How to Care for a Scuppernong Grapevine

Water your young scuppernong grapevine to supplement rainfall, ensuring that the grapevine receives about 1 inch of water each week during the growing season. You don’t need to water your scuppernong during the dormant winter months, nor do you need to water older, established grapevines unless a dry spell lasts more than two months.

Fertilize your scuppernong grapevine right after planting, using a 10-10-10 NPK (nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium) fertilizer. Spread ½ pound of fertilizer on the ground in two parallel lines that are about 1 foot away from the vine’s base.

Feed your grapevine 1/8 of a pound of ammonium nitrate twice during its first year, in late May and then in early June. Spread the ammonium nitrate fertilizer in two lines as you did for the NPK fertilizer.

Prune your scuppernong grapevine in the winter every year. Cut all of the past season’s shoot growth back to the 4- to 5-inch long fruiting spurs. Remove all diseased, dead, and tangled wood.

Prune young grapevines so that the spurs on the 1-year-old fruiting wood are about 6 inches apart. After the scuppernong vine’s fourth or fifth year, begin the yearly thinning out of the spur clusters.

Watch out for fungal diseases, such as black rot, downy mildew, and powdery mildew. If you see fungal growth or spots on the leaves, flowers or grapes, treat your scuppernong grapevine with an appropriate fungicide, following the directions on the label exactly.

Treat your scuppernong grapevine using an appropriate insecticide if you see pests, such as grape berry moths, sphinx caterpillars, grape root worms, and Japanese grape fleas and grapevine beetles. Always use pesticides exactly as the directions indicate.

Apply double the amount of 10-10-10 NPK fertilizer and ammonium nitrate in the second year, spreading the fertilizers in two parallel 4-foot bands. In the following years, feed your grapevine every year in March with about 2 to 4 pounds of 10-10-10 NPK fertilizer and in June with ½ pound of ammonium nitrate, spreading the fertilizers in two parallel 6-foot-long bands.