Native grapes?

16 years ago

My yard as a number of "fox" grape vines and I'd like to get them to produce. I've done a bit of reading but haven't found much in the way of guidence. Anyone grow native grapes who can help me get a handle on the process?

Many thanks!

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Comments (3)

kiwinut
16 years ago
Are the wild grapes in your yard only producing a few grapes or none at all? If they are not producing at all, then they are likely male vines or they are too immature, or they are females with no pollinators around. Wild grapes are dioecious, meaning they have separate male and female vines, and male vines seem to be more common than females. Also keep in mind that many wild vines are just not ever going to be very productive.

Take a look at the link below to see the flower types so you can sex your vines.

~kiwinut

Here is a link that might be useful: grape flowers
whynotmi
Original Author
16 years ago
Hi Kiwinut. Thanks for the link!!

I appear to have a mix of male and female. One weekend about 2 years after I moved in to my house my neighbor cut all my vines down while I was away one weekend so he could put up a fence. Grrrrr. When I got home I was livid (as you might imagine). He actually said "You don't want these old things, they're so messy."

I have been babying the vines back and last year there was some production, maybe 2 or 3 pounds. I have at least 3 female vines and I believe I may have 5 or 6. (They are already past blooming and some are forming fruit.) So I guess I'm looking for details on pruning, feeding, etc. to maximize the production.

Cheers,
Whynotmi
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I don't have experience with Hog Peanut, so I won't comment on that one. Trumpet Honeysuckle is a great vine for your region - probably the least aggressive spreader of the bunch, and also probably nearly evergreen, which is nice in the winter. It is a twining vine that needs something of small diameter - like a wire fence, bushes, small pole, string, etc. - to climb. It cannot climb a shed wall. Virgina Bower does tend to be aggressive, I think. I have never grown it, but see it wild frequently. In my opinion it isn't as nice a vine for the garden as Trumpet Honeysuckle. I have a ton of Virginia Creeper here, and have never heard about the berries being poisonous. I wouldn't be concerned about the berries, which are a favorite food of many birds. Virginia Creeper is a little aggressive, as are most vines. Another choice I like is trumpet creeper - Campsis radicans. This is an agressive spreader, but has very showy flowers most of the summer and fall and attracts hummingbirds, making it a really nice addition to a yard that has roon for it. If the shed is surrounded by lawn or other open space where it will be easy to contain the root suckers of Trumpet Creeper, then it sould be my first choice. Another option is Carolina jessamine,which has yellow flowers in early spring. Also Cross Vine, which is another flowering vine. Jessamine is a vigorous, evergreen vine. Cross vine tends to be a little more sparse in growth habit, but is an interesting addition to the yard.
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whynotmi
Original Author
16 years ago
And having done a bit of homework (searching this forum) I finally have more answers than questioins. :-)

I've spent a great deal of time searching the net for information and I have to say there's a lot of crud out there. I swear you have to have a degree in horticulture to understand some of those Dept of Ag releases. If I'd found this forum last year I'd still be eating grapes from 2006. ;-)

Thanks to all the posters for the great info.

Cheers,
Whynotmi

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Native grapes?

Comments (3)

kiwinut

whynotmi
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Native grapes?

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kiwinut

whynotmiOriginal Author

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