Cold hardy table grapes, am I missing any?

14 years ago

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with any other varieties of cold hardy table grapes. To date I have, if I can remember them all......somersetseedless(Really good),trollhaugen,reliance(has not fruited yet),petite jewel(has not fruited yet),himrod(great flavor but not very hardy for me ,I need to lay it down) ,vanessa(really great sweet,but I need to lay it down),sovereign cornation(good flavor although the skin is thick)kandiyohi (really big grapes and good flavor),and my personal fave swenson red.....hardy,large berries and the best flavor of any grape I have ever eaten!I really like the flavor of the reds,somerset,vanessa,swenson red.

Does any one have any really good recommendations for green, seeded or not as long as it is hardy!!!(at least minus 22F)

I have read a little about the university of Arkansas planet series,how hardy and how do I get them into Canada?

thanks Glenn

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fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX

14 years ago

fruitmaven:

Thanks for the WI grape trail link. Very nice. Several of those grapes are Univ of Arkansas, Mars and Reliance for sure. Reliance is one of the hardiest seedless tables grapes anywhere. So you might want to reconsider your generalization about hardiness.

The brix levels in WI are way below what I get in a warm greenhouse in TX. Here 25-30 brix is easy. Jupiter, a Univ of Ark selection that WI has added to their test was that high this year. Many people back east recommend this grape. For me this year it leafed out very early, not good here, and tasted good. But the skins had a funky taste.

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Comments (10)

fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
14 years ago
Glenn:

Link below might be worth a look.

Here is a link that might be useful: seedless table grapes
maplerbirch
14 years ago
Edelwiess, is the long term survivor of the 3 sweet grapes I started with. It continues to spread and produce great tasting fruit and has not succumb to any fungal disease, as the other 2 did.
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bberry_gw
14 years ago
Glenn,
I have the Swensons Red and this is the 4th year and they are certainly the best. I have a number of other grapes but of them, Kay Gray is a very decent grape if they can get ripened. Many of them have not fruited but all seem to be hardy here. We had a light frost last night but it did not touch the grapes. I should have more to say about grapes in a few years.I am still in shock over the peaches. Wow what a crop.80 lbs on the Contender. Reliance was earliest. Good peach. Next was Contender. Nice peach. Next was PF Cold Hardy and wow. Fabulous and huge. Next is Veteran and fighting to ripen before frost gets them.Big crop.May be a bushel. Georgia Belle is also late but in the shade. Only a couple on it.
fruitmaven_wiz5
14 years ago
There is a wonderful seedless table grape trial going on at the University of WI - Madison, which is zone 5a. They do not lay any vines down so they can test the cold-hardiness as well. The attached report is from 2011, their 5th year I think. Fantastic information on ripening times, sweetness, hardiness, etc of many different varieties.
Their most cold-hardy green grapes are Himrod and Marquis, seedless greens are the least hardy, generally. Edelweiss is seeded, but much hardier. Developed in northern WI in zone 4a. I have heard good things about the flavor, though people mention it has the "foxy" flavor. I haven't tried it yet.
I don't believe a Univeristy of Arkansas grape will be very cold hardy, it's developed in a very different climate. Even if the grapes are amazing in Arkansas, I don't know if they'd work in Canada. I'm in WI, and I wouldn't plant them. My space is very limited, though.

Here is a link that might be useful: UW Seedless Table Grape report
fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
14 years ago
Another link with nice pictures and grape descriptions.

Here is a link that might be useful: grape pictures
fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
14 years ago
Here's a great table on grape winter hardiness and disease resistance.

Here is a link that might be useful: grape hardiness and disease resistance
fruitmaven_wiz5
14 years ago
Fruitnut, I don't have anything against the U of A grapes, but you're right to point out the brix levels in WI are much lower than what you'd get in TX. Mars and Reliance are plenty cold hardy, that's true. You'll notice they were two of the later ripening grapes tested in the trials, though. Their brix never got that high because it frosts in mid-Septemer here. The grapes need to survive the winter, but then produce something edible in the short summer before frost. That said, I have heard that people love the Reliance grape, even grown in WI.

Somerset seedless started ripening late August and hung on the vine getting sweeter for a month. It's easier to get a decent crop out of the earlier maturing varieties.

I only had room for a few varieties, so I planted Swenson Red, Somerset Seedless, and Interlaken (it was hard to choose between the greens, but Interlaken is supposed to make the best raisins. I put it in my warmest spot, on the south side of my house). I'd have liked to plant Trollhaugen, but I couldn't find a source.
glenn_10 zone 4b/5a NewBrunswick,Can.
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for all the info a links guys.The ripening table on the wisconson site was great.I am going to get edelwiese as well as several others from green barn.I got a mulberry tree from them this year....It was expensive.They have a few different grape varieties that I have never hear of nor can I find any info on them.They may be their own creations, but I am going to message them and verify.
I am looking at getting New York muscat,I read some info on Lon Rombough bunch of grapes.He noted how great the flavor was, anyone growing it?

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.greenbarnnursery.ca/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1900
GreeneGarden
14 years ago
These are my favorites:
But then I am willing to sacrifice a little flavor for extreme disease resistance.
Wine grapes ok for table eating - Skujinsh, Veeblanc
Table grapes - Bluebell, America, Mars, Schuyler

Beta is the only one I would grow in zone 3.
Beta is really only for jams and jellies but it is extremely high is resveratrol.

Here is a link that might be useful: GardenForNutrition