A Guide to Growing Grapes at Home
Ever thought about stepping into your backyard to pick fresh, juicy grapes right off the vine? Growing grapes at home is rewarding and surprisingly easy, especially in the warm climate of Arizona’s low desert. With the right variety and a little care, you can enjoy bountiful harvests for years.
Article Index:
- Why Grow Grapes in Arizona?
- Choosing the Right Grape Variety
- Preparing Your Soil
- Planting Your Grapevines
- Supporting Grapevines
- Training and Pruning Grapes
- Watering and Fertilizing
- Fruit Thinning
- Protecting Your Grapes from Pests and Diseases
- Harvesting Your Grapes
Why Grow Grapes in Arizona and other hot climates?
Although the desert presents challenges for growing many things, fortunately, grapes are well suited to growing in hot climates. Abundant sunshine helps grapevines thrive. Grapes also are adaptable to many soil types. A well-cared-for grapevine can produce fruit for decades, even in the deserts of Arizona.
Learn about other perennials and perennial herbs that grow well in Arizona in these guides.
Choosing the Right Grape Variety
Selecting a grape variety suited to your specific elevation is key. In Arizona’s lower elevations (70 to 4,500 feet), European grapes (Vitis vinifera) are your best bet. They prefer warm summers and moderate winters, making them perfect for the low desert. These grapes are versatile—great for fresh eating, making raisins, jelly, juice, and even wine. Some popular European varieties include:
- Thompson Seedless: Light green, seedless, and perfect for fresh eating or raisins.
- Flame Seedless: Red, sweet, sweet, seedless berries for snacking.
- Perlette: Pale green, seedless berries with a unique Muscat flavor.
If you live at a higher elevation (above 4,500 feet), American grapes (Vitis labrusca) and French hybrids are more cold-hardy and better suited to cooler climates.
Preparing Your Soil
Grapes prefer loamy soils with good drainage. While they can adapt to different soil types, avoiding heavy clay soils or areas with shallow caliche layers that hinder water drainage is best. Not sure if it drains well? After digging your hole, fill it with water. The water should drain out within an hour or two. If you’re unsure about your soil’s quality, consider getting it tested. Adding compost can improve moisture retention and increase organic matter, giving your vines a healthy start.
Planting Your Grapevines
Plant your grapevines in early spring, after the last frost. You can also plant grapes in the fall if you live in the low desert of Arizona. If you’re using bare-root vines, keep the roots moist before planting. Plant potted vines with their existing soil.
Here’s how to plant your vines:
- Dig a Hole: Make it about 12-18 inches (30-45 cm) wide and 1-2 feet (30-60 cm)deep.
- Spacing: Allow 6-7 feet (1.8-2.1 m) between plants. For French hybrids, allow 8-9 feet (2.4-2.7m).
- Prepare the Vine: Trim any broken roots and cut back the roots on bare root plants to about 4-5 inches (10-12 cm). If there are multiple shoots, keep one and trim it to two buds.
- Planting: Place the vine in the hole, backfill it with native soil, and top it with a thick layer of compost. Firm the soil around the plant.
- Watering: Water thoroughly after planting, then wait until you see new leaves before watering again.
Keep the area around your vine free of weeds and grass–they can choke out the young vines. Mulching can help control weeds and retain soil moisture. Learn more about mulching in this guide.
Supporting Grapevines
Grapevines need support to grow properly. You can use fences, trellises, arbors, or even single stakes. If using a stake, place a seven-foot (2.1 m) stake about two feet into the ground next to your vine. This helps train the vine to grow straight and strong.
See this vine growing guide if you’re looking for more vines that thrive in the desert.
Training and Pruning Grapes
Training your grapevine involves guiding it to develop a strong trunk and root system. In the first year, select the straightest shoot and tie it to your stake, removing any other shoots. Allow it to grow to about 42 inches (106 cm) tall.
Pruning is essential for healthy grape production. Grapes produce fruit on one-year-old wood, so annual pruning balances fruit and new growth. In the first couple of years, focus on establishing a strong framework rather than fruit production. By the third year, your vine will be ready to produce grapes.
Here’s a simple pruning guide:
- First Dormant Season: After the first growing season, prune back to establish your main trunk and a few select canes.
- Second Dormant Season: Select four healthy canes to keep (two near the top and two lower down) and prune the rest. Cut these canes back to 8-12 buds, depending on the vine’s vigor.
- Subsequent Seasons: Each year, remove the old fruiting canes and select new ones from the previous season’s growth.
Pruning may seem overwhelming, and you will probably make mistakes. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Aim to learn a little more each season, and you will improve over time.
Watering and Fertilizing
Grapes have deep roots and prefer infrequent, deep watering. In the summer, water every 7-10 days, ensuring the top few inches of the soil dries out a bit between waterings. The most important time for water is when leaves and grape clusters are developing.
Grapes are deciduous and will need minimal water in the winter. Learn more about how to water your garden in this guide.
For newly planted grapevines, giving them a light feeding in April can provide a helpful boost. Starting in the spring of the third year, begin a regular fertilization routine using a balanced organic fertilizer. Apply it each February and May to support healthy growth and fruit production. Alternatively, you can enrich your soil several times a year with compost and worm castings—this is one of my favorite natural methods to nourish your vines. Learn more about this fertilization method here.
Fruit Thinning
To improve the size and quality of your grapes, you can thin the berries and reduce the number of clusters per vine. Before the vines bloom, gently remove about 75% of the berries in each cluster. This allows the remaining grapes to grow larger and sweeter. Also, consider limiting the number of clusters to about 20-25 per vine for optimal results.
Protecting Your Grapes from Pests and Diseases
Keeping your grapevines healthy involves staying vigilant against pests and diseases that can affect them in Arizona’s warm climate.
Whiteflies
Whiteflies are tiny, winged insects that can be a nuisance to your grapevines. They feed on the sap of the leaves, causing them to yellow, wilt, and potentially stunt the growth of your vines. Additionally, whiteflies excrete a sticky substance called honeydew, which can lead to the growth of sooty mold on the leaves.
Managing Whiteflies:
- Regular Monitoring: Keep a close eye on your grapevines, especially the undersides of the leaves where whiteflies like to hide. Early detection makes it much easier to manage them.
- Natural Predators: Encourage beneficial insects like ladybugs, lacewings, and parasitic wasps, which naturally prey on whiteflies. Planting flowers such as marigolds or alyssum nearby can attract these helpful allies.
- Insecticidal Soaps: If you notice a significant infestation, using insecticidal soaps or horticultural oils can help reduce whitefly populations. Be sure to follow the product instructions carefully.
- Cultural Practices: Remove heavily infested leaves and dispose of them properly to prevent the whiteflies from spreading. Keeping your vines healthy through proper watering and fertilization can also make them less susceptible to pests.
Western Grapeleaf Skeletonizer
As the warm days of May arrive, it’s important to watch out for the Western Grapeleaf Skeletonizer (Harrisina metallica). This moth’s larvae have a voracious appetite for grape leaves and can cause serious damage if not promptly addressed.
The adult moths lay eggs on the underside of grape leaves. When the larvae hatch, they feed in large groups, munching away at the leaf tissue and leaving only the veins—a process known as skeletonizing. Severe infestations can defoliate entire vines, reducing photosynthesis and leading to a significant drop in grape production.
Managing the Western Grapeleaf Skeletonizer:
- Stay Alert: Regularly inspect your grapevines for eggs, larvae, or signs of feeding damage. Early detection can make management much easier.
- Welcome Beneficial Insects: Introducing natural predators like the parasitic wasp (Apanteles harrisinae) and the tachinid fly (Ametadoria misella) can help control the larvae population.
- Consider Organic Insecticides: If you notice a severe infestation, organic options like Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Bt) or Spinosad can be effective against the larvae while being environmentally friendly. See Bt on Amazon.
- Practice Good Garden Hygiene: Remove fallen leaves and debris from around your grapevines to reduce places where larvae can pupate, helping to break the pest’s life cycle.
Other Pests and Diseases
Don’t forget about other common pests like grape leafhoppers, which can cause leaves to appear speckled or bronze. Insecticidal soaps can help manage these tiny sap-sucking insects.
Regular monitoring can keep your vines healthy from diseases like powdery mildew. If spotted, use the recommendations in this guide to treat powdery mildew.
Harvesting Your Grapes
By the third or fourth year, your patience will pay off! Grapes are typically ready to harvest when they have full color and sweet flavor. Enjoy them fresh, or try your hand at making raisins or jelly.
Grapes left on the vine too long in the heat will become raisins all on thier own! Don’t forget to harvest and enjoy your grapes.
Conclusion
I love having grapes growing in my garden. They are one of several perennials that, with a bit of seasonal care, provide abundant harvests for years. Questions about how to grow grapes? Ask them in the comments.
Sources
- Growing Grapes in the Home Garden by Tom DeGomez. The University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. 2015
- Understanding the Western Grapeleaf Skeletonizer:Management in Commercial Vineyards. The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Arizona Pest Management Center. 09/23
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