How to Get Muscadine Vines to Bear Fruit

Plant muscadine grapevines in early spring, around the last frost of the year. Grapevines achieve best spring and summer growth with dormant plantings.

Choose the right site for your grapevine. If you're planting a second muscadine grapevine to pollinate an established grapevine, choose a site 10 to 20 feet from the first. If you're planting multiple new vines, choose a large site with 10 to 20 feet of space for each vine. Put the vines in sites with full sunshine all day, quick drainage and good air movement. Grapevines will never bear fruit in shade, standing water or still, stagnant air.

Prepare the soil in each planting site. Dig into the top 18 inches of soil in a 3-foot-square section of land for loosening and aeration. Turn 9 to 10 inches of compost into the tilled soil for more nutrition and moisture. Grapevines do best with deep, healthy soil for root growth.

Plant perfect flowering muscadine cultivars such as Carlos, Doreen, Magnolia, Nesbitt, Noble, Regale or Triumph. These cultivars pollinate their own flowers and pollinate any nearby female muscadine grapevines. Plant the new grapevines in holes as deep and twice as wide as their root balls. Grapevines do best with good root-to-soil contact. Fill the holes up to the crowns of the vines, and pack soil down firmly.

Prune each muscadine grapevine down to one healthy cane with two to five growing buds. This encourages new lateral growth. Put the grapevines on a schedule of 2 inches of water every week.

Fertilize the muscadine grapevines one week after planting with 10-10-10 fertilizer. Fertilize any established vines at this time as well. Sprinkle the prescribed amount of fertilizer around the plant, 6 inches from the trunks, and turn the soil over. Always water immediately after a feeding.

Spread 2 inches of mulch over the 3-foot-square site around each grapevine. The mulch maintains soil warmth and moisture and keeps weeds from growing. Give each grapevine a trellis or arbor for growing. Tie the grapevines up to the structure as they grow, to train them.