Grapevine canes go from bud to bearing all in one growing season

Grapevines in our area have come out of dormancy and have begun to grow. It’s fascinating to watch the buds open and develop this time of year.

Buds are those bumpy parts growing on the plant. Each bud contains the separate microscopic primordial parts that are destined to become leaves, vines and grapes. They will form new green shoots along with all of the clusters of grapes that will make up this year's crop.

The grapevine’s maximum production potential this year has already been determined by last year’s growing conditions. Environmental factors such as the amount sun exposure, the amount of rain during the growing season and/or excessively high or low temperatures during summer affects the interaction of certain plant hormones that control the initiation of the cells that turn into flowers.

Yes, grapevines do indeed produce flowers. Their flowers contain both male and female parts. Those types are called “perfect flowers” and are self pollinating.

At the stage they’re at now, the flowers haven’t opened up yet and look like miniature clusters of grapes as they grow out of the buds. Those emerging flowers will open, become pollinated and eventually set tiny clusters of fruit that grow into full sized bunches of grapes.

The vines themselves look pretty bare right now since over 90% of the plant was cut off and discarded during the pruning process earlier in the spring. Without such drastic cutting back, grapevines would quickly become overgrown and production would drop substantially. Only the productive parts are selected and left to grow.

Last year’s new shoots are now mature and woody. The buds on them are now developing into this year’s fresh green shoots which will produce the grapes for this year.

One-year-old canes can be easily identified. If you take a close look at a typical grapevine, you’ll notice different colors of bark on certain parts of the plant. The lighter brown colored canes are 1-year-old growth while darker brown canes are older.

It’s not unusual for a single bud to grow into a cane several feet long. Some of my vigorous Concord vines will produce canes 12 feet long in one season.

To me it’s pretty amazing how a single bud is able to grow into a long shoot and grow bunches of grapes.

Sometimes when I’m out in the garden, I’ll just stop working and contemplate how things grow.

The gardening season is in full planting mode right now and will be through Memorial Day.