As I have mentioned elsewhere, muscadines grow very well in the wild. However, you can greatly enhance fruit production by giving them the right attention. The first thing I recommend is fertilizing your muscadines on the schedule recommended by Ison’s. They are the experts on muscadines and I have had success with their schedule.
On the first of April, May, June, and July, fertilize with 10-10-10.
On the 15th of April, May, June, and July, fertilize with Calcium Nitrate.
First Year – 1/4 pound of each per plant.
Second Year – 1/2 pound of each per plant.
After that, all that is need is 3 pounds of 10-10-10 around May 1.
The second thing is pruning. Muscadines will over-produce vegetation and use almost all of their energy doing that if you let them. They need to be pruned when they are dormant and I have also pruned them in the growing season if they reach all the way down to the ground. Dormant pruning can be done anytime the plants are dormant. There is evidence that plants tolerate the cold weather best before they are pruned, so it’s probably a good idea to prune them once the worst of winter has passed. Around here, I like to do it mid-February, which is roughly 6 weeks before the last frost.
Ison’s website has a tremendous amount of information about muscadines (and other fruits). You can also find the best muscadines plants there. Click here to check them out.