Bad Armadillo Vineyard

Purchasing cutting is usually a lot cheaper than buying plants, so if you're on a budget, and who isn't now, its a great way to get more for your dollar.  The only catch, is that you need to do a little more work.  This tutorial will take you through the rooting process.

Most Florida Bunch Grapes will root from cuttings.  Some do better grafted (see the Grafting section).  Blanc du Bois, Suwannee, Black Spanish, Stover, and Lake Emerald all root from cuttings.

The first thing you need is a wooden box.  It can be any size - depending upon how many cuttings you want to root.  This one was constructed of a 2x12x8' piece of pressure treated wood from Home Depot.  It was cut in 2 ft sections, and then nailed together.  Place the box in a place where it won't be disturbed for a couple of months.

Now gather your cuttings together.  I usually make them about a foot long.  They each contain 3 or 4 buds (but sometimes I have to use 5 - if they are close together).  The thickness should be about pencil diameter, however, I have rooted cuttings that were thinner.

Next, wrap them up in groups of about 50 with rubber bands.

Now place the cuttings in the box.  Ensure there is some room at the bottom so roots have room to grow.

Put about 1" of sand underneath the bunch - this will help when you're trying to get them out after they've grown roots.

Oh, I put a plastic garbage bag on the bottom - underneath the sand - this helps retain some of the water.

Now cover them up with sand.  I get Playsand from Home Depot.  You can find Playsand at Home Depot or Lowe's.  It cost around $4 a bag.  For the 2'x2' box you will probably need about 6 bags.

After about a month I check the roots by scraping some dirt off the top and bottom area.  You can see here that roots are starting to grow from the bottom of the cuttings.

If they are really long, I dig them up and plant them in pots. 

If they are short (or non-existant) I cover them up, water them again, and wait some more. 

These are Blanc du Bois, and they are ready!  They took about 1 1/2 months.

Now carefully dig around the cuttings.  I usually dig a trench on each side and the top.  I leave the bottom area alone, because that's where the roots are growing.

After that, I dig underneath the bunch so I can get a good grip on them.

Here is what your bunch of cuttings looks like after you dig them up.  Those roots can grow Everywhere!  Try not to damage the roots - they are really delecate at this time.

I usually dump them in a bucket of water.

Now spray them down with a garden hose.  This helps loosten them up without damaging the roots too much.  If you just try pulling them apart, you'll have more root damage.

Now this is a good cutting.  Notice the root system it has developed.  Also, notice that the end is calused over (white growth on the tip of the cutting).  A cutting will not room (most of the time) until the end has calused over.  This process speeds up the calusing process.

Place about 1" of sand/soil in the bottom of a 1-gallon plastic pot.  I use a mixture of pearlite, peetmoss and sand.  (I think everyone has their own "Special" mixture.

Now gently place the cutting and roots down on top of your dirt mixture.  Curl up the roots if they are long.  Don't worry if some break - it will grow new ones.

Now gently cover up the roots with your dirt mixture and lightly press it down.

Now water the pot.

When they're all in pots, and watered, place them somewhere in the shade for a couple weeks, until they get used to being out in the light.  After that, they can be placed in full sunlight.  Don't forget to water them.

After a couple weeks, they should be growing some leaves.  You can transplant them at this time.

How to Root Cuttings