After planting, I'll then mix in corn gluten to inhibit weeds.

The past 3 years I have tried grapes, didnt do well, and never made it over the winter. Although, I did by cheapies at home depot. Good luck with yours, Im trying some again this year, maybe I wasnt planting them deep enough.

Hi Bob,

In fall of '09 I planted a 'Reliance'. Last spring I was sure it was dead--was breaking off tiny twigs here and there, and they sure looked dead to me!--and then, while I was busy doing other things, it started to leaf out! I was shocked--and delighted! This year it's just barely starting to break right now.

Mine is planted in "slightly" amended heavy clay, and it's planted right between two "ancient" cottonwoods--just a couple feet from one of them, which suck all the water out of the soil on that corner of my yard. (The neighbors, on whose property the trees are, don't water--EVER, so all the roots are on MY property!) It's planted just barely as deep as it was growing in the pot because to get it even that deep I had to cut/SAW out enough cottonwood roots to get it in! I don't remember exactly what I did over winter in '09--not much that I can remember, but this past winter, because of the extreme dryness, I started watering it in about February, and when I'd water the soil, I also hosed down the vines in hopes of "rehydrating" them. I've kept up with the watering and the "rehydrating" ever since. I do get a LOT of wind too, but it's planted against a 6' privacy fence, so it gets some protection from that, and the vines haven't gotten above it yet. Don't have any idea how much, if any, the watering helped, but it is coming back again. From here on out, I won't really worry about it!

I hope to get fruit some day--'Reliance" sounded yummy, but it gets limited sun--because of the cottonwood trees, and it may not get enough sun to ever bear fruit. I put it in partly as a privacy screen, so I guess that's ok--I guess!

Coming home from vacation last year I stopped at one of the wineries in McElmo Canyon, just west of Cortez, and they have acres and acres of grapes, so you can clearly grow grapes in Colorado. Cortez isn't exactly the lushest place in the country, and, as David can attest (just north of Cortez), there's plenty of wind down that way too!

Without seeing your soil, I don't know this for sure, but I do wonder if maybe your "soil" has so much of the decomposed granite/gravel in it that when you water it, the water is draining right thru whatever soil you put in there to plant them in, and the roots are just staying too dry to keep the dormant vines hydrated over winter. The fact that they're growing well over summer, however, would tend to contradict that theory!

If you're going ahead with your "digging a big hole and replacing the soil" project, do take the time to intermix your replacement soil with your natural soil where they meet--if they're not somewhat mixed, it can present a whole new set of watering problems, tho I'm not sure that would apply with as much gravel as it sounds like you have.

But you can definitely grow grapes in Colorado, so I wouldn't give up on trying to find a way to do it!

Skybird

This is year 3 for my Reliance grapes, and I am just starting to see leaf buds swelling, so they are still alive, just slow to wake up.

Last year, year two, I got three small bunches of grapes, so Skybird I'm sure you will get fruit soon : )

My vines are located between the house and the backyard fence, on the east side of the house. A very protected area. With the winds we have here, I'm not sure they would survive in a more exposed location ...

Bonnie

I live in Falcon too. I only have one grape (a Red Canadice I think) that I planted 2 years ago. Last year, like Skybird, I thought sure it was dead but it did eventually leaf out. I won't say it grew well last summer, but I also won't say I took the best care of it last summer :-)

I don't have a lot to offer, other than to make sure they're really dead, and some sympathy for the lovely soil and wind. I planted mine beside the back fence in slightly amended soil (compost) and heavily mulched with straw. I think maybe I should wander out there and see what mine looks like today...

Ok, I'm back. It doesn't look too lively. It could be dead, but I'm not going to pronounce it yet...

Grapes break dormancy really late compared to most other things. I've had a large grape for decades now and I know it isn't dead but it is only just starting to bud out. Every year it doesn't bud out until middle of May at the earliest, sometimes closer to June. Yet I get enough grapes from it to make 3 gallons of wine.

I planted four grapes last July, all one gallon. Vitis 'Brianna'(z4); 'Mars'(z5); 'Swensen Red'(z4); 'Swensen White(z4b)'

Planted in heavy clay, with minimal amendment and in a hole not much deeper than the pot.

So far this year only two are starting to leaf out. I think the other two didn't make it. Pics from today.
Mars

Mars (maybe a rabbit was chewing this vine?!)

Swenson White

That's all great info! My soil is rented, the compost engaged, it's now time to see if the vines will dance. :-)

I'm really going to focus on root system development. That's why I had the soil ripped so deep. The vines are own root, so hopefully if the canes die back, at least I'll have the roots for new canes. I'm also going to tip in a few canes to make backup plants

I'll post some pictures when I get planted. Happy Day all!

I had a monster seedless Concord that provided shade for years on the west side of the house, up and covering a patio, and that died - voles over the winter were the prime suspect. The stem was larger than my arm. Had another white grape variety that I've forgotten the name, and that pretty much covered a large dead cedar tree we'd left standing. Again, voles over the winter were the chief suspect. In both cases, we could see the little trails left after the snow melt all around.

I planted some replacements for the patio last summer, it will be a few years before they get large enough to do much, they're yet to bud out.

Bob_in_Colorado - the own root and tipping are both great ideas.

My grape (Himrod Golden Seedless) is from a cutting I made many years ago and it has incredible vigor. I've also "tipped" it about six times by just pinning some vines down with rocks so they touched the soil enough to take root, which provides backup, plus more grapes.

There's a huge amount of die back on the grape this year, but we prune it hard anyway.

Skybird - I know something about Denver that you don't, I'm not sure if I am shocked or proud at the moment, lol. Anyway right in the "heart" of Denver there are a few vineyards. Where I-25, 76 & 270 are. I used to see them all the time when I came up to pick up lumber off Washington and 66th. They were getting pretty surrounded by commercial and industrial, but they seemed to have pretty good roots, (yes pun).

Also if you ever go to Grand Junction there are some wonderful wineries over there, Amazing!!

Have not planted my grapes yet, guess from what I am reading about them not leafing until mid May or early June I better wait to plant them till after the swap.

Billie

I have a Reliance that is leafing, but is in an area where peppers over wintered!! Go figure. I thought last winter was cold.

I planted Reliance whenever Bonnie planted hers and am hoping for fruit this year.

I bought some different table grape cuttings (SSE) and am still waiting for roots, or any sign of life. I have had them in soil for months. They were indoors and now are out in our wonderful wind and hot sun.

Still trying to figure out the purpose of voles...

Let's see if my memory serves me correctly.....

Voles and prairie dogs and other rodentia are actually very vital to us. They burrow and make new tunnels keeping the soil loose and filled with holes for oxygen. Before the advent of modern agriculture, they were very vital to farmers and it was at one point a critical symbiotic relationship.

With urban sprawl (with which I no issues with), farms are now closer to pop areas and we've started to eliminate their habitats. They are doing what they need to survive.

I agree they are a big nuisance, but in the long run, we need them.

Voles - digging holes that go almost straight down for a foot, then turn so that large livestock (cattle & horses) can step in holes, breaking leg and requiring immediate attention to the situation (usually consisting of a 2:00 am vet call which ends in the animal needing to be put down. Cost: value of livestock $500 - $5000, vet call $200 - $800, remedial treatment $0.50 - $100. How it affects us: cost of our beef goes up to make up the difference (not really, the rancher tends to lose the money). BTW I truly believe the rumors of government relocation of prairie dogs. We have lived in the same place for 15 years, never had a prairie dog in 10+ miles. Last year, they are populated, heavily, on the other side of my fence. What did they fly in, with the help of Uncle Sam??

austin - you had peppers overwinter? Really? I haven't had anything overwinter (tender perennial/annual here) since I was in AZ. Hope they do really well.

Billie

Billie -

I pulled all of the peppers, whether they would've survived or not. (I feel the need to know the variety for seed saving/trading and these didn't have id tags.) But the root growth was strong, intact and alive. I was shocked. This space is west facing and in front of brick.

Last year, I had Cuban Oregano overwinter in my yard. It was planted near a concrete wall and the wall must have kept it at a different zone!

I wish I could appreciate the voles. They are quite adorable, but man can they destroy a garden in very little time! I don't even mind sharing the harvest...I just wish they would leave the plant alone until it bears fruit.

I think I am confused. Isn't a vole a rodent, just a little bigger than a mouse? Aren't the elaborate underground tunnels the work of the pocket gopher, (or the work of the 13 lined ground squirrel or of prairie dogs)?

The Biologists next door tell me it's pocket gophers and 13 lined ground squirrels we have in our back yards (meaning mine and theirs), but the biggest mess is from the gophers.

Greenbean08, Voles are a little bigger than a mouse, with shorter tales and attitude. I don't know how deep they go, but last year, when we had snow cover for quite a while, they tunneled under the snow and made quite a road map on my lawn. They do a great job of destroying junipers around here.

My neighbors who are horse people have serious problems with prairie dogs and the holes they dig.

Voles dig tunnels too, but much smaller and no dirt all over the place like gophers and ground squirrels.

Dan

Under the snow, my voles make little nests out of grass that look like mini-yurts. And they'll hide in them as the snow melts, and you can see them looking out at you. Their little trails in the grass are all greener in the spring from their urine, I suppose.

They've wiped out two large grape vines, a swamp oak, two fruit trees, and they seem to do a number on several perennial flowers as well.

Gophers do the serious digging and recycling, and there is one who moved into the raised garlic bed sometime yesterday, and when it stops raining, he will be flushed out by running irrigation water down the hole. The ground squirrels seem to find something nice, condo-wise, under the south house foundation. Busy busy busy.

Across the fence we have a prairie dog colony. Yesterday, there were two large hawks on the ground, having one for breakfast.

Voles, BTW, have a compound in their urine that creates small crystals that reflect in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum. Raptors have receptors in their eyes that allow them to see into the ultraviolet. When you see them sitting up high staring down, one of the things they are doing is looking for the "newest" UV glow, which is the freshest urine, which indicates the most active vole trail and better chance for a sighting and a snackie.

[/naturalist hat]

Dan

Ok, thanks, I was just checking.

A few weeks ago, I was having a conversation with an across the street neighbor who was telling me his dog killed a rat, but when he showed me the picture his son took (Dad wasn't home when it happened) I thought it looked like a gopher. He kept teling me he hadn't seen any gophers but the voles were digging up his yard. Since he lives across the street from me, I'm guessing we have the same creatures out back, but he refused to believe me.

I have come to realize though, over the past year or so, that this particular neighbor is of the mindset that he is always right. No matter what I say. No matter what the subject is.

I have a few relatives like that, LOL! Actually, when they're related ... it's not really funny.

I have a grapevine running up the back of my house. Last year a raccoon got into my vines and ate all the grapes. This year no grapes grew at all. Did this happen because of what the raccoon did last year? I think he came back once this year but finding no grapes he got disgusted and never came back. Will I get grapes next year or what can I do to assure success? And does anyone know how to get rid of a raccoon? I live in Colorado Springs. I'll send a picture of my grapevine if I can figure out how to do it.

So I have a 4 year old catawaba and a 2 year old concord. No signs of grapes this year at all. Must of been something in the weather, last year my catawaba was prolific.

The weather we had last fall caused a lot of problems because it stayed warm until November and then had a freeze apparently killing things like roses and grapes. Since most grapes and roses are grafted onto a hardy rootstock, about 99% of the growth came from the rootstock. The grafted section was almost completely dead with just one shoot coming out about a month later, so I had one cluster of grapes. I am probably going to replant next spring.

Just a thought. Try grafting rather than losing all the roots which are established. I lost my new red delicious apple over the winter. The root stock shows promise thought. Going to give it a year to establish and then try my hand at grafting this great apple my sister has at her house on it.

Just a note: professional growers lost their trees too, it wasn't just us amateurs. :-)

The only effective way I know to control raccoons is with an electric fence about a foot high around whatever they're after.