How to grow grapes at home?
Despite the fact that grapes seem difficult to grow, it can even be cultivated at home. A plant planted in a pot can serve only a decorative function, or it can also inspire the owners of the apartment with sweet fruits.
What varieties are suitable?
No single grape can grow in the conditions of the house – only certain varieties are suitable for this. It is better to give preference to low- and medium-growing varieties, which adhere to the early stage and therefore can create a harvest several times a year.
As a rule, such ornamental shrubs are distinguished by a decent shape and an unforgettable brownish shade of leaves. At the fruiting stage, the lianas are covered with whitish or bluish berries.
The varieties Talisman, Laura, Muscat potted, Victoria, Separni, Chaush, Taiga and other representatives of the intense character of fear can be placed on the balcony or loggia. For beginners, the varieties Rusbol and Elegia are especially recommended, all of them (including the wrong ones) are pruned, and they successfully resist diseases and insects.
Necessary conditions
Optimal conditions for the cultural compound give it when infestation and accelerated development. During the growing season, grapes should be in an apartment or house, as he needs a temperature that does not go beyond 19-25 degrees. In winter, planting can be reorganized on a glazed balcony, provided that the temperature in the room will be maintained from 0 to 10 degrees. The culture does not like sudden changes in temperature. The humidity level should be very high – not less than 70%, otherwise the vines will start to dry out, and the probability of infection with fungus and the appearance of spider mites will quickly increase. To avoid negative consequences, once a week the plants should be sprayed with warm water. In the winter, also put a humidifier or a bowl filled with liquid near the pot.
Cultural grapes like light, so it should be grown on a southern or southwestern windowsill. The wild variety feels more comfortable in the shade, and a window facing north or southeast is more suitable for it. If the gardener is trying to get a second crop, he should install fluorescent lamps in the winter at a distance of 20 centimeters from the plantings. It should be understood that the lack of light will not kill the culture, but will interfere with the berries. Nevertheless, the container with the bottom should be protected from direct sunlight.
At first, home grapes require a small pot, but with each subsequent year, the size of the container will have to increase. Seedlings fit perfectly in ordinary plastic cups, and the grown-up seedlings should be transplanted into a 3-5 liter container. Of course, a drainage layer should be formed in the containers, as well as holes for excessive watering. The soil for growing the culture needs nutritious, loose and breathable. It is easy to buy it in the store, but you can also make it yourself.
In the first years, a mixture including humus, river sand, sod and compost taken in a ratio of 3: 1: 3: 2 is ideal for the crop. It is allowed to use a mixture of peat, manure, sand from the bed of connected rivers in the same amount. You can prepare a soil mixture in the form of ash, superphosphate, urea and potassium salt. As drainage, you can use fine-grained claydite, gravel, pieces of pottery or special filler.
In the firebox, it is recommended to give preference to soil and drainage and pour potassium permanganate. The header is also treated with potassium infusion or a solution based on a bucket of water and a tablespoon of copper sulfate.
Planting Features
Growing grapes in the apartment is common in two main ways. The first involves the burial of pips extracted from the fruit in the ground, and the second – the use of cuttings, which require further rooting. Seeds should be fairly large, colored brown, with a dense shell. The fruit from which the seeds are extracted must be ripe. It is important to understand that the process of growing vines from seeds takes a long time and allows you to get a harvest only 6-7 years after planting. As a rule, the seed method is used to obtain wild grapes, which are unpretentious and strong immunity.
Harvested pips must go through some procedures. First there is calibration – redemption of pips and removal of all small, damaged or diseased specimens. It is also necessary to remove specimens with stains, traces of mold or uneven coloration. Next, the material is soaked in warm water for 30 minutes. Those specimens that float should be discarded immediately.
Seeds are disinfected for half an hour, for which hydrogen peroxide or a light pink permanganate solution is used. To stimulate the growth of the seed, it should also be soaked in a stimulant for 8-12 hours – ready-made “Epin” or aloe juice. To harden the seeds, send them to the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks, remembering to rinse them under running water once a week. The material should be germinated on a piece of moistening gauze in a plate, covered with cling film and tucked into a heated bedding. After planting the seeds in the ground, they should be covered with a thin layer of soil, moistened with polyethylene and tightened. Pick the bunches after the appearance of the first leaves.
Spiked vine is much more convenient for home use. The right fragments of the vine are easily rooted and enjoy the fruit in the second or third year after planting. It is customary to buy cuttings at the market or to shorten them independently by 8-15 centimeters with an imprint from the end of the vine. Each cuttings involved must have at least a few living buds. Both branches and specimens of the previous year can be used. Each of them is inspected beforehand for infections, spots, wounds and other “malfunctions”.
Cuttings of the cuttings on the mother plant must be covered with garden varnish.
At the preparatory stage, the cuttings are soaked in a pink potassium solution for a couple of hours. Then they’re dipped in sawdust, wrapped in clingfilm so that the ends are out, and placed in the refrigerator. Planting grapes is carried out in the spring. During storage, the sawdust should be periodically checked and replaced with new ones by blowing.
Seedlings are sown in mid-spring or early May. Before that, a part of the bark is cut off from the end of each branch. If there is a greenish layer under it, the billet will definitely take root. Fragments of the vine are soaked for two days, then necessarily dried. The bottom of the glass is covered with a dense layer of gauze and sprinkled with crushed activated charcoal or soaked in a gentle pink solution of potassium permanganate. At the same time it is important to pour in such an amount of liquid that it only slightly covers the gauze. The stem is placed in the filled container and covered with half a bottle or a plastic bag. Once its length has increased by several centimeters, and the roots have sprouted, it will be time to transplant into the ground.
The nuances of care
Care for grapes at home is not particularly difficult.
Watering
During the growing season, the culture needs watering 1-2 times a week with tinted water. If the summer is particularly hot, the number of procedures can be increased. When the culture is fruiting, watering is carried out less frequently, on the spot every 10 days. In winter in a cool room, the plant is watered once every two weeks, and in a heated one – the same as in any other time of the year.
The most convenient way – watering with a watering can.
Feeding
The first feeding is carried out with the beginning of spring. It should include potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus, for example, B. A mixture of one kilogram of chicken manure, 20 grams of potassium salts, 25 grams of superphosphate and 9 liters of liquid. The next fertilization is carried out in the warmer months, but before the fruits reach their maximum size. It is important that the fertilizer contains potassium salts and phosphorus. The fourth fertilizer is applied at the maximum size of berries – it should be medicinal, rich in potassium and phosphorus, but not nitrogen. The final application of fertilizers occurs in the fall: as a rule, we are talking about a complex solution without nitrogen and chlorine.
formation and pruning
Formation of the bush is carried out in the fall or early spring. With each new branch, only strong shoots should remain. From each pair of branches, one vine is left unchanged, and the other is cut back by 3 buds. Pruning the long vine is carried out after the end of fruiting.
In addition, sanitary pruning of dry, spoiled and diseased branches should be carried out in autumn.
Repotting
Until the culture gives fruit, the shrub should be transplanted to a larger container every 12 months. Take it out of the container with a clump of soil, then shake off the top layer of soil and old drainage. After the formation of the first fruits, the vine is transplanted every 2-3 years. To do this, the plant is taken out of the container and freed from the soil by at least one-third. Damaged and diseased roots must be removed.
Features of growing grapes in the interior
The indoor grape (cissus or tetrastigma vuanye) is a widespread, easy-care plant. It cleans the air well and is grown as an ornamental plant.
Features of growing grapes in the interior
Properties of grapes.
Indoor grapes can do without watering for a long time. It is resistant to low temperatures.
Cissus does not bear fruit, but is characterized by rapid growth, an abundance of leaves and strong tendrils. It has a thin stem resembling a vine. As it grows, new thin shoots emerge, which make the plant flexible. The antennae are spiral shaped. They stick slightly to special supports.
The leaves are shaped like birch leaves, but more dense. Due to this property, the plant got its second name – “birch”.
The indoor grape has small flowers, which are gathered in umbrellas. It blooms infrequently.
Growing functions.
To grow grapes indoors, it is better to choose the west or east side of the room. In the northern part of the house, it thrives only with proper artificial light. If the flower stands on the window on the south side, it is protected from direct sunlight.
Planting in the ground
Indoor grapes at home proliferate in the spring or early summer. At this time, new shoots appear.
- On the side shoots cut cuttings up to 20 cm in length, with each cuttings should have part of the main shoot.
- From the cuttings, all the lower leaves are cut off. Then they are immersed in a solution with growth hormones.
- A small pot is filled with a special mixture. Up to 5 seedlings are planted in the container.
- The pot is covered with foil. For rapid growth, the plant needs a greenhouse effect.
The seedling should stand in a well-lit, warm place. When new shoots grow on it, the flower takes roots, so the foil is removed.
Care for the plant
Indoor grapes are heat-loving. The optimal temperature for proper growth is 15-18 ° C. Spraying and warm showers affect the development of culture cheaply. Conduct them no more than once a week.
Indoor grapes need a sufficient amount of light. At home, lighting should be diffused, but bright. It is better to choose lighted places, but without direct sunlight. Cissus develops slowly in the shade.
fertilizer
Indoor grapes are a plant that requires proper nutrition. It is better to fertilize it every 2 weeks in spring and summer during the active phase of growth. To fertilize, use a complex fertilizer designed for different types of plants.
It should contain a maximum of vitamins and minerals. In winter you don’t need to fertilise because the plant lies dormant.
Watering
The plant should be watered with clean water.
The larger the leaf mass, the more water the plant needs, because the moisture evaporates quickly. In spring and summer it should be watered as abundantly and as often as possible. Soft warm water should be used for this purpose. Taste and temper tap water.
In the fall and winter, reduce the amount of watering. Your goal is to keep the root system alive.
Excess moisture also negatively affects the cissus – water should not stagnate in the pot.
In the autumn, watering is performed 1-2 times a week, but spray twice a day, since the air at this time of year is dry.
diseases and pests
If the care for cissus in the home conditions was carried out correctly, the plant will be resistant to diseases and pests.
Because of the excess moisture, root rot occurs, as a result of which the leaves fall off. In this case, watering is stopped. The next step is to transplant the plant.
Sometimes grapes are attacked by insect scales. This is due to too high temperature in the room or dry air.
If the leaves have changed shape, becoming concave or convex, the Cissus needs more frequent spraying.
If the air is too dry, the leaves will turn yellow and begin to dry out at the ends.
A pale color indicates a lack of micronutrients.
If the cissus grows too slowly, fertilize it.
Sometimes aphids or spider mites appear on the leaves. This causes the leaves to curl, dry and fall off. The most effective method of pest control is a chemical treatment with special preparations that prevent leaf damage and burns.
prevention
Growing indoor grapes requires proper care. To avoid the attack of pests or the development of diseases, it is important to provide the grapes with the necessary conditions. This includes ensuring optimal temperature, proper watering and lighting.