Greenhouse grape vine

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rod73
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Hi

Can someone please help me with my sad vine. I have a solid concrete floor in my greenhouse so I used an industrial core cutter to cut a 6 inch hole in it right down to the natural soil. I planted my vine into that, the first year it shot away and grew 5 foot, second and third not so much. I feed it but am I wrong thinking it will get water from the natural soil which is wet in my area or do I have to constantly water it like everything else in my greenhouse? I inherited a vine at my last house that was planted similar in a greenhouse and that used to go crazy and has to prune hard. So what am I doing wrong? It does leaf and this year it has formed it's very early stage of a bunch of flowers but it's just so slow growing

Cheers
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Pa Snip
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I can proffer no answer of advice I'm afraid. All I can do is welcome you to the forum and hope someone who knows about vines can help you

The danger when people start to believe their own publicity is that they often fall off their own ego.

At least travelling under the guise of the Pa Snip Enterprise gives me an excuse for appearing to be on another planet
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Primrose
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My own small grape vine is planted outside so unfortunately have no experience of indoor planting. However I think it's normally recommended that the roots of a vine are planted outside the greenhouse in an adjacent border with a small hole into the greenhouse for the main trunk to access it so that water from the roots is actually drawn from outside in an covered area where it can benefit from natural rainwater. . The famous massive Black Hamburg grape vine at Hampton Court is planted in this manner.

My guess would be that there's too much concrete covering the entire rooted area where your vine will be continually searching unsuccessfully for water and that it will always be be short of liquid unless you water and feed it on a regular basis.

The vine may be too old to dig up and start again without having to wreck your concrete floor but I would suspect that long term this plant will not thrive with the current planting arrangement. I don't know how far the roots will have spread. Unless you dig up your concrete floor you will not find out so decide whether you can live with the current arrangement on a long term basis. Is the vine precious enough to try replanting with the roots outside the greenhouse in an adjacent border and the rest of it moved inside? If you 're prepared to go this route, leave things as they are for this season and only try to move it when the leaves have died back at the end of autumn and it goes into its dormant stage otherwise you will risk killing it.
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Geoff
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Another non-expert here and another welcome.
Is the concrete just the greenhouse floor or is the greenhouse sat on a bigger concrete area?
If a concrete base with soil all around I would think your planting is quite similar to the normal advice of "plant outside - grow inside" as long as the hole is fairly near the edge so the problem is a bit of a mystery.
If it is a bigger concrete area I guess your idea of starvation / water shortage is correct. Could you drill a second hole nearby and set up a system to keep it watered and fed by a trickle system?
I have to opposite problem. I was given a vine but although I have a greenhouse and a tunnel with beds they are surrounded by concrete paths so I couldn't follow the usual advice. In the end I have planted it fully outside on a South facing fence but it isn't happy (nor is the person who gave it me!).
Westi
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Welcome to the forum rod73!

The roots are generally planted outside the greenhouse and then the vines trained inside along the apex of the greenhouse. I think I read that the roots prefer cooler soil but the grapes have a chance of ripening on the vines inside the greenhouse & provides needed shade.

I think it is better to just sit this summer out & water++ however you can & when it is dormant then move it.
Westi
PLUMPUDDING
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I agree with the other suggestions but if you decide to move it when it's dormant take a few 9 inch pieces of cane as an insurance policy, and they will easily root. You'll be able to plant your new vines in spring in more suitable locations or in large pots. I've grown a couple that Ive trained as standards in pots. They don't produce a lot of bunches but look nice and don't take much room up.

My grape vine problem is a non fruiting Flame seedless grape I've had for years. It grows well but has never even had a flower. I live in hope but am on the verge of chucking it out. Perhaps I should try planting it's roots outside and top in the greenhouse like we've recommend.
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I've 2 outside eating grapes, one white, one black, that have been in for about 10 years, I get grapes but miniscule. Still trying to get bigger ones & every year find myself researching - I think I have pruning mastered but obviously doing something wrong. They ripen fully though & very tasty!
Westi
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I've got a Madeline Angevine outside that is the same Westi, plenty of bunches but tiny grapes. I left them too long last year and the wasps got them before I did. I've tried quite a few things to encourage them to grow larger fruits but I know my garden in no way resembles a French vineyard from soil to aspect, so perhaps I should be grateful it produces anything.
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I’ve three vines in Spain and two in my pollytunnel as well as three outdoor ones the rooted on a vine grow massive this is why you plant them outside a greenhouse and train them to grow inside as others have said a small hole in concrete is not really big enough but give them plenty water and feed they should survive
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Hi Robo!

Since you have mentioned you grape expertise how much water & feed do they need? I never do actually as we grew grapes very successfully when I was a child in Aussie - 30+ degrees common & only tank water which was not given to them as that was for the watermelons.
Westi
vivienz
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We have a vine that is planted in the very corner of the greenhouse, with the roots outside. The greenhouse is cold and far from an ideal situation, north facing, as it's what was there when we moved here about 20 years ago. Outside where the roots will be, the soil is poor and thin - it's actually spoil over an underground concrete air raid shelter - and shared with an ancient plum tree and hedges. Despite, or perhaps because, of all this, the vine romps away every year and puts on masses of growth, masses of flowers and we get masses of fat black eating grapes. They ripen late, usually about the first week of October, so it can be a bit of a race before mildew takes them, but ventilation is great in the greenhouse since we have quite a few panes missing and some years ago a rampant fox took out the side window. We never feed it or water it.

I think that the name of this particular vine must be 'masochist' because it loves being treated badly.
robo
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Weston I never mentioned I was an expert I just seem to have acumalated a few vines in Spain they water every day usually drip water system I very rarely feed the vines but they are young ones and I never expect a lot of bunches from them
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Hi robo - Sorry I made you an expert, you mentioned feed & water which mine don't get! We kind of need Pawty back on here, but she will be busy with her day job & learning the grape skills needed when she takes over the families vineyard. vivienz seems to treat her's like mine, but mine are probably in better soil so maybe too pampered. Fingers crossed I will succeed at some point!
Westi
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Westi I don’t feed mine as they are young vines and not producing much but in Spain we are surrounded by vines I’ve never seen the farmers feed them yes they water them twice a day and they get masses of grapes not one or two bunches but the whole vines are covered in big bunches
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Cheers robo! I will start to water them, not in this coming week as they will probably need water wings anyway looking at the weather forecast, but certainly a good place to leave the end of the hose while I connect it to the tap & get back again.
Westi
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