You are Here > Planting Tips > How to Plant A Grape Vine
leaf-top leaf-bottom

How to Plant A Grape Vine

You want to pick your location site in as much full sun as possible. Grapes grow on vines and thus you will need a trellis or something for the vine to grow up and conceal. You want to plant each grapevine ten feet apart, so your post to the trellis can be 20 feet apart with a low guide wire at three foot high and the tall guide wire at five feet six inches.


You will want to plant the vines about eight feet apart and make rows between trellises about ten feet wide. Dig the hole two times the size of the root ball and the same depth it was grown in at the nursery, which will be evident on the trunk of the vine. Spread the roots out in the hole and backfill.When transplanting it is highly recommended to use Soil Moist Transplant Mix with Minor Element and our Nutri-Pak 1st Year Fertilizer packs. The soil moist transplant mix is simply buried at the bottom of the hole and will cut your watering needs down by 50% and supply your plants with minor elements that your soils may be lacking. Nutri-Pak 1st year fertilizer packs are custom engineered with micro-porous holes to feed your plants the entire 1st year with all the fertilizer and nutrients need. Do not broadcast granular fertilize or put fertilizer or compost your new plants as you will more than likely burn the roots and kill the plants.


Once the plant has been planted and is growing, you want to train the main shoot to grow up to the top wire by using a string or stake. Once it reaches the top wire, pinch the tip; this will force side arms to develop, making it grow in a T-type shape.


You will want to prune the vine back to the main stalk: leave on three buds and after these three buds sprout you will choose the most vigorous to grow up to the top wire. Grapevines require heavy pruning and this should be done in winter.