2014 seedlings planted!

Hurrah!  Finished planting my 2014 seedlings:

218 feet of rows

457 seedling still alive ...

We have our first 'second generation' crosses in this batch: (cinerea x Carnelian) x Villard Blanc, and (cinerea x Carnelian) x Blanc Du Bois.

The 2014 class includes about 100 vinifera 'op' seedlings that are not expected to survive for long.  They won't get sprayed, and they are planted by the river where the bugs hang out.  Who knows, maybe some North American genes got into the mix and a couple will survive.

It also includes about 190 wild cinerea seedlings (thanks, Jack!) .  Most will be male. I currently have 5 unique 'wild' cinereas that have bloomed, and probably another 1 to 4 which have not matured enough to bloom.  I'm hoping the class of 2014 will produce another 15 or 20.

Have I mentioned that cinereas are the only vines to consistently bloom after the annual 'late frost' here and they make a decent wine on their own?

I had my worst 'success rate' for germination and seedling survival. About 16% of the pots failed to produce a single surviving seedling, and the seedling to seed ratio was a low.  I think it was about 50% in the past, this year it was around 16%.  This number ignores all the pots that produced zero seedlings.

I credit this potting soil used. This year I used raw vineyard soil for germination, which meant lots of clay and a pH of about 8.  I thought I might as well start screening out vines that don't like a high pH from day one. 

I'm debating doing this a second time.  The local cinerea seedlings didn't seem to mind, but everything else took a hit.