Question
Hello Tom... I enjoyed reading many questions on your page. My question is, I got 10" branch from a grape vine in California from a friend. It is almost 1" wide. I peeled the bottom of it and planted it the ground in a top soil mixed with manure... is this how to do it and it has been a month an nothing happened. I live in CT. Please advice. Thanks

Answer
Hi Ali,
Thanx for your question.  Sometimes a grape or other vine will grow this way but it will probably take at least 8 weeks for the cutting to develop roots.  When taking a cutting like this a thinner whip would be better.  Use cuttings that are no more than 1/4-1/3 of an inch in diameter and dip the fresh cutting in rooting hormone which you can find at most well-stocked nurseries.  Stick the cutting into a pot of warm, wet sand and keep the pot warm.  It usually takes at least 8 weeks for rooting but some vines and shrubs will root faster.  I know I had some forsythia whips and they root in as little as a week or two when treated with rooting hormone.  I have stuck California noisettes (a type of rose) in a pot of soil outdoors and gotten them to root this way.  Anyway, leave them in the ground and see if they'll root.  It does happen this way sometimes.  I hope this helps.
tom