How to Root Grape Vine Clippings

Take slant-end cuttings in the late fall once your grapevine has gone dormant. According to the University of Tennessee Extension, ideal cuttings have four swollen tissue nodes and range from 1/4 to 3/8 inch in diameter.

Moisten sphagnum moss until it is damp, not wet. Place the sphagnum moss in a sealable plastic bag, and lay your grapevine cuttings in this bag alongside the moss.

Close the plastic bag. Leave it in your refrigerator for at least six to eight weeks to prepare them for growth.

Fill one 6-inch pot with potting soil for each grapevine cutting you have.

Remove the cuttings from the plastic bag so you can plant them. Place one cutting in each prepared pot with the bottom (cut) end sticking into the soil. Push each cutting down so far that only the top node rests above the soil.

Cover each pot with a plastic bag. Slip a rubber band around the pot to secure the bag.

Take the cuttings to an area where they receive bright, indirect light. Excess light produces too much humidity inside the bag, warns New Mexico State University Extension.

Keep the plants inside the bag and check on them occasionally. The plants will begin to grow before they have taken root. As the plants grow, tear a hole in the bag or remove the bag altogether.

Test the cuttings every two to three weeks to determine if they've taken root by grasping the stem and tugging up gently. If the cuttings move through the soil toward you, they have not rooted. If they resist moving, they've developed roots.

Transplant rooted cuttings into the soil in the late spring. For each plant, dig one hole that's twice as wide and deep as your 6-inch pots. Pull the plant from the container and place it in the hole, then firm the soil over the grapevine.