Mary-Jane:

If you have a T trellis at 5ft height you do not need a wire at 3ft. All of your shoots will be on top of the T. You do need a pole at the vine to train it up this yr. If the T is about 3ft wide you will need at least three wires on the T. You need sturdy posts at the ends to hold up the weight of the fruit. And yes, you might as well put a sturdy post and a T at each vine.

Train the strongest shoot up the pole. When it reaches 5ft cut it off. This will force several shoots near the top that you can train in each direction. This yr you will just let the shoots grow as much as possible after cutting of the upright shoot which will become the trunk. You won't get enough growth this yr to have fruit next yr. So next spring cut back all the side shoots to the trunk. That will force more side shoots next summer. If your vine is big enough you can save about four shoots in the spring of 2010 for fruiting. Cut all others back to the upright trunk. Every following spring save at least four shoots and cut all the others out.

The Fruitnut

Thanks Fruitnut,

For all the information and helpful advice.
Much appreciated.
Thanks
Mary-Jane

One worry. It looks like you are in zone 5. Is Flame hardy there? The reason I mention it when I put one in in zone 6 a few years ago I thought it was only recommended to zone 7 and that I was lucky to have it do well in zone 6. I could be remembering wrong though.

I think it would be extremely unlikely that Flame will withstand zn 5 winters. Was it a local nursery selling it? Kay Gray on the other hand is an Elmer Swenson variety and should have plenty of hardiness and much better disease resistance as well.

Hi Guys,
Thanks for replying to my post.

I purchased the Flame Grape vine from a local greenhouse. On the tag it says Zone 4 that's why I got it thinking it would be hardy in my area. By the way I'm in Ontario Canada which means my zone 5 Canadian would be zone 4 US.

You really have me worried now that it may not be hardy for my zone.

If that is the case which red or purple seedless grape would be good for my zone?

If not seedless then which seeded one would be best?

It would be nice to know some varieties that I could get in Ontario Canada.

I'm new at trying to grow grapes so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Mary-Jane

There are three seedless reds that I know of that are hardy to your zone. Two have small berries, but high flavor. They are Petite Jewel and Somerset Seedless. They are not widely available, so I'm not sure where you could find them in your area. The other is Reliance, which has been around for many years, and is probably the one you are more likely to find. A blue seedless that may be hardy for you would be Mars.

Flame Seedless is pure V. vinifera and is probably only hardy to maybe -20 C (-5 F). Even if it survived your winters, there is no way it would ripen in your relatively short growing season. I would suggest checking with the nursery and complain.

There is a group on a certain site I am not allowed to mention here called Growgrapes, where you can get lots of growing tips and ask questions. The regulars there are very tolerant of new growers and helpful. Just type in "Growgrapes" in Google.

Thanks kiwinut,
For all the info and help. I will check out the group you mentioned.

Thanks
Mary-Jane

MaryJane, if you have already bought them and want to keep them you will need to take them from the trellis in late fall and bury them. Lay them flat on the ground and cover them with burlap, or something else that breathes (not plastic). Then pile dirt on top of them. It doesn't take much, the more the better, but experience will be the best indicator on that. The only reason to use the burlap is that it will be easier to uncover them and they will be a little cleaner.
We did this with fragile wine grapes years ago, but the labor cost became prohibitive.
It really isn't too hard and you will have Flame Seedless grapes for your efforts. Flames are not hard to raise. Properly grown Flame have a crunchiness that I haven't been able to find in other table grapes.
If you leave them up they will likely only kill above ground and you will have the roots below the ground. They will come back real fast.
My Flames endure zero degrees F, but more important is how quickly the temps drop and how long it stays that cold. I apply my last irrigation August 1 and allow the plants to harden off. If you get rain you can't do that. I live in the desert of Washington State.

All IMHO, YMMV

Thanks Geraldo,
For replying to my post and all your helpful suggestions and your help.
Thanks
Mary-Jane