Photo: Unknown — Public domain · source
Survives zone 5 through 9
Wild grape — foxy, acidic and seedy; mainly a rootstock or for jelly.
- Hardiness
- Zone 5 to 9
- Habit
- Vine
- Edible part
- Root, Seed
- Ripens
- Sept–Oct
- Mature size
- Vine, needs trellis; containerable with hard pruning
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 6.0–7.0
- Environment
- Temperate
- Status
- Wild
- Years to fruit
- 2–3 yrs
- Pollination
- ⚠ DIOECIOUS — needs male + female (a vigorous fruitless wild vine is usually a lone male)
Growing guide
Fertilizing. A vigorous vine adapted to lean floodplain soils; needs no routine feeding, and heavy nitrogen fertilizing mainly pushes vine growth at the expense of fruit, as with cultivated grapes.
How it spreads. High-climbing tendril vine, scrambling 30–45 ft over shrubs and trees; birds spread the seed widely and wild grapes of this type are considered weedy, smothering colonizers if left unmanaged near desirable plantings.
Growing tips. Needs a sturdy trellis or structure to climb, and responds to the same hard annual pruning used on cultivated grapes to keep vigor and fruit quality in balance. Notably resistant to phylloxera and used in rootstock breeding programs for that trait, reflecting its general toughness.