Help me pick two muscadines varieties for 6B

[BobVance]

@speedster1

Seems like everyone loves and recommends Black Beauty so maybe I’ll start there.

@Sunny_Orchard

You can try black beauty but it’s more like a late variety here. Stretching out until frost.

I like Black Beauty a lot. Mine ripened just fine (all done by mid-October) in what is likely a similar or colder area. Supreme was later and Late Fry didn’t fully ripen, even in November, though it isn’t in as sunny an area, which likely contributed.

How are your muscadines tasting this year?

I picked the last of the Black Beauty on Sunday. They are very tasty, even though I never got them above 18 brix (most were in the 15-16 range). Ison’s chart says 23%, but our conditions are obviously different. Even so, 15-16 is plenty sweet and I like the chewy & flavorful skins. The Supreme are just starting to ripen and the Late Fry isn’t even close. Assuming they handle the mid-high 30’s tonight, the rest of the 10 day forecast looks fine. I suspect that the Supreme will ripen, but th…

Not only is Black Beauty tasty, but it survived unprotected (I think -8F, but it was a few years ago, so I’m not sure), when Supreme, Fry Seedless, and Late Fry died back to their protective mulch.

SMC had Lane survive -12F (wow), so that seems like one to add. I planted it myself last year, so hopefully I’ll know soon how it did.

Ison Muscadine Grape

I planted Fry Seedless, Lane, Hall, Ison, and Darlene in fall of 2015. All were 2-year bare roots from Ison’s Nursery. Our winter low that year was -12. Lane survived with no winter die back, Darlene died to the soil line, the other three didn’t make it. It’s just one year’s experience, but Lane looks promising for colder climates. I added a Nesbitt and a Triumph last spring and should have a better report in a few months.