Help with Bonsai Cabernet Grapevine

lukensj

I recently purchased a 10 year old bonsai Cabernet Sauvignon grapevine, but I'm new to bonsai and the plant did not come with instructions. I live in Santa Rosa, California. The plant is kept outside in full sun for most of the day and is watered daily. To get the best possible grape clusters later, should I be watering everyday? Should I be fertilizing it with miracle-gro? What is your advice on pruning and care for such a plant?

Dick

Welcome to the forum.

It sounds like you are doing just fine with the grape bonsai. If the soil it is in happend to drain freely and is very porous, then it can be watered daily. In the Santa Rosa area, there are some pretty good bonsai places that can help you if things get dicey. Among them is Lone Pine Gardens in Sebastopol, probably less than 10 miles away from you. There's also Miniature Plant Kingdom not too far away. I'm not certain that either of them carry grape bonsai, but I am certain that they are more than qualified to help you if things aren't working. But it sounds like you are doing everything right at this point.

I might also recommend that you also do a little reading of one of the basic care books for bonsai to enhance what you seem already to know. It can't hurt.

Good luck and come back again with any question.

Zemiakova brigada

While we’re on the subject of the grape as bonsai - - - I’ve always wanted to know if the leaves lend themselves well with regards to size. Don’t they resist the effort?

Dick

Yes they do resist but it seems to be all righ since they need the cumulative leaf surface to support the development of the grapes.

And in the first frost, the entire foliage mass will die back. My grape bonsai was in full foliage in early May and then we had a slight frost and I lost everything. It's just now resprouting. In about a week, I'll be able to see if the leaves are smaller for this year or not.

Zemiakova brigada