Potted Grape Summer Care Tips and Watering Methods

Summer is the critical period for grape growth. High heat and high humidity also invite disease, and if you are not careful, you will end up with dropped fruit, split fruit, or even a whole plant that wilts away! Below we have put together a super-complete list of care essentials, from watering and fertilizing to pruning and disease prevention. Follow them and your potted grapes will hang heavy with fruit.

Watering
 
1.During the bud-break and flowering stages, the soil only needs to be slightly moist. Avoid waterlogging (to prevent leggy growth and flower drop).

2.During the enlargement stage, water a bit more and keep the soil moist to promote fruit growth.

3.Control water during the ripening stage! Slightly dry soil prevents fruit splitting and increases sweetness.

4.In summer, evaporation is fast. If one watering does not soak through, top up after half an hour; avoid the high heat at midday.

Fertilizing

1.During the bud-break stage, use a high-nitrogen fertilizer (sheep manure, soybean cake) to promote leaves and shoots.

2..During flower-bud differentiation, spray monopotassium phosphate+brassinolide to strengthen flower buds.

3.After flowering, drench the roots with a nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium compound fertilizer to set the fruit.

4.After the fruit swells->during the stone-hard stage, first apply a high-nitrogen water-soluble fertilizer (to promote growth), then spray a phosphorus-potassium fertilizer (to strengthen the fruit).

5.During the color-turning stage, increase potassium fertilizer (such as Angel Fubon yeast fertilizer) for sweet, brightly colored fruit.

6.No fertilizer during flowering! 

Pruning

1.Remove excess weak buds and keep the strong ones.

2.New shoots20-30cmpinch off the tips to prevent leggy growth and promote fruit set.

3.Remove weak flower clusters and keep1-2strong clusters; thin out small and deformed berries to keep the berries even.

4.Prevent branches and leaves from becoming too dense and blocking light.

Disease prevention
 
1.10-15Spray Bordeaux mixture once every 10-15 days/mancozeb to prevent downy mildew and powdery mildew.

2.At the early stage of disease, spray sulfur or dimethomorph.

3.After rain, provide shelter promptly and drain standing water to prevent pathogen growth.

High temperature

1.Water frequently with small amounts to retain moisture and cool down; avoid heavy watering.

2.If new shoots are not dense, keep more of them to prevent sunscald.

3.Supplement calcium and magnesium fertilizer to boost sun tolerance and stress resistance.

Notes
 
1.Grapes love the sun, so they must be placed where there is no shade, with at least6hours of direct light a day. With enough light, the fruit will be sweet.

2.During flowering, not only should you not fertilize, but you should also control watering. Too much water easily causes fruit drop.

3.Once the branches reach a certain length, promptly tie the vines to the trellis with cloth strips so the branches and leaves spread out and let light through, and the fruit hangs more securely.