How to Grow Zinfandel Vines

Select hardwood stems from fully dormant vines to take your cuttings. The canes should be 1/4 to 3/8 inch in diameter with three to four buds. Buds are the bumps on stems from which leaves will grow during the next season.

Use a sharp scissors and cut the stem off below the lower bud at an angle of 45 degrees. This will make it easier to identify the cutting base. Make the upper cut 1 to 2 inches above the top bud.

Sort the cuttings into bundles of similar length and tie with a string. Place in a sealable plastic bag and store at a temperature of 32 to 35 degrees F.

Fill a medium-size pot with equal amounts of vermiculite and peat or sand and peat during early February. Insert a pencil a couple of inches deep in the rooting medium to create planting holes at a distance of 1 to 2 inches. Pour about an inch of rooting hormone in a plastic cup.

Remove cuttings from cold storage and the bag. Dip the base of each cutting into the rooting hormone and plant 6 to 8 inches deep in individual planting holes.

Firm the soil around cuttings. Water well to keep the rooting medium moist but not wet. Place in warm, humid area with an ideal temperature of 65 to 70 degrees F.

Mist the cuttings frequently with the spray bottle during the process of rooting. Cuttings generally root within six weeks.

Fill 1- to 2-gallon containers with equal amounts of peat, sand and soil. Transfer one rooted cutting to each container. Mist regularly. Transplant vines to permanent spot in the garden when plants are well established.