How to grow a grape vine in a pot?

Who has not dreamed of having a vine on the balcony or terrace? It is both decorative and odd.

If the grape vine is good girl and accommodates precarious culture conditions, it is however necessary to follow some rules if we want to grow it in pot, given the limited amount of soil available to the plant:

1. The amount of water available in the pot is also limited and runs out quickly.

Do not allow the soil to dry completely in the container, nor leave standing water in the sub-pot (do not put one). The best solution is to place a drip irrigation system, sold in garden centres, ideally equipped with a humidity sensor. Otherwise, use a peat-based substrate with high water retention, or add “water crystals” in a sandy soil, so to need watering less often. Some companies servicing the potted plants in offices make a special substrate with high water retention that you could also try to get.

2. The nutrients in the pot exhaust too after a few months.

Use a delayed release fertilizer like “osmocote” (4 -6 months) in spring, or water regularly the grape vine with water containing a liquid fertilizer (bottle for geranium or other flowering plant).

3. Do not let the grape vines reach a large size.

The longer you let it grow, the more it will consume water and nutrients and consequently the larger the pot should be. Anyway, prefering a large pot facilitates the culture (bottoms of used wine barrels with the interior tarred work just fine and they are sold only 25 € to 30 €).

4. The soil in the pot becomes "tired".

Partially renew it from time to time (for example, every year cut 1/3 of the root ball and replace with fresh soil).

5. Choice of grape vine variety.

Choose a low vigour variety (slow-growing). If the plant is grafted, choose a low vigour rootstock, like 101-14 MGt or 3309C.

6. Protect from freezing.

The roots are more sensitive to frost than the trunk or canes. If you take the pot in shelter when the weather is chilly, avoid a heated room, which will cause the vegetation to start.