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View compareMuscadines produce best in full sun on fertile, well-drained soil with good water holding capacity.
Sites with good elevation and cold air drainage are preferred because they are less prone to late spring freezes. If full sun is not possible, morning sunlight is the most important.
Muscadines require a pH level around 6.5. We recommend having your soil tested in January, as it takes 3 months for lime to raise the pH level, to ensure the best soil for highest growth and productions. If pH is too low, a lime application may be necessary. Sometimes the ripening season on muscadines will be delayed as much as 3 weeks when the pH of the soil is below 6.0.
Limey soil produces sweeter fruit, as a rule.
The area you are planting the muscadines should be free of weeds such as Honeysuckles, Brambles, Johnson Grass, and Bermuda Grass. Your County Extension agent can help you choose the best herbicides for your area.
Muscadines are shallow rooted with most of the feeder roots in the top ½ inch of soil. To avoid damage to these roots, cultivate shallowly and only as frequently as necessary to control weeds.
Frequent clean cultivation is necessary the first two years for young vines. Remove all grass and weeds from around the plants so that growth will be vigorous the first year.
Muscadines can produce fruit for over 20 years with proper care. They will start bearing fruit the 2nd to 3rd year in the ground and will reach maximum production in their 4th year. Usually, between 15 and 20 years, they are more prone to cold damage and will not produce as much as younger vines. Generally, self-fertile varieties will produce 75 to 100 lbs of fruit per vine, and female vines will produce 50 to 80 lbs per vine.
Female vines require pollination by a self-fertile variety. We recommend planting a self-fertile variety within a 50 feet radius of each female. On single-row plantings, you may space your pollinators throughout the row. (The more pollinators you have, your fruit yield will increase on your female plants.)
A good trellis is necessary. We recommend the One-Wire Trellis using 9-gauge wire to support the vines and 8’ pressure-treated posts. Caution: Wood preservative-treated posts should be weathered prior to erecting the trellis so that excessive surface preservatives are washed off. If posts are not weathered, vines planted adjacent to the posts can be damaged by the wood preservative when it leaches into the root zone. Also, direct the root system away from the posts.
Ease of training, picking and pruning, lower construction cost, time, and good spray coverage are the main advantages of the one-wire trellis system.
Vines may arrive with more than 1 runner. Prior to planting, remove all runners except the longest one. This one runner will be trained up to the wire.
Muscadines produce their greatest concentration of fruit near the trunk, so we recommend planting the vines approximately 12-16 inches from the trellis posts.
Layered plants require a trench-like hole large enough for the roots to spread out and not be cramped. Make holes at least 8 – 12 inches deep. Space plants 20 feet apart for maximum fruit production but no closer than 12 to 15 feet.
In late fall and winter, we recommend backing the dirt up 8 to 12 inches high around plants to protect them from freezing.
Diligent care the first 2 growing seasons following planting is essential. Vines generally die the year of planting if particular attention is not given. The following areas are the most important to your vine:
A properly trained vine has a trunk, two arms, and fruiting spurs. The first two years of training are devoted to developing the trunks and arms. In the spring following planting, each plant will begin growing and may produce 3 or 4 shoots.
When these shoots are about 1 foot long, select the strongest and remove the others. Tie a piece of durable string such as a binder’s twine to the overhead wire and bend a piece of wire bent into a 9 shape and place in the ground beside the trunk. It should be taut enough so that as the new shoots grow, it can be twined around the string to form a straight trunk for the plant.
DO NOT, however, remove the leaves from the trunk. When the shoot reaches 2-3 inches below the wire, pinch the top of the trunk. Let the two buds develop into the two arms and train each arm in opposite directions.
After the plant has attached itself to the trellis wire, be sure to remove any tags from the trunk to avoid girdling of the vine. Periodically, tie the young cordons to the wire with ties (available at your local hardware store or farmer’s co-op) until each is 10 feet long. Then pinch out the terminal.
We recommend using 10-10-10 fertilizers on the following schedule:
Muscadines are considered disease-resistant, but there are several diseases that can be a problem. There are also things that you can do to help decrease the chances of disease. Once your vines begin producing, make sure that you knock off all fruit prior to the winter months to decrease chances of disease. Berries that are left on the vine over winter can cause problems in the spring.
Black Rot is a common disease for muscadines. In early spring, the fungus can infect new growth as soon as it appears or later in the growing season. The signs of the fruit infection are dry, black scabby spots. Leaf infections appear as tiny reddish-brown spots on the upper surface. The spots enlarge to ¼ inch or more in diameter and turn dark brown. A ring of black fungus spores develops near the edge of the brown area.
Ripe Rot is another common disease. It overwinters on stem lesions and on mummified berries left on the vine. It primarily damages the fruit but can affect the vines and tendrils.
To help decrease disease on your vines, we recommend using the fungicide “Captan” on your vines. We recommend two tablespoons of Captan per gallon of water. Do not start spraying until the leaves on the vines reach the size of a half dollar. You can spray your vines every two weeks up until two weeks prior to picking your fruit.
Sometimes you may have problems with insects such as Japanese Beetles. We recommend using “Sevin” or “Malithion”. Use 2 tablespoons per gallon of water. Also use a little dish detergent as a surfactant to help the mixture stay on the leaves.
DO NOT, EVER SPRAY YOUR VINES DURING BLOOM.