Potted Grape Growing Methods and Safe Overwintering Tips
Grapes are a fairly common fruit with a great many varieties, and nowadays they can basically be eaten all year round. Grapes taste sweet and are full of juice; besides being eaten fresh, they can also be used to make wine, raisins and other foods. The common ways of growing grapes are greenhouse and open-field cultivation, and now potted grapes are also grown in many places. So what are the methods for growing potted grapes? How do you overwinter them safely?
I. What are the methods for growing potted grapes?
1. Variety selection
Grape varieties suitable for potting include Kyoho, Jingya, Jingchao, Izumi Nishiki, Black Olympia, Jingyu, Phoenix No. 51, Delaware, 8611, 8612, Zizhenxiang, American Black Pearl, and others.
2. Choosing a container
A container for potted grapes should generally be attractive, sturdy and have good drainage and aeration. When choosing a container, its size should be determined according to the space where the potted grape will be placed and the size of the plant. Pots, baskets and troughs that can hold growing medium are all containers for potting; on a balcony, plastic flower pots, clay pots and the like are preferable; on a roof or in a courtyard and other larger spaces, larger bonsai pots, troughs and so on can be chosen. In current potted grape growing, a 30-40cm plastic flower pot is mostly chosen as the planting container.
3. Fertilizing
The principle of fertilizing potted grapes is to apply little but often. For young potted seedlings that have not yet fruited, generally start when the seedling is about 20cm tall (that is, 6-7 leaves) and apply cake fertilizer water once every 7-10 days until the end of September.
For potted grapes that have already fruited, to ensure fruit development, it is best to apply once every 5 days, and after the fruit is harvested, apply as for potted seedlings. Note that after each application of liquid fertilizer, water immediately.
Potted grapes can also be given foliar feeding. The method is: in the early growth stage of potted grapes, spray a 0.1%-0.3% urea solution 2-3 times; starting from the fruit enlargement stage, spray a 0.3% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution 3-4 times every 7-10 days.
4. Watering
When watering, the water temperature should preferably be close to the potting soil temperature, and it is best to water before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m. The water quality should be good, and the watering frequency depends on the season. Generally, in early spring when the temperature is low, water once every 2-3 days; as the temperature rises and evaporation increases, water once every 1-2 days; in autumn, after the temperature gradually drops, the watering frequency gradually decreases again, keeping the potting soil moist.
II. How do you overwinter potted grapes safely?
1. Shaping and pruning
Winter is the stage when grape growth is extremely slow, and it is also a fairly suitable stage for pruning grapes. This is because at this time sap flow tends to stagnate, less nutrients are lost through the wounds, and the plant suffers little damage from pruning. A potted grape that has been reasonably shaped and pruned is not only attractive in form but also grows more vigorously.
2. Do not let it lose water
Although the grape plant is dormant in winter, for potted ones watering management must not be relaxed; otherwise, once it loses water, the root system will be damaged and the buds will dry out, which will seriously affect growth in early spring. The approximate watering interval during this period is once a week, which keeps the potting soil slightly moist and meets the water needs of potted grapes.
3. Apply more base fertilizer
To ensure that the plant grows strong the following year, after winter sets in you can combine repotting with applying some fermented organic fertilizer, such as soybean cake, chicken manure, sesame paste residue and the like. Note that the amount of fertilizer used should not be too much.
4. Control the temperature
When the weather turns freezing, once the potted grape has lost all its leaves, it can be moved indoors; this helps the plant enter full dormancy and prevents it from sprouting in winter because of a short-term rise in temperature.