What are High-stem or high-grafted vines

High-stem vines are grafted vines that have a much longer rootstock (about 80 cm). The grafting head, and thus the first shoot is therefore direct after planting already at a height of about 70 cm, just below the bending wire.

This has some distinct advantages:

• Suckering and tying the trunk is no longer necessary. One single tying of the high-stem vin in the upper part is sufficient.
• The shoots can not be damaged by rabbits.
• Already in the planting year, the soil can be treated with herbicides.
• Due to the larger amount of wood (long trunk), there are also more reserves, so that more vigorous growth is often noticeable in the planting year.
• Another advantage is the loss of suckering, since the roostock is disbudded, and thus no roostock shoots should appear.

But there are also disadvantages:

• A high-stem vines is much harder to produce and are therefore offered at a much higher price than a small-normal graft.
• The wire frame (at least the first wire) should be installed promptly after planting, so that the plant rods can be attached to this, and thus give the high-stem vine a firm grip.
• A new trunk structure from below is not possible (for example: after extreme frost, black wood or Esca-infection). However, the risk of losses after frost seems less, since the rootstock are generally more frost-resistant than our european varieties, and thus the main damage sites are covered up to a height of about 50 cm with these frost-resistant species.

However, the following rules should be observed when planting grafts:

• Since high-stem vines are usually sold out quickly, it is advisable to order them in good time. For our current offer, please switch to our offer of grafted vines.
• In order to enable a certain repruning especially at a young age, the head of the high-stem vine should be about 10 cm below the position of the later wanted head. This short trunk of 10 cm gives a certain freedom in pruning.
• Although the high-stem vines often grow very well in the first year, they should not be cut too much in the second year, because even a high-stem vines must first form the root mass.
• In the first year highstem vines seem to be a bit more susceptible to drought.

For replanting of died vines high-stem vines are almost standard in many parts of Germany. Due to the many advantages also more and more entire young plantings are made with high-stem vines.