Ancient N.C. grape vine has near-death experience

MANTEO

A large, old grape vine possibly growing here before the Lost Colony disappeared is on the mend after getting an accidental dose of a powerful herbicide.

But as experts continue to nurse the Mother Vine, including more pruning and fertilizing scheduled this week, a warning goes out to those who spray weeds in public places - be more cautious.

"From what I saw, this was just basically a lack of common sense," said Donald Hawkins, owner of Vineworks in Duplin County.

The old scuppernong grape vine grows on a wooden frame structure covering a third of an acre on Jack Wilson's property along Mother Vineyard Road.

In the center of the canopy, a thick mass of twisted, ancient-looking, trunk like vines emerges from the soil.

Wilson has carefully cared for the vine since he bought the property in 1957. Family and friends have eaten and made wines, juices and jams from the grapes for decades.

Cuttings from the vine have become part of a vineyard in Duplin County that produces a popular scuppernong wine.

The vine is known worldwide for its age. Oral history and recorded memories say it was large and old in the early 1700s and was probably there when the first Englishmen explored Roanoke Island in the late 1500s.

Sir Walter Raleigh's company wrote about the abundance of grapes there cultivated by the Native Americans.

Near the front edge of the canopy, a single vine about as thick as an electric wire had climbed a few feet up a nearby power pole.

"You could have clipped it with a pocket knife," said John Wilson, former Manteo mayor and Jack Wilson's son.

An employee with Lewis Tree Service, based in New York state with contracts all over the eastern United States, sprayed the pole with Garlon, a powerful herbicide that can kill small trees, Hawkins said.

The label specifically warns against spraying grape vines with it.

About 10 feet of a nearby hedge has died and three limbs of a large pecan tree nearby had to be trimmed after dying. Wilson was never contacted for permission to spray on his property.

Dominion contracted Lewis Tree Service to spray power poles along the roads in Manteo, including the one near the vine.

It is a common practice, but this time, foliage around many of the poles for 30 feet or more has died, including some of the wild grape vines, Wilson said. Locals often eat the wild grapes by the handfuls when they ripen in September.

"It was not just this vine," Wilson said. "It's the whole north end of the island."

The applicator with Lewis Tree Service was trained and licensed but made a mistake, said Dan Oberlies, a senior vice president with the company. The employee has been retrained in spraying procedures and in getting permission from property owners, Oberlies said.

At first, Wilson tried pruning dying parts of the Mother Vine daily.

"We would check it each morning, and it kept dying back," he said.

Stressed and unable to sleep at night, Wilson sought help. North Carolina State University sent an expert, and Hawkins, with expertise specifically in grape vines, was called in. Hawkins returns this week to do more pruning and apply more fertilizer.

Dominion hired an expert from Virginia Tech to inspect the plant and recommend treatment.

"We're just sick about it," said Chuck Penn, a spokesman for Dominion. "It's something that never should have happened."

After a few weeks of daily watering, regular fertilizing and pruning, Wilson and the experts believe the vine will be fine. To be safe, the family will not eat or harvest the grapes this season, Wilson said.

Jeff Hampton, (252) 338-0159, jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com