By Templeton
North Yorkshire,
United Kingdom 
I have a vine in a container in the greenhouse which produces a moderate amount of fruit.
This year, the foliage is sparse and dwarfed, the buds turning brown and falling. I just cannot think of a reason why this should be happening since I pruned in the same way and have fertilized it as I always do. Could this be a result of overfeed please. The vine is roughly 15 years old.
Thanks for guidance.
7 Jun, 2012
Answers
Couple of questions!
When was it last re-potted?
If not re-potted when did you last remove the top couple inches of compost and replace with new?
What are you feeding it with and how often?
Personally I think it is a physiological problem in so far as the plant does not know what time of year it is!
( I'm finding the same with some of my plants)
In March it was like high summer, well suited to grape growing but it came before the plants were ready for it!
April / May were generally cool, dull and wet so growth was sparodic if at all, due to low light levels.
If you like April /May were effectively autumnal relative to the previous month (March) and we all know what happens to deciduous plants in autumn!
This is only an opinion but it fits the pattern!
What do you other think?
7 Jun, 2012
I think you have made some extremely good points Teeg.
7 Jun, 2012
I accidentally dug up a crocus bulb today and was amazed to see it was shooting already! You are right, it sure is a funny season.
7 Jun, 2012
Thank you all for this feedback, I am so pleased I discovered this site:-)
The physiological theory makes more and more sense to me and here is why I think so. In February when the new shoots started to appear on the main branch, these were sparse and instead of the normal 16 junctions producing foliage, there were only 10. Now, in June, I notice the remaining junctions have started to produce tiny new shoots, although the rest of the foliage which appeared in February remains small and kind of crumpled. It is not normal for totally new shoots to suddenly appear from the main branch in June, these are always produced in February? .
I have always fed the plant since it is unable to find nutrients in the normal way, potash at the beginning of the growing season and then a general Vitax feed throughout. I have had trouble in the past with vine weavil and have to keep the top soil protected with a layer of gravel so it is a bit of a performance to have to remove this first and renew compost, but it is overdue and I intend to do this at the end of the year.
Grateful for your responses..
9 Jun, 2012
I've no experience of growing vines in containers but we used to have one in the ground and never fertilised with anything at all.
7 Jun, 2012