Moment Of Truth.

This years experiment is pot layering a vine with the aim of getting a strong plant quickly that will come into bearing fruit far earlier than traditional hardwood cuttings.

Here it is still joined to the mother vine.......

And here is the moment of truth, the moment it begins (or fails to begin) an independent life of its own.

By separating the layer from the host plant now forces the layer to grow more of its own roots while relieving the mother vine from the job of supporting the layer so it can concentrate on ripening the crop it carries.


The victorian gardeners who perfected this method of propagation would let the layer bear grapes this year thus producing a fully fruiting potted vine in a single season.