02/02/2009 - Delineation

After giving the porcelain berry vine a little time to settle in on its new support structure, we pruned it back to the main branches.  Then we very carefully and gently wrapped the main trunk around the support post, and wired the leaders to the inside edge of the dish.  Although the vine seemed healthy, I was worried that it might not survive all the abuse it had taken in the past few months.  Some of the branches were brittle, so we couldn't bend them very much.  The ends of the two main leaders didn't quite meet on the side opposite the trunk, and I was really hoping they would grow together in the spring.