Varieties of female grapes, planted and cared for in the open field

The Maiden grape began to be used in landscape design as early as the 17th century, but even today it does not lose its popularity among gardeners. This unpretentious and rather winter-hardy plant belongs to the Vinogradov family and is able to turn an unsightly structure into a highlight of a personal plot. Planting and caring for girl grapes is not particularly difficult even for beginners.

Description and characteristics of the plant

The homeland of the fast-growing liana is considered to be North America and East Asia. A peculiarity of this type of grape is that it is able to tie berries without pollination. A powerful decorative vine reaches a height of up to 20 meters with proper care.Grape shoots are covered with a dense bark, they are deciduous or evergreen, however, due to the peculiarities of our climate, most often a culture is grown that loses its leaves for the winter.

In order to cling to the support and curl upwards, the grapes additionally have tendrils and suckers, and the shoots curl up, which creates additional support for the plant, so that the supports do not are needed only for young specimens. The length of the obovate or elliptical leaves varies from 4 to 13 cm. The main decoration of the bunches of grapes is the foliage, which turns green during the summer and changes its shade to purple with the onset of autumn.

Heterosexual flowers are collected in pendulous corymb-shaped inflorescences, the first buds bloom in June, and the last in August. Instead of flowers, small berries are formed (4-7 mm in diameter), they are not edible. Ripens completely in September and can be kept on the vines until December, if they are not pecked by birds.

Varieties

To decorate a personal plot, usually 3 types of grapes suitable for the home climate are used.

five leaves

The five-leaf variety is also called the Virginia variety; in the wild, the length of the liana reaches 30 meters. Abundantly leafy grapes decorate the site before the onset of the first frosts. Virginia grapes have bluish-black fruit which, once the foliage has fallen, gives the vines a decorative appearance.

Triangular

This variety takes its name from the presence of trilobed leaves. This species is also called ivy, and its homeland is Japan and China. The color of the leaves in spring is bright purple, with the onset of autumn they turn golden yellow or bronze. Most often, this variety is used to decorate the walls of outbuildings.

Young lady

The virgin grape has a densely branched tendril, thanks to which it perfectly sticks to any supports and walls of buildings. In autumn, the leaves of the plant turn orange and decorate the garden, when other crops are already withering.

Breeding methods

To propagate a vine on your site, they use several simple methods.

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Layers

The reproduction of grapes by layering is carried out according to the following algorithm:

1. The lianas are laid out on the ground, fixed to the ground with hairpins or metal brackets.
2. Fertile soil is poured in places where there are buds on the liana.
3. The layers are irrigated regularly until roots form on the buds.
4. In the fall, several young seedlings will have formed, which are separated and planted in places prepared in advance.

Cuttings

The procedure for propagating grapes by cuttings is carried out in spring or autumn. To do this, take an eyelash, which is already 4 years old, and cut off several branches, each of which should have at least 4-5 buds. All the leaves are cut off and the cuttings are planted in a mixture of sand and peat so that 2 buds remain above the surface. When the branches are properly rooted, they are transplanted to a permanent place.

Seeds

The method of propagation of the vine by seeds is used extremely rarely, as it is time-consuming and laborious. Harvested material should be stratified for better germination. To do this, the seeds are dipped in cold water for several hours, then planted in wet sand. The container is placed in the refrigerator and kept there for a month.

Root offspring

The simplest method of breeding, suitable even for beginner gardeners. In places where the grapes come into contact with the ground, roots form over time. The offspring from the root is taken out of the ground and planted in a new place, where it will grow for another 1-2 years.

How to plant well in the ground

To grow a powerful and healthy liana, they adhere to certain rules when planting seedlings.

Time recommendations

Spring and autumn are favorable for planting grapes. However, experienced gardeners do not recommend doing this in the summer, since it will be difficult for a plant to take root in a new place in extreme heat.

Seat selection

Virginia grapes are not picky about soil composition, but they grow and thrive best in fertile soil with neutral acidity. Planting vines in the shade causes the foliage to stay green in the fall, while in sunny areas it is painted in shades of red and burgundy.

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Soil and site preparation

A week before the planned planting, the soil in the chosen location should be prepared. It is dug up on the bayonet of a shovel, picking up the roots of weeds. If the soil is poor, compost or humus is added when digging. The pits are made 50-60 cm deep.

Selection and preparation of planting material

When choosing a planting material, pay attention to the roots of the seedling. They should be strong and resilient, with no signs of disease. Before planting, the root system of the grape is immersed in water and kept for several hours. For disease prevention, add a few drops of a fungicidal preparation to it.

top dresser

In order for the vine to take root well in a new place and begin to grow quickly, the selected soil in the holes is mixed with 1 bucket of sand and 1 bucket of compost. When planting in a pit, add superphosphate and wood ash.

Landing scheme

It is necessary to plant virgin grapes, observing a distance of 1 meter between specimens, so that they do not move away from each other. A drainage layer is laid in the prepared hole, broken brick, fine crushed stone or coarse sand is taken for this. Part of the prepared soil mixture is poured and the seedling is carefully placed on it. The rest of the earth is poured to the top and the plants are watered abundantly.

Experienced gardeners recommend laying a layer of organic mulch around the seedling and installing a support. Mature plants will cling to the walls of buildings or gazebos themselves, and they can be removed.

Rules of care

Deciduous liana does not need special agrotechnical care, the main thing is to water the plants in time and prevent diseases.

Loosening and weeding

During the growing season, it is necessary to weed and loosen the soil to access oxygen to the roots of the plants.

Sanitary size

They begin to take care of the girl's grapes from the beginning of spring. Cut off the tips of shoots that have frozen over the winter, old broken and dried twigs. It is also necessary to remove shoots that have grown outside the required area.

Crown formation

To give the plant a decorative look, shaping is necessary. Young shoots are guided along the support so that they do not grow in different directions. Thus, the skeleton of the vine is formed. Branches that grow in the unnecessary direction should be cut off. This will not harm the plant, but will help create an aesthetic look for plantings.

After the end of the formation of the skeleton, they are engaged only in annual sanitary pruning.

watering mode

The deciduous liana is quite drought-resistant, so it does not need abundant and regular watering. Throughout the growing season, irrigation is carried out 3-4 times, using up to 10 liters of water for each plant. In case of extreme heat and drought, additional watering is carried out.

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Prepare for winter

If a liana with medium frost resistance is grown and the winters in the region are cold, an additional layer of organic mulch is placed under the bush. The eyelashes are removed from the holder and laid on spruce branches, covered with any non-woven material on top.At temperatures above zero, the vine is opened slightly to provide access to fresh air.

Features of cultivation in Siberia

Due to the sufficiently high cold resistance, the cultivation of virgin grapes in Siberia is not much different from other regions. The only thing a gardener should pay attention to is a full-fledged shelter before the onset of winter. In this case, with the onset of spring, the dacha will again be decorated with a decorative liana.

Diseases and pests

As a rule, diseases and pests affect deciduous lianas in rare cases. Sometimes aphids settle on the leaves of virgin grapes and drink their juice. In this case, it is recommended to use acaricidal insecticidal preparations for spraying.

If there are few insects, simply water the vine with a hose and clean the pests.

Advantages and disadvantages of using

Like all ornamental crops, virgin grapes have their own advantages and disadvantages when grown.

Positive aspects include:

1. Decorate the site before winter.
2. Unpretentious care.
3. The ability to grow on any soil.
4. Undemanding grapes to light conditions.
5. No need for regular feeding.
6. The rapid growth of the vine.
7. Ease of reproduction.

Despite its many advantages, the cultivation of virgin grapes also has its disadvantages:

1. Plagues can grow under slates and shingles and damage them when grown near the walls of a house.
2. The root system grows rapidly and occupies a large area, so it is impossible to grow other crops near it.
3. In early spring, leafless shoots look messy.

Use in landscaping

In landscape design, female grapes are used for vertical gardening of the territory. Plagues of creepers grow rapidly and entwine fences, verandas and terraces. The hedge has a decorative look and allows you to hide everything on the site from prying eyes. Also, thanks to creepers, they decorate unsightly and outbuildings.

Tips & Tricks

Experienced gardeners give recommendations, thanks to which the process of growing deciduous liana becomes successful and does not take much time:

1. In order for the plant to begin to grow quickly, it is necessary to add nutrients when planting.
2. In order to avoid rotting of the root system, it is imperative to lay a drainage layer when planting.
3. When choosing a place for grapes, pay attention to the fact that the distance from the wall of the building should be at least 1 meter.
4. To give the plant a decorative appearance, it is imperative that it takes part in the formation of the skeleton and sanitary waste.

If you follow all the rules when growing climbing plants, it will decorate the summer cottage from spring until the onset of the first frost.