Cold Hardy Grapes and Vines: Spring Field Notes

pruning a monster valiant grape today. not a tidy grape, but growing in some rich riverbank soil it's over twenty ft wide with a collection modestly pruned stems. it's a good example of a large vine growing in zone 3, bulletproof to -40 . I help to prune it back, somewhat and use the material to start our valiant grape for the season.

garden center at a big box store in zone 3, all the grapes for sale on the rack are zone 5-6. they all do this, when I mention it to the cashier it's just an inconvenience, i don't get why they bring in out of zone stock. don't trust garden centers hah

starting more grapes from hardwood collected from a friend. it’s challenging to grow grapes in zone 3 but it can be done with the right conditions and varieties.. for years I had given up on grapes but now have a renewed interest. going to attempt rooting in my grow room in deep pots with the tops bagged, to be transferred to a greenhouse next month. We hit -7C last night so I’m not brave enough to put anything green and leafy in the greenhouse yet, though all the germinated seeds out there were fine.

grapes breaking dormancy from rooted hardwood cuttings #grapes

valiant grape seeds. one of the most cold hardy grape cultivars, offering seeds from them is a fun addition to our seed shop and give people the opportunity to grow some grapes with diverse genetics.

riverbank grape selection rooted cutting. moved from bottom heat into its own pot and bagged to harden off. if you have cuttings with a small amount of roots and to reduce watering / moisture loss when propagating high value plants you can use the bag method. #propagation

valiant grapes waking up. Hoping to improve my grape selection this year, now that I’ve seen them overwinter in zn 3 without being covered up in the fall I might actually put them on a trellis #grapes

hops at around four or weeks, I have them in small pots under grow lights and the bines are just starting to take off and run, this would be a good stage to transplant outside. #hops #seedstarting

fuggle hops growing quickly at 8 days #hops #growingplants