Recent Posts
- Backyard Landscaping Ideas, what plants to use where.
- Landscaping Ideas. What Plant Goes Where in the Landscape?
- Colorful and Flowering Plants to Brighten Up Your Yard in the Early Spring
- Mondays with Mike McGroarty at Mike’s Plant Farm, 4850 North Ridge Road, Perry, Ohio 44081
- How to Make Your Own Sprinklers on Stand Pipes.
Thanks, Mike,
I really enjoyed your video and learned alot. I’m wondering if this way of hard wood rooting works for other plants or just for vines.
Best wishes,
Annie
OK Mike, you gave a certain time to dig the grapevines up and replant them where I ultimately wanted them, my question is, can I plant them in the place I want them to stay and not move them as they mature?
Thanks for all you do.
Cliffoflancing
Would this same procedure work for the Japanese Cherry Tree?
Do the cuttings do best in a sunny place or can they take part shade? I would love to do what you are doing! Thanks for the info!
Melanie-
Sunny location is best, but if it has to be a part shade location, pick a location where it will get at least 6 hours of morning sun, but try your best to get a full sun location.
Good luck,
Steve Huffman
Wow this one looks easy, I will definitely try this. Does your website show you what else you can root. Thanks Mike.
very fascinating
how do you propagate rhododendrons,pieris japonica?
Hi Mike, Just want thank you for all your wonderful advice and techniques!
Hey Mike, I print out every thing you send me so I don’t have to get my lap top out but when you just talk it’s hard to do that. Can you or maybe you do already, type out what you are saying in the video?? I have several lil grape vines and would love to start new plants and maybe sale them. Please let me know if you are able to do this for me and everyone else. I enjoy your emails very much and they all have been a great help.
thanks for all you do.
Donna
I’m with you Donna – I’d like written instructions as well as the video. I’m keeping a book of all Mike sends that I can print out and keep in my “Gardening” book.
Good morning, Mike. I appreciate all the wonderful information you share. I have a request–HELP!!!!! Wild onions are taking over my lawn and flower beds by the zillions! Any ideas on how to eradicate these pestiferous plants? It is just a doggone shame that wild onions aren’t a money crop! Any help is MUCH appreciated. You and Pam have a great day! Mary
My new property is also infested with these wild alliums. I mow down those that are in the lawn, and if they pop up in my vegetable garden I try to dig them out,
but you have to dig deeply sometimes to get all of the bulbs. Whatever you do, don’t let them flower and go to seed or the problem will be compounded even more.
If someone has a better solution for these smelly pests, please let us know!
Kathy Anderson
Mike’s Assistant
Can’t comment because I can’t see the article or the video.
If your computer won’t allow you to open the newsletter link to see the video, you might have better luck viewing it directly from the blog site
at http://www.mikesbackyardnursery.com/
Kathy Anderson
Mike’s Assistant
For those of you who are having problems seeing the videos…you may need to have Adobe Flash installed on your computer.
If you type Adobe Flash into Google you can download a free copy and follow the installation instructions.
If you have flash installed already…you may need to adjust your security/privacy settings on your internet browser to allow the video to play.
Thanks,
Duston
Say if you have a Concord or Flame grape plant, and you want to transplant it in two weeks at a distant location. How much of the root would you need? How much dirt around the root does the plant need for the trip? At what time of the year should you do this? Should you use any chemicals? After you dig it up, how much time can safely lapse before you harm the plant? Should you keep the roots wet? Will the grape plant produce grapes the first year after transplanting?
Mike…I don’t expect you to take the time to answer all my questions, but I’m sure questions have been asked before, and I would appreciate knowing where I can go for answers.
Thank you for your help through-out the year,
jim Peterson
Nevada/Mexico
Jim-
Here are some answers to your questions from my own experience:
“Say if you have a Concord or Flame grape plant, and you want to transplant it in two weeks at a distant location. How much of the root would you need?”
It depends on the size of the plant, but wait till it is dormant and take as many roots as possible with it & trim the top growth way back.
“How much dirt around the root does the plant need for the trip?”
If the plant is dormant, you won’t need any dirt, but be sure to keep something moist around the roots, such as moist pine shavings (not Cedar!), moist newspapers or paper towels, etc. You can put the vines in a large plastic bag to store until you are ready to plant, but make sure they are kept in a dark, cool location (not freezing!) and keep them moist, but not soaking wet. 34 – 38 degrees F is ideal.
“At what time of the year should you do this?”
Late December until February, (after dormancy and before Spring bud break).
“Should you use any chemicals?” No.
“After you dig it up, how much time can safely lapse before you harm the plant?”
At the nursery, we dig them up in January and hold them in cold storage until the customers call for delivery, which can be as late as late April. As long as you keep them dormant, you’ll be fine. If you see the buds starting to swell, times up…get them in the ground!
“Should you keep the roots wet?”
Only moist, not soaking wet. If you use potting soil around the roots, it should clump together in your fist, but no drips.
“Will the grape plant produce grapes the first year after transplanting?”
They may, if you leave some fruiting wood on the vine while pruning. Fruiting wood is the growth that grew this past season. Do not allow very many, if any, clusters of grapes on the newly transplanted vine as it needs the root system to re-develop and the clusters will take away from that.
Good luck,
Steve Huffman
Raleigh, NC
Good morning, Steve….Another question for you, if I may…
In a semi-tropical location, do the plants, like grapes, go dormant about the same time of the year as they do in a location with all the seasons? (It’s really difficult for me to put this in words) At my winter home in Mexico, the temperatures might get down to 45 degrees F at night in the winter; daytime temp will still run 80 degrees.
Thanks,
jim
Thanks!
I have juneberry and aronia berry plants I would like to propagate. Do you think this technique would work for them?
I just watched your video on growing grapes. I live in Michigan and was wondering what kind of grapes can be grown here other than Cocord.
Hi Ellen,
There are many varieties that can be grown in Michigan. In the LAKE LEELANAU & TRAVERSE CITY areas, they are growing the Vinifera varieties. I don’t know where you are located, but if you are in a particularly cold area, try this web site: http://www.grapes.umn.edu/ for cold hardy varieties.
It’s the University of Minnesota, can’t get much colder than that!
Good luck,
Steve Huffman
Raleigh, NC
Hey Mike. I am a master gardener from Indiana. Just watched your video on starting grapes. I am wondering if the same thing can be done with bittersweet? Keep up the good work!
Mike,
Thanks for the info. I have a hedge row that consists of a mix of grapes and thorn bushes. Theses plants are at least 40 years old. I love the aroma of the sticker bushes when they flower in the spring and I also want to have the grapes bare fruit (they have not had fruit for the 12 years I have owned the the property). Is it possible to keep the hedge row with both plants?? Can the grapes be made productive again?? What would you do??
Thanks Again, Ell
Ell-
What I would do is take some cuttings off that old grape vine and start some new plants the way Mike shows in his video. If you don’t know what variety the old vine is, it might be best to get some cuttings of a known variety and start fresh with them. There are so many exciting new varieties on the market these days.
To get the old vine to produce again, you should cut that vine back (pruning should be done after they go dormant, say in January) and I mean way back! As close to the original trunk as possible. It will send out new growth in the Spring. As grapes produce fruit off of new growth that is grown off of last years growth, then the following winter, you will want to prune it to leave some of the growth that grew the previous season. So, if you prune it back this coming January, you shouldn’t see any fruit till the summer of 2012.
With that said and taking in consideration the thorn bushes, I would just start some new plants and place them in a more convenient location (in full sun).
Good luck,
Steve Huffman
Thanks Mike. I have been wanting to make more grape vine plants from the one I have. This came just in time. I was going to put some soil in a bag and wrap it around a piece of the vine during the spring time and see if roots would grow from doing it that way.
Great Teacher !!! Mike I enjoyed and admired your simple but explicit demonstration for grape growing. You are the real teacher. Thanks so much.
Mike will this technique work with Muscadine grapes as well?
I had wished there would have been a couple scenes where your camera man had zoomed in on the vine and you pointed to the nodes and buds and the ends of the stems.
I clicked on the Growing Grow Your Own Grape Plants. It just brings me here.
scroll to the top of this page and you can watch the video
I live in Southern California – no frost ever. What would be a good time to take the cuttings? Now? Closer to the new year?
Thank you. Love your videos.
Marianne
Marianne-
Never say never… they used to say that it would never hit 115 degrees in LA… we did see that happen this past summer.
Rule of thumb for sunny So Cal… wait till after New Years, but before bud break (say end of Feb).
Good luck,
Steve Huffman
Raleigh, NC
(formerly from Bakersfield, CA)
Hi Mike,
Will this technique work for the small cold hardy Kiwi?
Hi Mike, I wish I could see this, living with a dial up it won’t load, and my friend has the best white concord grapes i have ever tasted growing in her yard! How long do you leave things like this posted? Maybe I can go watch it somewhere else.
All of Mike’s videos are archived on his http://www.mikesbackyardnursery.com/ blog, so you can view them there at any time.
Your local library may have computers that you can use to view the videos.
Kathy Anderson
Mike’s Assistant
It was a real pleasure to check my e-mail today and see the subject line. I was on the internet last night looking up how to propagate grape vines . Your video was right on time. I feel absolutely confident that I now know what to do.
Thanks,
Cheryl
will u 1/2 any thing on trimming apple trees
Mike has an article on his website at http://freeplants.com/ that explains how to care for and prune apple trees.
The article can be found here: http://freeplants.com/apple-trees.htm
Kathy Anderson
Mike’s Assistant
Have grown white seedless grapes on one vine for the last 16 years in a small, fenced-in patio.
Plan to try growing new cuttings in a full sun area, and will add some Concord grape cuttings from my folks’ old home. This came just at the right time for me, too, as I have time to prepare
new raised beds for them before this winter hits. This spring I transplanted all my raspberries to a new raised bed and they’ve taken off like crazy. Also planning new raised beds for moving existing 120 sq ft of strawberry plants for next year, and others for next years’ vegetables.
Thanks Mike for the for the video about starting Grapes plants. I needed that.
I might dream tonight that I’m on my back yard propagating my grapes plants.
Thanks again
Nancy
Steve Huffman,
I have lost grape vines when they were pruned in early spring just before budding starts. It seemed that if they were not pruned early enough to allow the cuts to heal before we get the warm days and cool nights (like those when maple sap is gathered) the vines tend to “bleed” to death. Have you ever experienced this?
Mike Krieg
Southern Indiana
That was a great tutorial. I would like to do cuttings on an Azelia plant and the stems are very thick, will this work the same way on the cuttings?
Thanks for sharing Mike.
Diana, Azaleas are different and for best success you should be working with growth that was produced this year. You can root all kinds of cuttings in the Home
Made Plant Propagation System
Dear Mike,
God bless you for taking the time to teach other people what you know about plants! I love all kinds of plants but I don’t know very much about taking care of them except for watering them. The grape vines teaching is awesome, thank you so very much. We planted a grape vine servera years ago and it gives us lots of grapes, only they are very small. How do you get then to grow big like the ones you buy at the store?
Thank you,
Carol
Carol, grapevines have to be pruned back pretty hard each winter. If you don’t prune them they produce too many grapes, most of which are not that good. Most if not all fruit crops need to be thinned so the fruit that is produced has a chance to grow and mature. The plant can only support a limited number of grape bunches. When there are too many on the vine they all suffer. You control that by reducing the amount of vines on each plant.
More info here: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1428.html
How long into the year must i continue to water my evergreens? It’s been a long dry summer in Tennessee but now that fall is here, do they continue to need me to water them?
Joy,
No, they really shouldn’t need much water this time of year. With evergreens you really have to be careful, it’s easy to over water them and kill them.
I just noticed that my seedless red grape has got a growth on the main stem about eight inches above the dirt. Looks like a large mantis egg shell but the size of a grapefruit and hard. Any ideas of what this is and what to do about it. My plant is two years old and has not set fruit yet.
Thanks.
excellent!! thanks.
Thank you for showing how to make grape plants from cuttings. I have some concord grape plants (15 years old) that are two close to evergreens and hard to manage. Can I transplant the roots after trimming the vine. Do I plant it after first hard freeze or before?
Jode – Idaho
Jode,
Sure you can transplant them. Wait until after a hard freeze.
I liked it better when you wrote out instructions. I have slooowww internet and it is taking about 2 hours to view this video. Can I download it to my computer so I can watch it please?
Sammie, if you just pause the video and do something else it will load while you busy doing other things.
What about the issue of the root stock. I know that grapes have to be on a certain root stock to avoid some problems. All the grapes were destroyed many year ago by some type of problem and now has to be on a special root stock. Is that true now?
Bill
Your video was very timely. My husband and I just errected a new pergolla to replace an arbor that was falling down. There is one Concord grape vine established but I was at a loss as to how to deal with it. I will make some cuttings as soon as we get into dormancy and plant them around the posts. I live in Maryland and would love some info on other good varieties to grow. I’d like to start some table grapes as well maybe one early and one later variety. We have kiwi’s too that produced a few fruits last year and two or three quarts this year. The plan is to build a similar pergolla for them and I will experiment with making some cuttings and planting around the new posts with that as well. I have some raspberries and a patch of strawberries but I’m working full time and a bit lazy so they need some work and I need encouragement. Your newsletters and videos are a great help and support.
I am beginning a greenhouse and already I have a disease or fungus on my tomatoes, cukes and zuccini. What is the best way to control those problems?
Hey Mike I planted two bald cypress trees one in my back yard one in my
mothers back yard 2 years ago. The tree in my moms yard is 3 times as big
as mine. What could be some reasons for this? PLEASE anyone any help would be appriciated
Mike, thanks for all of your great information. I have been propogating Japanese maple seeds using your tips for about 3 years now. As you had suggested in your videos, I pull the wing off the seed and germinate them in the refrigerator. This has been a successful process but this year I have gathered thousands of seeds from a lot of different varieties of Japanese maple trees. Since I have gathered so many seeds, it’s not practical for me to pull the wing from each seed or to germinate them in the fridge. Do you think the seed would still germinate OK by just leaving the wing on the seed? Also, I plan to let them germinate naturally outdoors through the winter under a thin layer of dirt.Do you think this soulds like a successful plan? Any other suggestions?
Thanks again for all your help! Scott
Guess it’s ok to initially plant the buds in a permanent location instead of transplanting the following year?
Mike, is there any particular time of year to make these cuttings? Can this be done in the winter? I can get plenty of vines but they are cut back just before the sap starts to rise and it would seem to me that the vines would not root unless sap was rising or at least present.
John, hardwood cuttings of grape plants is for sure a winter sport. I used to work at a place where we made 500,000 of them each winter, starting in December through Feb.
Hi Mike,
Enjoy the videos. Will be joining backyard growers soon.
Would you use the same process for Blackberry bushes? or is that done at another time of the year?
Blackberries send out runners that send up new plants wherever they spread, and those new little plants can be dug up in the spring and
transplanted. They can also be propagated by tip layering. Both of these methods are simple as can be. This article from Mike’s website
explains how to care for the various types of blackberries and how to propagate them: http://freeplants.com/blackberries.htm
Kathy Anderson
Mike’s Assistant
Anne, I think the Blackberries can be layered or done as softwood cuttings in the Home
Made Plant Propagation System
Mike,
Thanks for all the energy and information you put into you videos. I am a farmers daughter and love the land. It is great that you share your knowledge.
Thank you for the grape vine video. I have been putting off trimming the single grape I have been able to keep alive in the Rio Grande Valley. This motivated me to get out on a cool day and try to create some good root starts. I want to make some home made wine but no grapes yet. A toast to you when they come.
Hi Mike,
Love your news letter & blog.
I live in south florida and find it difficult to grow anything.
We don’t have a dormand season, in summer it gets really hot.
Even a tomato plant want survive on my patio.
Mike could you recommend a book that concentrates on ” how to grow you own
vegetables and fruit?
Thank you.
I watched your video and took some cuttings from our already established grape vines. It sure is funny to take just plain raw sticks and put them in the ground. But I am sooooo excited to say that they are now GROWING…every single one! I am very thankful for your video, Mike…it gave me instruction and inspiration to try it
Congratulations Kim!
Can you root Paw Paws this way?
I also would love a print out of the video since I can’t get any of them; poor dialup connection and no other options. Thanks for all you do for us!
Steve,
Thank you for your help.
I live in central Georgia. We have a lot of wild Muscadines. I have been wanting to try moving them or taking cuttings to have a regular vineyard. They grow over a lot of bushes and way up into the tall trees. Do you think these instructions will work for them? If so will it be the same time of the year? They have yet to ripen this season.
Jo
Thank you for the video, really appreciate the detailed instructions.
Three questions if you have time:
Is it possible to take cuttings now in early spring when buds are starting to come on? (there wasn’t much winter this year here in MS)
Will this method work for muscadines as well?
Will this method work for blueberries?
Thank you again and best wishes!
Deb, this time of the year it’s too late for hardwood cuttings and too early for softwoods. You can do softwoods in June with the http://www.freeplants.com/homemade-plant-propagation.htm This system works for all kinds of plants.
Wow..terrific and very informative video. I have been doing grapvine cuttings the hard way…in water rooting. Thank you for all your inspirational videos and info on website!! Divine intervention in learning new techniques and Mike you truly have a wonderful talent!! I have learned so very much from you!! THANK-YOU!!
Weird…Just today I brought back some grapevines I dug up from a property I’m selling this week. I had already chopped them up and left in a bucket of water till tomorrow, when I got this e-mail. I did it close to your way. I know it’s not fall yet, but it was my last chance to get them. I’ll leave the cuttings in pots of sand and see what happens.
Today I received a palm size ratcheting pruner that I had ordered. It made cutting the thick grapevine a breeze, and gave a nice clean cut. Now to establish a place where I will not lose them or get them wet.
G’day from Aussie,
This video on growing your own grapes is sooo informative, really enjoyed. I had no idea it was so simple. Well done mate!!!
Thanks Michael, I appreciate that.
Mike: I took yuor advice and ordered the air-propagation set and when I opened the box I found one of the shell had been cracked acrossthe entire shell. I then called the air propagation people hoping they would replace the damaged goods but to no avail. Do you have any influence with them?
Michael, I really don’t but I suggest to send them a letter asking them to make the order right and let Mr. Park know that you posted to this blog about their lack of customer service.
How can I grow grapes in Sarasota Florida doesnt freez@
Johnny, you can still propagate grapes as softwood cuttings using a system like this http://www.freeplants.com/homemade-plant-propagation.htm. Just grow varieties that do well in your warmer climate.
Looks super easy. Is there any grape variety that will grow in south Florida ?
Jeanne, I’m sure there is but I don’t know the variety. Check with garden stores in your area, or call some wineries. If you don’t have any wineries in south Florida that might not be a good sign for you, but it’s worth asking around.
Hi Mike, I can’t believe I have been paying top dollar for grape vines all this time, when I could have been cutting and starting my own. Thanks for such an easy way to keep my vines expanding on a dime. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, and the New Year holds Health and everything you love, but more importantly I hope the New year holds EveryONE you love near to you as well. Be blessed.
I forgot to ask my question….you mentioned needing a hard freeze (28 degrees) for plants to go dormant. I live in South Carolina, and we do not always get temps that low. How do I know when things are dormant here to know when to take and root my cuttings? I normally go by the time of year, January-Early February, and I have decent success, but is there a better way to know for sure in warmer climates?
Mike,
Our ground is frozen, can the cutting be placed in the sand in the cold box until spring?
Donna, yes! That’s how this method was originally developed, because of frozen ground. I used to work in a nursery and we’d bury the cuttings inside of an unheated barn until spring because the ground outside was too frozen to do anything with.
Mike,
Thanks. You have a way of posting videos on subjects ive been thinking about in the past day or two. This time its grapes. Question: How late in the winter could I take hardwood cuttings of grape vines. Its sounds like it would be ideal in december- any reason I couldnt take some in March if the ground is still frozen?
Paul
Mike,
Thanks. You have a way of posting videos on subjects ive been thinking about in the past day or two. This time its grapes. Question: How late in the winter could I take hardwood cuttings of grape vines. Its sounds like it would be ideal in december- any reason I couldnt take some in March if the ground is still frozen?
Paul
Paul,
As long as it’s still cold and the buds on the grape vines haven’t started to swell, I think you’ll be fine. Come June you should try some using this method and see how that works for you. http://www.freeplants.com/homemade-plant-propagation.htm