How to Care for Grape Cuttings

Store cuttings taken in the fall until rooting time. Spread a layer of damp peat moss or sawdust over the bottom of a flat bucket. Lay the grape cutting on the damp material and pack additional material around them. Store grape cuttings at 32 F to 35 F.

Remove the cuttings from the storage area in late winter, usually around February, for rooting. Select 4- to 6-inch pots or a large flat at least 6 inches deep. Check the underside of the pot or tray for drainage holes.

Fill the pots or tray with a mix of equal parts peat moss, sand and perlite. You can substitute vermiculite for the perlite and coconut coir for the peat moss, depending on what you have available. This mix creates an environment that drains well and provides support for the grape cutting.

Make a hole with your finger or a pencil in the center of each pot and insert one cutting into the pot. Keep the cutting upright. The 45 degree angle made at the bottom of each cutting helps you keep track of which end is up. Bury the bottom 1/3 of the cutting in the rooting medium.

Water the soil around the cutting to keep it damp during the rooting process. Add water when the top of the soil feels dry under your fingers. Soak each pot or tray until water emerges from the holes in the bottom.

Keep the soil around the grape cuttings between 65 F and 70 F during the day and allow the temperature to drop to 60 F at night.

Give each cutting a very gentle tug three weeks after planting in the rooting medium. You can tell which ones have rooted successfully by noting the resistance. Cuttings that pull out easily have failed to root and should be discarded.

Fill 1-gallon pots with sterile potting soil. Transplant one cutting into each 1-gallon pot. Keep the pots in a greenhouse or indoors where the temperature remains between 70 F and 75 F.

Harden off the grape vine cuttings when they reach 12 inches tall. The hardening-off period gradually acclimatizes the cuttings to outdoor conditions. Begin keeping the vines between 40 F and 45 F at night and bringing the temperature up to 70 or 75 F during the day.

Plant the cuttings out into the garden or vineyard in spring the year after rooting the cuttings. Plant grape cutting after the last hard frost has passed, to avoid damaging the tender new cuttings.