Wendy Bogan, age 16, of Charlotte, N.C., for her question:

HOW DO SEEDLESS GRAPES REPRODUCE?

New grape vines, regardless of the variety, get their start in life as tiny cuttings from the parent plant or as grafts. Twig cuttings like to be potted in a warm, moist bit of sand to start their roots. When spring arrives, they are ready to be permanently planted. Root cuttings are taken from the base of the vine with a section of root attached. These adapt easily to the ground in the spring and in no time are sending out sturdy, climbing stems.

Sometimes a few twigs from a seedless grape vine will be grafted to a well rooted vine, which may or may not be a seedless variety. In this case, the stem or trunk of the mature vine is cut off fairly close to the ground. The twigs are sliced and placed, just so, against the cut vine and sealed into place. When the grafted twigs grow, their boughs will produce seedless grapes.