Starting grape plants from seed

Discussion in 'Grapes and Grape Vines' started by James, Oct 31, 2005.

  1. James

    James Member

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    Location:
    Upstate New York
    Hi! This is my first board posting ever and I would like to start some concord grape vines from seed! I have grapes in my fridge with seeds in them and would like to know where to start? Do I pull the seeds and stick em in some starter soil and then under a grow light for the winter or should I wait? I have been trying to grow some nice vines for a few years from starter plants I bought from a local nursery and they keep dying on me and it's kinda expensive to replace them each year. I'm just dying for about 20 or 30 nice vines to grow. All help is much appreciated! I am also looking for an email grape vine mentor who is experienced and can give me some guidance now and then so whatever I get growing stays alive and actually produces fruit! Someone patient enough to take me right from square one onward. Thanks J
     
  2. Ralph Walton

    Ralph Walton Active Member 10 Years

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    Hi James and welcome to the forum.

    Your first and most important question has to be "why are they dying?" Lots of grapes are grown in New York State, but Upstate New York is not specifically familiar to me. Do your neighbors grow grapes? If so, what varieties? There's usually a reason. How are your soils? Grapes need a well drained site. Ground temperatures in hollows can be several degrees colder than the surrounding slopes.

    OK, so you've determined grapes can grow there.

    Grape seeds are not (generally speaking) easy to germinate as they have a very high proportion of dormancy. The only usual reason for growing from seed is following intentional cross pollenation to develop a new variety. I don't have actual figures, but I would guess that over 99% of grape propagation is by clonal methods (cuttings, grafting, micropropagation).

    The folks who do try to grow from seed have chemicals and equipment that you are unlikely to have (gibberellic acid - GA3, and climate controll cabinets for daily alternating temperatures for 6 weeks), but some that you can approximate.

    Try refrigerating for 90 to 120 days(1-5 deg C), followed by warm stratification at 30 to 36 deg C for 2 days then soak in 0.5M hydrogen peroxide for 24 hours, then germinate at 30 deg C with 12/12 hours light /dark. Well drained, moist potting soil or a home blend of 1:1:1 sand:peat:perlite will work fine.

    As for timing, once they have sprouted you must be able to provide them with Spring weather, either the real thing or a greenhouse/ growing room. Plant them out well after the danger of frost has passed.

    Good luck.

    Ralph
     
  3. James

    James Member

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    Thanks for the help Ralph, it is much appreciated!
     
  4. plantingkeita

    plantingkeita Member

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    I live in Puerto Rico (zone 11, maybe?). I planted about twenty seeds in a pot in full sun. I dug them out of purple grapes, rinsed and dried them (about 24 hours room temp in a paper towel) and stuck them in some potting soil. It took about three weeks, and now I have eight seedlings. They seem to be growing well, and I even notice a couple more seeds starting to bend and turn as if plants are happening. Hopefully I will get some viable vines!
     
  5. Anna liu

    Anna liu New Member

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    Hi Ralph,
    I successfully grew a Concord grape from seed, but will it have grapes in the future?

    Thank you very much!


    Anna
     
  6. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

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    Growing grape vines from seed is risky, because you don't know what you are going to get. It may revert to the wild form, which could be a male plant that will never have grapes. Even if it turns out to have female or perfect flowers, it still may need to be cross-pollinated in order to have grapes, which will most likely be quite small, like the Vitis labrusca grapes that grow wild across eastern North America. I used to harvest those wild grapes, and they usually had a decent taste and made excellent jam. On the other hand, grapes on a vine grown from seed are unlikely to ripen in our cool summers.
     
  7. Anna liu

    Anna liu New Member

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    Hi Vitog,
    Thank you very much. I am trying to buy a Concord grape plant, but Garden Works did not carry this plant this year. Hardly any kind of grapes.

    Anna
     
  8. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

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    I understand that the true Concord variety of grape does not ripen very well in our climate, since our summers are rather cool. I recommend that you plant the Fredonia variety, which is a Concord type of grape that ripens significantly earlier. I've been growing this variety for about 25 years, and it does very well in Burnaby. Cedar Rim Nursery in Langley lists Fredonia in their on-line catalog of small fruits, but you can phone any nursery to see if they carry it. GardenWorks may have it, but I can't remember if I saw it on a recent visit.
     
  9. Anna liu

    Anna liu New Member

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    Thank you very much, Vitog.
    I went to Cedar Rim Nursary yesterday and bought two Fredonia grapes, they already had tiny grapes on them, it is so happy to get the right plants and start take care of them and began to dream autumn.
    I also got one Chojuro pear from there.

    Thank you again.

    Anna
     
  10. Delvi83

    Delvi83 Active Member

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    Location:
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    With seed you will not have the same plant, so you could have a poor bearing plant, with acid berries etc..
    The remember that most Grape are grafted on more resistant roots (other species)..so if done by seeds it could less adaptable to the soil
     
  11. Joan L NW

    Joan L NW Member

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    Thanks for this information. I have 2 vines of 20-year-old gewurtstraminer grapes, which I had to prune back really hard last year because the old trellis was supported on a cedar fence that we had to replace. They were slow to leaf out after being cut back so severely, but are looking healthy now, though I see very few bunches forming (which I kind of expected, and frankly, after harvesting over 100 lbs. per year for the past few years, I could use a break from making grape jelly). The odd thing is that I've got about 30 tiny vines growing underneath the new trellis now; they are very small and almost certainly grew from seed, which hasn't happened before. I was thinking about digging them up, putting them into pots and donating them, but now I'm not so sure that's a good idea. If nothing else, they look nice and should grow like crazy if they are anything like the parent vines. How long should it take before these vines get big enough to tell if they're any good or not? Or should I use my energy to do something more productive?
     

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