Collecting Wild Grape

I came across a massive grape burl (about a foot in diameter) on a trail that the city has been cutting back for who knows how long. There are new shoots emerging from the old wood so I feel like its is healthy enough for collection but I don't know how well they transplant. I seem to remember something about them having rather long trailing roots but I could be pulling that out of nowhere.
I'm fairly certain it is Vitis riparia or Riverbank/Frost Grape if that means anything to anyone. Assuming they give me permission, Ill try to get some pictures up in the next few days but if anybody has any input until then I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance,
Jake Phillips

I know that wild grape can be kept in pots,but I don't know how well they get the transplant into pots,but I know it can bear quite well being transplanted from one place to another,probably it will succed.
I'm looking forward to some pictures of it.

Without sounding facetious,

you can basically cut it at ground level, pot it in Turface and it will just re-grow its roots. they are a little like Willows that way

Try and dig down to see if there are any larger roots that you may want in the finished tree and you can cut them clean back to say 4 inch stubs, powder them with rootone and take the whole thing up and root it as though it were a cutting. The free draining substrate is very important as I've tried huge wild grapes in both turface and potting soil and only the turface one rooted.

Trim the vines back to ONE leaf each, keep it in shade and well watered until you see new growth allow it to grow out for the rest of the season, maybe next year too.

Short answer is they survive collection very well.
-jay

I've collected a grape and it survived the process very well. Mine even got hit by a trashcan afterwards (tornado damage) and although it was set back, it still survived and kept chugging along. In my experience Jay's advice is spot on. Chop whatever you need to, get it in some turface, drop a quick Hallelujah on it and it should be just fine.

Good luck with it
Keep us posted.
Sam

Thanks folks! I was entirely expecting to get replies saying not to waste my time but this is way better!
We're about to face a huge storm here in Nebraska so I probably won't be able to get pictures/collect this bad boy until about Monday. Ill get some turface and try it out on the grape. I've been using chicken grit and pine bark for the rest of my trees but this one seems to be worth the drive out to the only supplier in the area.
Thanks for your advice,
Jake Phillips

how big of ones can be rooted by just sawing it off at ground level? do yall use rooting hormone powder or liquid? I have several monsters on my property (more than a foot in diameter and thats 8 feet off the ground, seriously, they are wild and taking over the forest and need to be removed anyways), my other question is whats the life span on them, id hate to invest time into something thats going to die of old age before I die of old age.

hey Buck.

I didn't use rooting hormone but maybe I should have. I kept as big of a root ball as possible. It's growing like a weed this year.

Sam

Yeah, I dont want to dig this thing up, First of all it would take a whole day and second of all I just dont think they make that great of bonsai. If I cant root it by just sawing it off then its probably not worth messing with, although a rooted grape this size produced from a cutting rather than digging it might look pretty ridiculous and unstable as it would only have lots of young little roots radiating all around rather than proportional bulkier surface roots.

The one I'm thinking of collecting is a little over a foot wide but only 6-8 inches tall because it has been cut back on what seems like a few occasions.

Buck- I know what you mean, they grow to be as big as the trees they climb here if they aren't managed. Usually they are just pretty straight trunks of no use for bonsai like most of the trees in these parts.

Sam- I'm getting turface today as well as some rooting hormone and I plan to collect it tomorrow so hopefully Ill have some pictures up by then but I would love to see yours! Also thanks for your help and encouragement!

Like I said, I hope to have some pictures up my tomorrow so the entire work can say a prayer to whatever deity they feel will most likely encourage new roots.

Thanks,
Jake Phillips

I knew a guy that had a vinyard, he was pulling out some old vines and he let me have 1 vine - it was probably 15-20 feet long and 3 - 5 inches wide. I sawed it into about a dozen or so pieces and planted them all up with no rooting hormone and I'd say about 90% of them took root.

- bob

cbobgo wrote:I knew a guy that had a vinyard, he was pulling out some old vines and he let me have 1 vine - it was probably 15-20 feet long and 3 - 5 inches wide. I sawed it into about a dozen or so pieces and planted them all up with no rooting hormone and I'd say about 90% of them took root.

- bob

This method is not far off from how vintners refresh and/or expand their growing fields, by just sticking cuttings from the early spring work in the ground wherever they want a vine.
-Jay

So I dug her up today.... Sorry for the photo quality, my friend took the pictures on his iphone but Ill get some better pictures up tomorrow.

I have new pictures up but I'm putting them on a new thread in general discussion. I hope this is what I'm supposed to do...

Before i became a bonsai lover I tried to kill one once, dug, chopped and poisoned, two years ago my wife fastioned it into and archway on a path in our garden, I am sure yours will survive.