air and soil is higher than in spring. These conditions are very favourable for wound healing and the growth of new grape roots. Therefore, the survival rate of autumn-planted grapes can generally reach over 95%, whereas the survival rate of spring planting is somewhat lower.

2. The fruiting and high-yield period is brought forward. Grapes planted in autumn do not need to recover from transplanting in spring, and their germination and growth time is 20 to 30 days earlier than spring-planted ones. Some can even flower and fruit in the same year, and by the 2nd year they can generally bear fruit. Grapes planted in spring, however, cannot flower and fruit in the same year.

3. Planting grapes in autumn avoids competing with grain, cotton, oil and other crops for water and fertiliser. The season for autumn-planted grapes comes after autumn grain, cotton and oil crops have been planted and no longer need watering or topdressing. This reduces the conflict of competing with other crops for water and fertiliser, helps meet the water and fertiliser needs of autumn-planted grapes, and ensures the planting quality of autumn-planted grapes.

4. There is more time available for autumn planting of grapes than for spring planting. In the Yellow Sea region of our country, the autumn planting period for grapes starts in mid-October and ends at the end of November, lasting as long as 45 to 50 days, which is clearly 15 to 20 days longer than the suitable planting period for spring planting.

How Much Does a Grapevine Cost

Current prices are 3 yuan, 5 yuan, 10 yuan or even higher. The variety below costs around 5 yuan.

[Mr. Grape No. 1] Variety Characteristics

1. Variety: A selected bud sport of Kyoho, developed through more than 10 years of breeding and propagation.

2. Trait performance: earlier, better, stronger

The time from flowering to ripening is only 55 to 60 days. Under the same conditions, it ripens naturally 30 days earlier than Kyoho! The colouring is attractive and uniform, with an average berry weight of 12 grams, a bunch weight of 1-1.5 jin, and a sugar content of 16-23%. It does not drop berries or crack, has stronger stress resistance, and performs excellently both in open-field and protected cultivation.

3. Yield and returns: Planted in April each year, it reaches mass production the next year, with a yield of 3000 jin per mu, and thereafter maintains high yields for ten years, at 5000 jin per mu.

Filling a gap in the market, earlier, better and stronger, it will bring about a “major reshuffle” of grape varieties

[Mr. Grape No. 1] Development Advantages

Strong adaptability and a wide range of cultivable areas:

Trial planting areas cover six major regions and more than a dozen provinces and cities, including Liaoning, Shaanxi, Gansu, Shandong, Hebei, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Anhui, Yunnan and Guizhou. The variety's various indicators all perform better than Kyoho, with obvious early-maturing and high-quality characteristics, and it has been praised by grape experts as a “reshuffle” variety of grapes.

What Should Be Noted When Buying High-Quality Grapevines?

1. Look at the market.

Look at how grapes are selling on the local market: which season has the most, which variety sells best, which variety commands the highest price, and so on. Based on this, choose which variety of grapevine to introduce. If there are many Kyoho grapes locally and supply exceeds demand, then varieties similar to Kyoho grapevines should no longer be introduced; instead, other varieties such as Red Globe, Liuyuezi, Black Large Berry and Ruby can be introduced.

2. Look at the phenological period and the water, fertiliser and soil conditions.

Different grape varieties have different characteristics; their stress resistance during the growing period, cold tolerance and tolerance to water and fertiliser all differ. This requires us to choose varieties according to local conditions. For example, the south is hot and rainy, so varieties with strong stress resistance and tolerance to water and fertiliser need to be chosen; the north is cold, so cold-tolerant varieties should be chosen; for thin mountainous land, varieties tolerant of poor soil should be chosen; for saline-alkali land, varieties tolerant of alkaline salts should be chosen; and in places that rely on exporting grapes, varieties tolerant of storage and transport should be chosen.

3. Look at one's own economic and technical situation.

There are many grape varieties: advanced ones, ordinary ones, and ones about to be phased out. The relatively advanced varieties at present are mostly large-berried, brightly coloured, sweet Euro-Asian types, especially seedless varieties. However, these seedlings are mostly rather expensive and difficult to manage, yet they also have great development prospects. Such as

4. Look at the seedling-selling organisation.

Mainly look at whether it is a formal seedling-raising organisation, and whether it has a seed garden and seedling base. Usually, professional research institutions approved by the science and technology committee system are relatively more reliable. Buyers should look at the formal red-headed document issued by its science and technology committee and the corresponding business licence, seedling production and operation licence.

5. Look at the purity of the seedlings.

There are more than eight thousand grape varieties in the world, but only about a hundred or so circulate on the market in any particular period, and each variety has its own characteristics. As a good variety, its root system, mature new shoots and buds should all be consistent. For example, Bandian Shengbao has thin tendrils and many roots, with an appearance like a bird's nest. Juxing and Richard Matte have straight and clean root systems. If the introduced variety has a consistent appearance, there are generally very few mixed seedlings.

6. Look at the quality of the seedlings.

Mainly look at whether the seedling's root system is complete and well developed, whether there is any mould or rot, whether there is any mechanical damage, whether there are pests or diseases, whether it is thick and strong, and whether the branches are well matured and substantial.

When Is the Best Time to Transplant a Grapevine

For transplanting larger grapevines, the best season is autumn. This is because a grapevine planted in autumn has several months before spring, during which the wound on the root system heals partially or completely, and some can even grow a small amount of new roots; a grapevine planted in spring needs a period of time to heal the wound before it can grow new roots, meaning it requires a certain recovery period. It should be noted, however, that after autumn planting, the work of earthing up to protect against cold must be done well.