After my largest grape harvest ever in 2013, my Cayuga Blanc vines took a beating during the relentlessly cold winter of 2014. Last summer all upper parts of my vines were dead, the cold had damaged them so they didnt even leaf. During the summer of 2014, some growth came back, but not enough to believe the vines would ever return to their former condition. I had planned to rip them out and replant this spring, but after talking to the folks at Double A Vineyard Nursery, near Fredonia NY, I had a change of heart. The lady I spoke to on the phone said that if there is any growth at all, the root system is most likely in tact, and strong. She suggested that I trim all the dead wood from the vines, then just trim back the new growth from last year a bit, and said it would be better than starting from scratch. So today I did it, I was relentless with my cutters, and believe it or not, after seeing all that dead wood gone, I feel a whole lot better about my vines. The row of vines look pretty small right now, but I am sure that once spring rolls around, they will take off. The one picture shows the top of the vine with one spur This should grow vigorously this summer. I also was able to get 4 good cuttings, so I will give rooting them myself another try. The canes came from 2 vines that I rooted myself a couple years ago. Lets hope for a warm sunny spring.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 20:21:28 +0000
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