When the dormant season is over, retail nurseries place the bare-root vines in pots and sell them through the summer. When planting a potted vine, be sure to pull wound roots outward and downward to prevent them from kinking. If roots are large and wound together, they may need to be cut, but if hot weather is expected you should cut back the top some because large numbers of leaves transpire large amounts of water, and fewer roots will be present to take up the needed water. Orient spiraling roots outward and downward if possible before backfilling the soil. You can place the plant at the same level or deeper than the surrounding soil surface for rooted cuttings, but for grafted vines (these are rare from retail nurseries) be sure the graft is well above the surrounding soil level.
Place a 6-foot (1.8-m) stake next to each plant for training the vine. The newly planted potted vine should not be pruned as severely as a bare-root vine, but select the strongest shoot to become the trunk and cut back another strong shoot to about 6 to 12 inches; remove all other canes and shoots.
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