How to Grow Muscadines

Locate a suitable planting site with well-draining soil and full sunlight exposure for a grape vine. Test the soil pH of the desired planting site to ensure it falls between 5.5 and 6.5, the suitable range for the grape. Amend higher soil pH with sulfur incorporated 10 to 12 inches deep.

Dig a 6- to 8-inch-wide and 8-inch-deep hole over the planting site with a shovel. Remove the 1-year-old potted plant from the nursery container and lower it into the hole, ensuring it sits at the same level as it did in the pot. Add soil to the planting hole and tamp it down to remove trapped air. Space multiple plants 10 feet apart.

Water the newly planted muscadine immediately with a garden hose until the soil is evenly moist. Although drought tolerant, water the plant regularly during the first three growing seasons to assist the establishment of healthy roots.

Feed the plant 1/2 lb. of a well-balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer immediately after planting. Also feed it 1/8 lb. of ammonium nitrate in mid to late May and again by mid June. Form two parallel fertilizer bands spaced 12 to 14 inches from the plant trunk. Double the fertilizer amounts during the second year, extending the bands to up to 4 feet. Afterward, feed the muscadine grape vine 3 to 4 lbs. of the fertilizer by end spring and 1/2 lb. of ammonium nitrate in early summer in a 5 1/2- to 6-foot band spaced 10 to 12 inches from the trunk.

Form a single-wire trellis that supports the growing grapevine and ensures optimal growth. Insert two wooden posts into the ground, 20 feet apart, one on each side of the grape vine. Attach trestle wire to one post and extend it to the other, pulling it taut.

Train the growing plant by selecting the most vigorous shoot and attaching it to the post installed directly behind the plant. Snip off the remaining shoots from the plant so the selected one forms the main trunk that climbs the trellis. Tie the growing vine every week with wire ties and remove side shoots. Cut the growing tip when the vine is directly below the wire to encourage lateral buds. Train the shoots from the lateral buds the same way as you trained the trunk to the post. Ideally, get the grape vine on the wire the first growing season and over the wire during the second season.

Inspect the vine for diseases such as black rot, powdery mildew and bitter rot. Although the diseases are prevented through proper cultural control, spray a registered fungicide to control them.