PlantSowGrow
How to plant and care for Grape Vine (Phoenix)
Vitis vinifera × hybrid
A disease-resistant white dessert grape that ripens outdoors against a sunny wall or fence. Sweet, aromatic bunches in September.
At a glance: harvest in September.
When to plant and care for it
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Grape Vine (Phoenix): what it needs
- Light
- Full sun · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water well while fruit swells
- Soil
- Fertile, well-drained soil
- Spacing
- 1.5 m against a sunny wall
- Height
- 3 m
- In pots
- Only in large containers
- Feeding
- Sulphate of potash in late winter; mulch with compost
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 5–9
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Step by step
- On planting day
Plant
Plant 1.5 m against a sunny wall apart in weed-free, well-prepared soil enriched with compost, and water in well.
- 0–3 days after “Plant”
Cut Back After Planting
Cut the vine back to two strong buds just above the ground; tie the best shoot to a cane as it grows.
- 7–21 days after “Cut Back After Planting”
Mulch
Spread 5 cm of compost or bark around the plants to keep moisture in and weeds down.
Every year
- MayTrain New Shoots
Tie in shoots along the wires; keep one shoot per spur and rub out the rest.
- JunePinch Out Side Shoots
Pinch out shoots two leaves beyond a flower bunch, and any shoots without flowers at five leaves.
- JulyThin the Bunches
Remove some bunches so there is one per 30 cm of rod, and snip out small grapes inside each bunch.
Starts from year 3.
- SeptemberPick Grapes
Taste before picking — grapes don't ripen further once cut. Cut whole bunches with a bit of stem.
Starts from year 3.
- DecemberWinter Prune
Only prune when fully dormant (vines bleed sap later). Cut this year's side shoots back to two buds from the main rod.
