Bob Vance gave me some Fry Seedless Red starts he rooted in Connecticut.
They just survived their second difficult winter here unprotected in the Catoctin mountains, z6b.
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How was Tara for you? My plant was small and died back its first winter and has taken a long time to get going after that. I’m not sure how much the dieback had to do with its hardiness as it was a small plant, but it could also be less hardy.
@cousinfloyd, I haven’t had problems with Darlene rotting and it has been incredibly productive – half of my harvest recently has been Darlene and I have six muscadine varieties 5+ years old. I don’t like the gold ones as much as the purple ones but its been super reliable.
Don’t celebrate until April, Matt. I held many early celebrations in the past but then found things dead come April. I never understood exactly what was going on, but in some cases it seems like a later hard freeze really did things in - before the buds were out but after the plant started getting the sap flowing a bit. I think the split in my Carlos vine trunk may have been from too much sap in the trunk that froze.
I planted Tara 4 years ago so have not yet had a full crop. I should get enough this year to tell if it is worth growing long term. So far, the fruit is moderately sweet and has decent flavor.
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Planted Higgins back in spring ripened this September with many small fruit but very tasty taste like grape candy. Should get bigger fruit and more next year. I planted in a 6 ft texas tomato cage and it’s full.
I would suggest looking at some of @BobVance post on his muscadine varieties. Lane might be another cold hardy variety.
@BobVance. 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.
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Black Beauty again survived unprotected and is just starting to color up.
Further up the hill, I planted a Lane (2 years ago, I think). I didn’t do a good job of getting the weeds off it, but I dug it out a couple weeks ago and it still had some fruitset (its first for me) while laying on the ground. I haven’t protected it either, so this seems to be a pretty hardy one.
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Thanks for the reply Bob. My area isn’t cold enough for cold comparison. I do have both BB and L and like the taste of both.
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I hope I am not committing a faux pas by reviving this thread. I am considering getting some muscadines. I am also in zone 6b and have to limit myself to two varieties, at least until my trees reach their full size and I know how much space I have to operate with (spoiler alert - not a lot).
I am thinking a black and a bronze, one female and one self-fertile. After reading this thread and the Ison’s growing guides, I have narrowed it down to Black Beauty + Hall or Darlene + Ison (or Early Fry + Ison). Any strong opinions one way or the other?
speedster1, what did you end up getting and how are they doing?
Thanks in advance!
FWIW I got:
- Paulk (self fertile)
- Black Beauty
- Darlene
- Supreme
If I were just getting 2, I’d probably go with Paulk and either BB or Supreme.
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I think Lane is considered a superior alternative to Ison now, or at least that’s the impression I got on here before I ordered mine.
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Thank you! Looks like Ison’s are sold out of Paulk. I don’t see Lane on their website at all. I’ll go with Darlene and Ison and will probably add two more in fall.
All this talk has me tempted to really push my luck and try out Lane in New Hampshire! Are muscadines amenable to growing in containers, or to laying the vine down and burying it? I know degree days may also be an issue. Probably won’t happen this year, so I have lots of time to figure it out.
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I ended up not purchasing any. I believe my plans for building an arbor stalled and now two years later this post reminds me that I still wanted to plant muscadines. May have to wait till next year at this point.
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Read more about Darlene before purchasing it. Fresh Market Cultivars - Choosing a Cultivar | Muscadine Grape Breeding
Consider Summit or Tara for a bronze. If you plant Tara and Supreme, you would have a bronze self fertile and a black female.
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Interesting topic for me. I have been thinking about getting a couple muscadines while I am here in Texas since grapes are prone to diseases like Pierce. If I get varieties that can survive in 6B then I could take them to Michigan when I move there in a few years. Based on comments here, I am leaning toward Black Beauty and Lane. Looks like I missed the buying window this year though.
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Hall is self fertile and a very good tasting bronze.
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I like Lane but my very productive Lane bit the dust during the deep freeze. The other Lane that I have that wasn’t nearly as productive lives to fight another year…
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I moved and planted over fifty trees including some muscadine. Never had a problem with Lane but it is the only one that didn’t survive the move. It was a productive and had a good taste but everone in my group preferred Hall. I planted another Hall and I will be adding another Oh My. Yes I’m asking for dissappointment going all out for an expensive and unproven variety.
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I will have them in containers here in Texas to make relocation easier when the time comes. Once in Michigan they will go in the ground
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