I agree with Plumfun: “If they are mature vines, it usually doesn't pay to transplant them, as digging them out will cost you hours of work. And it will take the vine 4 or 5 years to recover from this treatment, if at all.” – My experience transplanting (just) a five year old Concord was bad enough! Not wanting to waste it, and too high in elevation for it to ripen fruit - I dug it up and hauled it into the HOS Scion Exchange – it was by far the largest plant at the fair!

It’s always a shame to remove a fruiting plant … they remind me of children… But fortunately, the connection ends there. I also agree with his method of extinguishing it, as brutal as it sounds.

Unless you’ve got a seemingly rare variety with outstanding qualities it's best replace it. I’ve transplanted a lot of grapes, and started them from both cuttings and layering; in one case to keep alive an ‘unknown’ variety from a past friends homestead. “Concords” are fortunately in no danger of becoming extinct. One the best qualities of grape vines, to me, is their vigor. You should have grapes in three years from most varieties - then spend the rest of your days controlling their vines

Plumfun,

…I feel your pain… Sounds more like the dreaded labeling error than a non-successful transplant. My hard-learned lesson is: unless I take the cutting myself after tagging or flagging the vine/branch I ate the fruit from … I’m very leery about making a major investment of time. An equal case of bad experiences and the creeping fear of fewer years left to undo such mistakes…

But "Sweet Seduction" -- I may have dug that too.

Speaking of mistakes… I spent a few days this summer helping a friend outside of Yamhill (Ore.) plant several thousand Jupiter table grape vines, with the eventual plan of selling them for ‘just that,’ tables. He was ready to plant when I came on the scene and asked me if I seen any ‘major problems’ with the project? I feared two; 1) deer, didn’t actually ‘see them,’ but I’ve come to sense them! He thinks a 30.06 and an agricultural damage kill-permit will do the trick… if a little loud. 2) this is the valley floor; fantastic soil! -- If it doesn’t favor foliage production over fruit, but frost pooling and damage was ‘my concern.’ I explained how cold air sinks... and why (other than much cheaper land) the vineyards are all planted on hillsides, not valley floors.

He forged ahead! Almost a month ago I drove by to find there’d already been a couple hard frosts down there … and the plants were toast. Mine, at home on a hillside, haven’t experienced a frost yet this year, and up until a few days ago were likely sending their ‘sap’ to be stored down below. But having done his homework on varieties, I’m very impressed with what I’ve read about “Jupiter” – and if they do work for him … I’m gonna snag a cutting!

Jupiter - http://www.aragriculture.org/horticultu ... upiter.htm

Don’t tell me Jupiter is susceptible to Phylloxera? They’re described as a Vitis lambruscana (labrusca?) hybrid… I thought the Labrusca cross gave them immunity..? I think my friend had brought that up, and seemed to be convinsed there’d be no problem… I poked around online but found no info on Jupiter’s susepibility… Do you know, Lon…?

Here you go folks:

“V. labrusca L. (syn. V. labruscana Bailey), the Concord, American bunch, or Fox grape. The species is used primarily for sweet grape juice and associated products - jelly, jam, preserves. 'Concord' is the major cultivar, responsible for about 80% of production. Other important cultivars include 'Niagara', `Isabella', 'Delaware', and 'Catawba'.

V. vinifera L., the European or Wine grape. Vitis vinifera is also called "Old World grape" since most production occurs in Europe and the other species are native to the New World. This species accounts for over 90% of world grape production. Most of the production is used to make wine, but it is also the primary species used for table (fresh eating) and raisin grape production. There are at least 5000 cultivars of Vinifera grapes grown worldwide, and some estimates put the number of known cultivars as high as 14,000. However, less than 100 make up the vast majority of production. Popular cultivars include 'Thompson Seedless' 'Cabernet Sauvignon', 'Merlot', 'Pinot Noir', 'Airen', 'Malbec', 'Chardonnay', 'Sauvignon Blanc', and 'Riesling'.

French-American Hybrids. The introduction of the phylloxera or grape root louse to Europe in 1860 devastated vineyards composed of the susceptible Vitis vinifera species, and created a need for resistant rootstocks. Vitis labrusca and other species native to the host range of the phylloxera (north-central USA) were hybridized with Vinifera grape to produce a range of rootstocks with resistance. In addition to use as rootstocks, some of the hybrids had both phylloxera resistance and good wine quality attributes. Cultivars include ‘Marechal Foch', ‘Vidal Blanc', ‘Chambourcin', and ‘Seyval'.”

From: http://www.uga.edu/fruit/grape.html

After the toasting my friends young plants took with those ‘early frosts’ the last thing he'll want to hear is the Phylloxera are Coming!

For those not familiar, here’s a description, with little ‘remody’s’ other than yank the vines and repace them with grafted rootsocks of America’s own “Vitis labrusca"

Grape Phylloxera:
Daktulosphaira vitifoliae Fitch
“This tiny insect has a more complex life cycle than other grape pests and is considered the most serious grape pest worldwide because it causes vine death in the root form. The aerial form of these tiny insects begins feeding on developing leaves that respond by forming galls around individual phylloxera. There are 5-7 generations per year of this aerial form. The leaf gall opens to the upper surface of the leaf, therefore the phylloxera is protected inside the gall.

The root form of phylloxera is considered an economic problem in Arkansas on own-rooted hybrids with vinifera or V. labrusca parentage. Grape cultivars with parentage of grape species from the SE United States are not susceptible to phylloxera.

Monitoring: On susceptible cultivars, begin examining the foliage weekly for new galls on expanding leaves after fifth leaf. By about the tenth leaf, around bloom, is when the fundatrix females begin producing young. These young walk to the expanding leaves and feed causing galls to form. When leaf galls are first found, remove the few leaves that are infested and destroy them.

Control: At tenth leaf (about bloom), apply insecticide for control. The following chemicals are labeled for foliar phylloxera control: Danitol, and Thiodan (phytotoxic to Concord cultivars). Concord tolerates foliar phylloxera. Malathion can be used for control in nursery environments.”