Girl's grapes: spectacular and unpretentious decoration of the garden

When planning landscape work on their site, rarely will anyone refuse to use girl's grapes. This perennial liana is a wonderful decoration for gazebos, terraces, garden buildings. It gives a pleasant coolness in the heat and protects the walls of the house from moisture and dust, and the plot - from the prying eyes of neighbors.

Origin of name

Grapes in the wild grow in Asia and North America. Translated from the Greek Parthenocissus means "virgin ivy." The fruits of this plant are tied without pollination, hence the unusual name. Decorative views of perennial creepers have been used in landscape design since the 17th century, decorating buildings in parks and estates.

Types of Girl's Grapes

In landscape design, three species of this plant are used.

Five-leaf, or Virgin Grapes

This species was brought to us from North America. Its shoots reach 20 meters. Young reddish shoots turn green with age. The leaves are complex, composed of elongated ten-centimeter leaves with a pointed top. The front part of the sheet is dark green, the back side is slightly lighter, slightly bluish. Inflorescences umbrellas, collected from three to four small flowers, form dark blue berries.

Virgin grapes are unpretentious, durable, frost-resistant. Propagated by sprouts, seeds and layering. He is not afraid of diseases and pests. It has several decorative varieties:

• Engelman;
• Wall;
• Hairy;
• Saint-Paul;
• Star Shawers.

Triostrenny or Ivy-shaped grapes

The homeland of this species is the Far East. Grape leaves completely different in shape reach a width of up to 20 cm. The bright red color of the leaves in spring is replaced by a tan in autumn. Small and unattractive inflorescences form bluish-black fruits. Liana is well fixed on the support due to the huge number of antennae with suction cups. Triangular grapes are good protection against smoky air. It can withstand small frosts.

The most common forms of the species:

• Vicha;
• Purple;
• Golden

Attached Grapes

This type of grape has original leaves, which consist of pointed elongated leaves. The color of the upper part of the leaf is dark green, the lower part is slightly paler. Scourges of creepers reach 3 meters. The plant does not tolerate frost, cultivated only in the southern regions.

Girl's grapes: the intricacies of planting and care

Girl's grapes develop rapidly if planted in fertilized soil in a well-lit area. In the autumn, the girl’s grape bushes growing on the south side of the house change their foliage color to purple and form beautiful clusters of berries.

Grapes can be planted in the winter or plan to plant in the spring. When planting girl’s grapes, it is necessary to observe the distance from the seedlings to the support one meter and not plant the vine closer than one meter to other bushes or trees.

Soil for girl's grape

The most suitable soil for creepers is loamy soil with a PH giving a slightly acidic or slightly alkaline reaction. Girl's grapes are unpretentious and will grow on any soil, but for planting a plant it is better to prepare the soil of this composition:

• land;
• humus;
• sand.

These components should be taken in a ratio of 2: 2: 1.

How to transplant girl's grapes in spring

Girl's grapes tolerate the transplant well. If suddenly there was a need to plant already growing vines in another place, perform work in the following order:

1. They select a place for transplantation and dig a hole along the width of the root system of the bush, but a little deeper.
2. They arrange drainage from crushed stone, expanded clay or crushed brick with a layer thickness of 15-20 cm.
3. A layer of sand about 20 cm is poured onto the drainage.
4. The pit is half filled with soil.
5. The prepared pit must stand for two weeks, so that the soil is compacted.
6. They dig a bush of grapes, having previously cut the whips.
7. An earthen lump is placed in a pit and covered with soil, leaving the root neck of the bush above the surface.
8. The bush is watered and compacted.

To make the grapes better taken root, Kornevin can be added to the soil.

How to care for girl's grapes

It’s easy to look after girl’s grapes. It is only necessary to cut the shoots and water the plant in the dry period. In order for the liana to become lush and tall, it is necessary to create grapes more favorable conditions for growth, namely:

1. Grapes are watered once a month at the rate of 1 bucket of water per plant, weed and loosen the earth.
2. Very often, in the process of growth, the root system of a girl’s grape is exposed. therefore, it is necessary to pour the earth under the plant in a timely manner and spud a little.
3. It is better to mulch the near-stem circle of creepers with mowed grass, peat or ripened leaves.

How to feed girl's grapes in spring

Girl's grapes do not need regular top dressing, the plant lacks the nutrients that were planted during planting. Fertilizing is advisable if it is required to ensure the accelerated growth of the vine.
Grapes are fed at the end of spring and in the middle of summer. At this time, fertilizers are better absorbed by the plant. Nitroammophoska (50 gr. Per 1 sq. M.) Or Kemira-Universal fertilizer (100 gr. Per 1 sq. M.) Is introduced into the soil.

Formation and pruning of girl's grapes

Active growth of shoots in grapes begins in the third year after planting. Of great importance is the correct formation of the skeleton of the plant. It is necessary to determine the area on which the crown of grapes will be placed. The lashes are directed in the right direction and fixed on a support. This must be done while the whips are still young. Green shoots obediently take any form.

When the skeleton of the creeper is created, it remains only to control the growth of shoots and to trim the crown. A section is made over a healthy kidney using a garden secateurs. In spring, frozen branches are cut off at the creeper, damaged lashes and extra shoots are removed. In the summer, if the grapes begin to develop too actively, they process the vine again, cutting off the extra shoots and shortening the grapes.

Pruning the grapes makes the liana foliage thicker and the leaves larger.

Video: summer pruning of girl's grapes

Propagation of Girl's Grapes

For propagation, vines take cuttings, cuttings or seeds.

Cuttings

This method can be used during the entire growing season, from early spring to mid-autumn.

Reproduction by cuttings produced as follows:

1. Choose the appropriate lash. It should be lignified.
2. Then they cut it into pieces with a length of 15 cm. The stalk must have at least three buds, from which roots will grow.
3. When planting, the first node is buried in the soil and a support is placed.
4. The plant is regularly watered and protected from drafts.

The rooting of vines cuttings placed in a peat-clay substrate is especially effective.

Propagation by layering

The easiest option for reproduction. This method is especially suitable for gardeners who cannot visit their site daily to regularly water the cuttings.

Reproduction by layering is done in the following order:

1. Dig a shallow trench.
2. Choose a vine shoot about 3 meters long.
3. The shoot, not separating from the old creeper, is placed in the furrow.
4. Pin the branch to the ground at the level of nodules with leaflets.
5. The scourge is covered with soil, leaving leaves on top.
6. The furrow is shed with water.

Propagation by layering is suitable if regular watering is not possible.

Seed propagation

Seeds are bought in specialized stores or harvested on their own. This is a more time-consuming method than propagation by cuttings and layering.

Photo Gallery: Maiden Grape Seeds

You can sow seeds in the winter or plan to plant in the spring. In autumn, the seeds are buried in the ground by 2 cm. Before that, they are immersed in water for 24 hours. In the spring, seeds are stratified before planting.

Video: sowing girl's grapes for seedlings

Stratification of maiden grape seeds at home

Seed stratification is the creation of conditions close to natural for them.

When seeds are sown before winter, natural stratification occurs. It is important to determine the landing period. Early sowing will lead to seed germination. The temperature should be slightly above zero.

How to stratify:

1. They fill the pots with earth and water them.
2. Seeds are laid out on the surface of the soil.
3. Fall asleep with a small layer of soil and moisturize.
4. Pots cover and fall asleep with snow.
5. In the spring, the covering material is removed.

If it was not possible to do winter sowing, use a refrigerator for stratification. Do it like this:

1. Withstand seeds in water for swelling.
2. Swollen seeds are sown in small pots.
3. Humidify the soil, cover with a film and put in the refrigerator.
4. Seeds are left in the refrigerator for about 60 days at a temperature of +5 ° C.
5. After hardening, the package is removed, the pot is transferred to the window.

Features of growing girl's grapes

The massive use of girl's grapes is associated primarily with the decorativeness of the plant. It forms a beautiful thick curtain, decorating terraces, garden buildings and fences.

Photo gallery: examples of decorating buildings

This perennial vine is good as a groundcover. In areas where it is impossible to break a regular lawn, girl's grapes will create a beautiful and dense coating. Rugged rocky surface and poor soils will not become a barrier to the plant. Even with a lack of daylight, all the decorative qualities of girl's grapes will appear.

A decorative and elegant carpet will create a girl’s grape amazingly fast, while requiring virtually no maintenance

To create a dense coating on the soil, seedlings are placed at a distance of one meter from each other. Weeds will not grow under the green carpet. It will not interfere with other large plants, if you do not allow the lashes to spread beyond the boundaries of the designated area.

If you plant cuttings twice as often, the area will be dragged by the grapes faster.

In addition to excellent decorative qualities, the advantages of girl's grapes include:

1. Ability to grow on any soil.
2. Easy reproduction in many ways.
3. Fast build-up of green mass.
4. The ability to protect the walls of houses from adverse environmental conditions.
5. Resistance to diseases and pests.

The disadvantages of girl’s grapes include the aggressiveness of its roots, which extend several meters around the trunk. The growth of girl’s grapes needs to be constantly monitored: remove excess shoots and crop lashes. Strongly overgrown grapes can bring a lot of worries, because it is difficult to remove from the site.

Get rid of thickets in the following sequence:

1. Cut or chop off all the shoots of the plant.
2. Cut down the main stem of the plant.
3. The lashes are separated from the support.
4. Shoots, stems and roots burn.
5. When new shoots appear, the leaves are treated with a herbicide, for example, Roundup.

To completely get rid of the girl’s grapes, it will take at least two years to combat the shoots of the plant.

When planting girl's grapes, one must very responsibly approach the choice of support for the vine. For cultivation, only a monolithic wall made of brick, concrete or wood is suitable.

You can not grow a vine on dilapidated buildings. The plant loads the structure, there is a danger of collapse.

The plastered wall is also not suitable as a support. Grapes may fall along with a piece of plaster. Scourges of creepers falling under the roof can cause its destruction. If the roof is supported by the liana, then it should not be made of slate or tile, the plant will simply break the sheets.

Girl's grape has a lot of advantages that made it an indispensable part of landscape design. It is used for vertical and horizontal gardening. Liana will not cause much trouble to her owners if timely pruning of lashes and removal of extra shoots. Growing and caring for the plant will require very little time, and the result will be excellent.