Roses in vineyards

Visit a vineyard, especially an old established one, and you are likely to see roses planted at the ends of every row. I had wondered why this was done and learned that there were three reasons.

1. They are beautiful and fragrant and brighten up the vineyard.
2. They are more susceptible to fungal infections so they act as a warning signal. 
3. When vineyards were managed with horse-drawn conveyances, if the horse made the turn too soon, they would damage the end vines. Roses with their thorns ensured that the horse left more space when making the turn to the next row. 

So we will be planting roses at the ends of our rows in vines. We've been propagating existing roses and have a few ready for transplanting. Even though the mildew that affects grapes is different from the one that attacks roses, the environmental factors that encourage both conditions are the same.

I checked the vines today and here's the low down:

• The 5-yo vines are vigorous and healthy but the flower buds have not yet opened. Today is quite warm (25C) and we've had some rain so perhaps they will be triggered. They should have bloomed in May. Grapevines grown under glass are already producing grapes. 
• The 3-yo Solaris vines are doing well. We lost one and have spares with which to replace it.
• Neither the 3-yo nor the 2-yo Chardonnay's are doing well and we lost one of the older plants. It doesn't look like chardonnay will be viable for us. 
• The Pinot noir planted last year is looking quite good and one plants even has a flower. 
• The Albarino vines are alive and healthy but much daintier plants than any of the other varieties. 

Other than that, the orchard is looking good and the 'Kite' kite seems to be scaring the birds away.