How to Grow Muscadines From Cuttings

Select several vigorous canes from a healthy, well-established muscadine vine in early summer. Choose canes with at least 20 leaf internodes, a proven yield of fruit and a hardened, but still pliable, stem. Avoid old-growth stems or those with obvious signs of disease.

Measure 24 inches from the tip of the cane and cut it at a 60-degree angle using bypass pruners. Cut the cane into four equal portions. Keep track of which end points towards the tip and which points toward the base.

Remove the leaves from the bottom half of each muscadine cutting using the bypass pruners. Place the cuttings in a bucket of water while you prepare the rooting bed.

Choose a rooting site with dappled shade during the hottest part of the day. Spread a 3-inch layer of compost and a 3-inch layer of coarse sand over the bed. Incorporate the compost and sand into the soil using a rotary tiller. Cultivate the soil to a depth of at least 5 inches.

Cut a furrow across the bed using a putty knife or other blunt-bladed instrument. Cut the furrow to a depth of 3 inches.

Insert the muscadine cuttings into the furrow so the bottom leaves rest atop the soil surface. Space them 5 inches apart. Press the soil in around the cuttings so no air is trapped around the base of the canes.

Water the muscadine cuttings to a depth of 5 inches every seven days using a garden hose with a mist nozzle. Mist the aerial portion of the muscadines at least twice a day to keep them for wilting or drying out.

Dig up the muscadine cuttings in autumn once they go dormant and begin to lose their leaves. Transplant them into a permanent bed or a pot of sterile potting soil. Mulch heavily around the base of the plants during their first winter. Slowly decrease watering to 2 inches every seven days during the winter.