Viticulture question 401

CB,

Here's my 2 cents.

Cuttings should need almost no nutrient supplementation to grow well. Did the cuttings get plenty of water over the past 2 years??? You should never stress young vines. If the cuttings were grown on well drained soil, they can't be over watered. I would guess water stress is your main culprit. The second thing that needs to be done is correct pruning. The cuttings after the first year should be pruned back to 2-3 buds, maybe even 1-2 buds.That way the growth you get is strong for the small amount of buds and not distributed over many buds. Growing vines from cuttings without callousing them should work but it will take an extra year. I would suggest pruning back the vines to 1-2 buds this year and water the hell out of them. Is your soil well drained????? You can add all the nutrients you want but if the soil is to dry , the vines will not use them. They will be stunted. Another thing is to mulch. That will keep the soil moist. I mulch now and have found that the mulch has almost eliminated adding fertilizer to my plants. The results of mulching were substantial. Water is the key and never stress young vines.

Bob