I got to try Swenson Red for the first time this year from a second year vine. Mine were more blue than red and pretty small. Maybe that will change with time. They tasted very good. Mine were “kind of” slipskin but the skin was more crisp than Concord types. They had barely a touch of Labrusca flavor and very sweet. Looking forward to more next year. I have Swenson White as well but haven’t got to try those yet. Had lots of Fredonia this year already ripe. Still have Concords , Worden and Early Campbell almost ripe.
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An update on my single rooted grape cutting from @SMC_zone6 discussed above:
Today we are having a January thaw. The day is overcast and rainy with temps in the 60s, but all the plants are still dormant. Perfect time to excavate my sole successful grape cutting.
Last spring, the cuttings had been placed in an open bin filled with a sand, perlite, and peat mix. Only one rooted.
After much careful sifting, I discovered the root system was fairly respectable in its extent.
I transplanted this guy to a conventional 4-gallon pot, and filled in around it with mix. I was sure to spread out the fragile roots.
The surface growth is still tiny. I’m hoping it takes off like a rocket this spring.
The squirrels mixed up my cuttings, but I believe this grape is Swenson Red.
I decided to hide it in a protected cage until it gets some girth. The squirrel pressure is high here. I don’t want them messing with it.
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Great cage! You will like Swenson’s red. It has seeds but they are one of the sweetest grapes I have eaten. They grow very quickly and mine had its first small bunches by year two.
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How do you find the taste of Edelweiss? The first grapes i planted was Edel and Valient but the Edel kept dyingback so i let it go.But that was maybe 30 yrs ago and our winters were much colder then. Valient survived fine and made great juice but the black rot is bad with that one. I’ve also considered Swenson Red but wasn’t sure it would be hardy enough.
I’ve had Edelweiss fruit the last two years for me. It is a young vine and hasn’t produced a lot but it tastes very good. It tastes a little like Concord but not as strong. To me it has a light citrus taste, maybe even just a small touch of tropical flavor. It hasn’t grown as fast as Fredonia, Concord or Buffalo, all of which I planted at the same time. I think I read that it flowers a little bit earlier than the others, and I think that is true so far for me. Have you tried King of the North? I might even like them more than Concord and they are supposed to be more cold hardy. They get good brix for me (20). The skins are a little thinner than Concord. They are quite a bit earlier also. What’s the catch? Much smaller berries. Here is a link to a photo of mine one year What fruits did you eat today? - #360 by ztom
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Hi Tom,
Yes, I do have a King vine and have grown that one for many years. It ripens well here only in a good year, not on marginal years. This isn’t the best grape growing location. But it makes good juice when ripe. For fresh eating I like Marquette & Prairie Star better and definitely Bluebell (all seeded), though BB is as marginal to ripen as King. Here’s a link to my 2016 post on my grapes: Short Season Grapes. With 2017 update farther down.
King does get some black rot for me, though not as bad as Valiant used to. Plus it is a very vigorous vine and I have a small “vineyard” (6 plants). So I’m planning to replace it with a less vigorous plant. Though I love reading about all the wonderful table grapes folks are growing, for me it’s any grape that will ripen! Except for in situ grazing my grapes go for juice.
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Update on my Victoria red… This is 3rd leaf. I’ve got a couple dozen clusters starting to color up on 2 vines. No pierces disease so far. These vines are vigorous and productive. Easy to grow. I had some splitting last year and the wasps got into them bad, but overall successful. I did one immunox spray this year and am experimenting with bagging. No black rot yet. I’d highly recommend these for the deep South where PD kills other grapes. They taste just like a store bought table grape but have a couple small seeds. Very sweet when fully ripe.
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Just saw your post a couple years ago saying you were trying Lane Muscadine. How did it turn out? Recommend it?
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I’m pleased with Lane. It grows a little slower than my other varieties but I really like having a pollinator variety that has a good tasting fruit. If I had it to do over and I was going to plant only one vine or one pollinator it would be Lane. The taste factors that I like is that you can eat the whole fruit including the skin. My over all favorite eating variety is Black Beauty (female). Supreme is a high rated female I have but it must be completely ripe to even get close to Black Beauty.
I’m pulling up my victoria red grapes. Fruit is bland and not as good as I can buy in the grocery. When the clusters start to get red they also start to rot. I’m near Houston.
Hi have to tested harvest from Hope, Joy, Gratitude, and Faith?
Hi was your harvest from Neptune, Joy, Gratitude, and Faith? these variety seems interesting!
I haven’t gotten all that much due to poor (insufficient) pruning/thinning, rot, and animals.
Netpune- I’ve actually got this pruned well (I think), as a nice column with a few branches at the top. But it has still been completely wiped out by rot for the last few years, even with multiple sprays. I’m replacing it with a jujube this spring as I think it is a pretty good location. There is a little shade in the morning, but hopefully that will go away when a neighbor cuts down a tree they have been talking about for the last 6 months or so.
Joy- I don’t remember any issues other than animals with this one (even though it isn’t in as good of a spot as the others), so this one seems like the least bad 
Faith- Gets a lot of black rot. But it also grows vigorously and densely, so I’m going to try heavily pruning it this year and see if that helps.
Gratiude- This one is a bit winter tender for me and has dieback. It also grew very dense bunches, which gave me problems when something started damaging it.
Hope- Not bad, now that it has grown tall enough to get to the sun. Reasonably productive, but a lot rotted, even with a decent pruning job. I have some trouble knowing when to pick these.
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Morning Everybody, Has anyone got any info on “Everest” seedless Concord type grape released not too long ago? Had thought it might be worth a trial here in Georgia, Concord tends to ripen unevenly here due to heat. I am near border of zones 7B/8A my official zone is supposed to be 8A. Any thoughts/opinions/experiences to share? Thanks in advance! Randy/GA
Hi, I grow Hope. She is a slow grower and takes about five years for one really good cluster. Once established she grows very nicely. Not many clusters but sweet and seedless. A very lovely table grape. The growing information is my own based only on my experience. 
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If it is not listed as resistant to pierce’s disease, I wouldn’t even consider it.
TFN
I got these spikes all over the trunk of my grape vine. Looks like roots to me. Are they roots? If so, any guess as to why it’s pushing out roots all over the trunk?
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All I can think is possibly too much moisture in those areas, do you irrigate in a way that would make the trunk wet frequently?
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Those are aerial roots, pretty common in certain varieties in wet/humid years.
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I haven’t watered it at all. But it’s been a very wet summer so far.
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