Grapes are planted less often in summer than in spring or autumn, however, in summer, by the end of June, green seedlings ripened from cuttings from spring pruning of the vine ripen. Typically, such planting material has a closed root system and can be planted throughout the season. And so that the rooting process is successful, you need to know some of its subtleties.

Pros and cons of summer grape planting

Analyzing the disadvantages and advantages of summer planting, it is worth noting that there are not so many minuses.

• Basically, these are climatic problems that can be easily solved:
• excessive dryness of the soil, slowing down the process of rooting of young seedlings, is decided by timely watering;
• soil overheating in the daytime - can be avoided by mulching;
• the likelihood that young leaves will get burned - from this plant is first obscured.

• The advantages of summer planting include:
• high quality of planting material - green vegetative cuttings are considered the strongest and most promising;
• simplicity of the process - you just need to transfer the handle with the earth to the prepared landing pit;
• closed seedlings root faster and better;
• in the summer, sudden frosts are excluded, as is the case in spring or autumn;
• the soil is guaranteed to warm up to +10 ... + 15 ° С, which are necessary for the heat-loving vine for rooting;
• in summer, the risk of defeating young seedlings by fungus or insects is reduced - all pests are most active in spring;
• over the summer, the young vine will grow stronger, grow roots and green mass, which will help to winter more easily.

How to plant grapes in the summer with seedlings

In order for rooting of seedlings to be successful, it is necessary to determine the timing, as well as choose a place and high-quality planting material.

The timing

The most favorable period for the rooting of vegetative seedlings is the second half of June. By this time, the soil is still not very overheated, and the cuttings have 5–6 well-developed buds, which guarantees them quick survival. If the seedlings have not grown and the weather is not too hot, you can plant the vine in July, but for this it is better to choose a cloudy day. In August, planting is already too late, as overgrown cuttings take root much worse, and long-term cultivation in containers has a bad effect on their condition. Did you know? Grapes can be grown by seed. Harvest such seedlings give 4 years after sowing seeds.

The choice of seedlings when buying

In hot weather, not every plant can take root, so you need to choose only strong and healthy planting material. The quality of the seedling can be judged by the roots and buds. A seedling suitable for planting has a well-developed rhizome with several (at least 3) branches longer than 10 cm long. All roots, including small lateral ones, have elastic and light, white or cream colors.

A 2.5–3-month-old seedling (of this age it reaches the end of June) should have 5–6 large vegetative buds with blossoming leaves of intense green color. The bark of the cuttings themselves should be smooth, brown, young shoots - light green in color. Any damage or traces of disease is excluded.

It is recommended to buy planting material in nurseries or at specialized exhibitions, where you can familiarize yourself with the description of the variety and recommendations for cultivation. It is advisable to purchase seedlings in containers - they better take root in the summer.

Important! You can not buy seedlings with dried roots, even if dry fragments are single. The probability of survival of such a plant in the summer is very low.

Site selection

Grapes are a very demanding crop for heat and sun. The state of the vines and productivity depends on their availability, therefore, a place for laying a vineyard should be chosen sunny, protected from cold and winds. It is advisable that there should not be any buildings or trees obscuring the vine. Landing in areas with close groundwater and in lowlands should also be avoided. Fungal diseases will develop from excessive humidity, and lowlands are not suitable because in winter they accumulate cold air masses, due to which shrubs freeze.

The ideal location for grapes is a small southern slope. On a personal plot it is better to plant it on the south side of the house at a distance of 3-5 m from the walls. With this arrangement, the vineyard gives the best harvests, because most of the day the vine is illuminated by the sun, and at night the warm walls are given to it.

Grapes do not have special requirements for soil, the main thing is that it be fertile, well-drained and have neutral acidity. The best productivity is noted when growing vines on loose chernozem, but with fertilizers it can bear fruit in sandy loam or loamy soil. To improve drainage properties, it is recommended to add gravel to the topsoil, and for fertility - organic matter: compost, ash, humus.

Preparatory work

Choosing planting material and deciding on a place for the vineyard, you need to take care of the preparation of planting pits and the seedlings themselves.

Seedling preparation

If the cuttings are rooted in containers, then they do not need any preparation, except for intensive watering 1-2 days before transplanting. This is done so that the roots straighten, and plants are easier to extract from the tank. The planting process consists in transferring the seedling to the planting pit along with the ground, but if the quality of the roots is in doubt, then you can slightly shake them off the ground, inspect and, if necessary, cut the rotted fragments.

The preparation of seedlings with open roots should begin 2 days before planting. First, cuttings need to be put in the water for a day - this will give the roots the opportunity to straighten, and the gardener to assess their condition. Then you need to inspect the roots: rotten fragments, if any, need to be cut to healthy tissue, and then soak for another 10-12 hours in a growth stimulator. Immediately before planting, it is recommended to shorten the shoots to 2-3 kidneys. This recommendation applies to all seedlings both in containers and with an open root system.

Important! So that summer seedlings in containers do not burn out from the sun on the first day, they must be hardened before planting. For this, the plants are taken outside for several hours within 7 to 10 days, increasing the procedure time by day.

Soil preparation

Digging holes in advance, ideally - in the fall, but if it did not work out, it is possible for a couple of weeks before landing. The width of the pit should be 70–80 cm, the depth depends on the type of soil. Sandy soils freeze deeper, therefore, the recommended depth is at least 1 m, for other soils a depth of 70 cm is sufficient. When several bushes are planted simultaneously, holes are dug at a distance of 1.5–2 m from each other and at least 2.5 m between rows.

Fertile soil mixture is poured into each pit in several layers:

• at the bottom - humus mixed with sand and earth in a ratio of 2: 1: 1;
• the second layer - 200 g each of superphosphate and potassium salt mixed with soil, here you can add 2 l of ash;
• above - fertile land from the upper soil layers.

The pit is filled approximately halfway with the soil mixture, then covered. In this state, she is about 2 weeks.

Landing rules

The process itself takes place in the following sequence:

1. A small mound is formed in the center of the pit.
2. A sapling is placed on the knoll at an angle of 45 °, the roots are gently straightened in a downward direction. In chernozem, the root system should be located at a depth of 0.5 m, in sandy soils - at a depth of 0.6 m. This will protect the plant from freezing.
3. Sprinkle the roots with a layer of earth 10 cm, and so that they take the right direction, the sapling is sipped a little.
4. 2 buckets of water are carefully poured into the pit and, having waited until it is completely absorbed, they fill the remaining soil. The root neck of the grape seedling should be flush with the soil or slightly lower (it will be easier to tilt the vine and cover for the winter). In this case, you need to ensure that the upper kidney is above the surface.
5. The earth around the seedling is slightly tamped and watered again.

As already mentioned, the optimal distance between plants is considered to be 1.5–2 m. It should be borne in mind that black grapes are more demanding on lighting, so you need to plant it so that the bushes do not obscure each other.

Did you know? Some vine bushes are real long-livers: they can grow for about 100 years, and the age of the bush affects the yield in the best way: the older the vine, the greater its yield.

Grape care after planting

Until complete rooting, which takes about 4-6 weeks, seedling care consists of watering and protection from aggressive sun. During summer planting, it is recommended to deliver moisture directly to the roots, for which a drain pipe with a diameter of 8-10 cm is installed in the hole. Through it, it is convenient not only to water, but also to fertilize. In this way, grapes are watered at the rate of 8-10 liters of water per 1 bush once a week, but it all depends on the weather.

In the afternoon, in extreme heat, seedlings need to be shaded, otherwise tender leaves may get burned. To exclude the appearance of pests and weeds in the vineyard, the earth is regularly loosened. Fertilizers do not contribute to the year of planting, with the exception of foliar top dressing in case of yellowing of the leaves.

After rooting, the vines will begin to grow rapidly, so it is better to immediately install trellises, to which they will be tied to them as they grow. At the end of August, it is recommended to trim the tops of the shoots - this will help the vines to mature before winter. With the advent of cold weather, lianas must be removed from the trellises, treated with fungicide and covered for the winter with an air-dry method. We also advise you to understand the characteristics of planting grapes in the spring and how and when to plant grapes in the fall. Following the above recommendations, you can successfully plant grapes in the summer and achieve excellent results. This method is ideal for all growers, because everyone after the spring pruning has apical cuttings that can be rooted and get additional benefits by selling seedlings or planting them on their own plot.