Care & Pruning of Muscadine Grapes

Site and Season

• All grapevines do best with bright, warm plantings in mid-spring. Muscadines die in temperatures below about 10 degrees Fahrenheit, and fail with fall plantings. Put your muscadine vineyard in a spot that gets full sunshine for six hours a day, quick drainage and air movement. Grapevines won't fruit in shade, standing water or frost-collecting areas.

Soil

• Give muscadines deep, loose and fertile soil at planting, and re-amend every year to maintain good growth. According to the extension service at Purdue University, grapevines build their strongest root systems in the right mix of loose, nutritious soil. Dig into the top 2 feet of any planting site in a 1-foot-square area and turn in 9 to 10 inches of organic compost. This produces rich, crumbly soil, and encourages quick in-soil drainage. Re-amend soil every spring with 2 to 3 inches of fresh compost for continued soil quality.

Trellis

• Give muscadine grapevines a trellis system for growing. Trellis systems consist of two to three parallel wires, set at 1 to 2 feet apart. Plant muscadines at 15 to 20 feet along the trellis. Tie the main canes to the trellis wires, with two canes per wire, and one reaching in each direction.

Fertilizer, Water, Mulch

• Feed muscadine grapes 1/2 lb. of 10-10-10 fertilizer per grapevine in the spring of their second year. Feed the vines again in mid-spring and mid-summer for continued growth. Increase to 1 to 2 lbs. of fertilizer in the third year and thereafter. Mix the fertilizer into an 18-inch circle around each grapevine, but don't get it against the trunk. Water muscadine grapevines with 2 inches of water every week, and lay 2 inches of organic mulch on the soil in your 18-inch circle to maintain moisture and warmth, and to eliminate weed growth.

Pruning

• Prune muscadine grapevines every spring before new growth starts. Muscadine grapes produce fruit and foliage from new buds, though new wood growth stems from old growth. Cut away any side shoots growing between the trellis wires, and leave two main canes per wire. Trim these remaining canes down to 40 to 60 buds.