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MY GRAPE VINES IN THE GREENHOUSE KEEP DIEING COULD THIS BE DUE TO OVERWATERING




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If they are in containers then yes, it's quite possible as this is a very common problem. They really need to be planted in the ground (free drained) and trained into the greenhouse or at least in a border inside that goes into the ground below. The number of customers that ask about growing Grapes in containers and the number that fail are about equal.....or so it seems sometimes. They always have rotted black roots when I inspect the poor remains that are brought in. I always try to dissuade people from growing them in containers as in the long term, they can go on for years in the ground. In a pot without biennial root pruning......five, maybe seven years before they look sickly. No amount of feeding helps once their roots become congested. Anyway, biennial root pruning would be pointless and an absolute waste of time in a climbing plant that's all tied in.

Hope this helps.

ps use loam or loam with a little planting media/compost added, never just compost on it's own if you are still wanting to try them in pots. One other point, they really need to move up in containers in stages, not just a small plant put into a large tub. It will take an age for it to fill this with roots and the soil stays too wet around the rootball causing rotting. And don't think by reducing watering that this will help either as the whole rootball needs water, not just the surface roots. This is why planting in the ground is so much better. Moisture moves through the soil evenly, constantly drawing just enough up from the water table. A much more equitable environment!

1 Jun, 2010

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