Grape vine Vitis vinifera "Širvinta"

• Type: grape vine, table grape
• Botanical name: Vitis 'Širvinta'
• Height and spread: vigorous vine, 2–3 m on a trellis
• Fruit: dark pink to reddish-brown, medium, sweet, seeded; bunch 110–160 g; ripen late August – September
• Light: full sun, warm site
• Soil: light, warm, well-drained
• Hardiness: good, about −25…−28 °C; cover for the first 3 years
• Use: fresh eating, juice, garden design
• Size: potted plant

Planting. Plant in the warmest, sunniest spot in the garden – a south-facing wall of a building or a stone wall is ideal. The soil should be light, warm and well-drained; avoid places where water stands. Put up a support at once – a wire trellis or pergola.

Watering and feeding. In the first summer water the young vine deeply in dry spells, later only in drought. Give a balanced fertiliser in spring and potassium and phosphorus in the second half of summer; avoid nitrogen after early July.

Care. Prune in late autumn after leaf fall or in very early spring before the sap rises. In summer remove surplus shoots and pinch fruiting shoots 4–5 leaves beyond the last bunch so the sun reaches the grapes.

Gardener's tip. For the first few years cover the young vine for winter with spruce boughs or fleece. When the bunches start to colour, remove a few leaves around them – the berries ripen faster and taste sweeter.