Flavorwise, Ison, then Paulk, then Nesbitt. Just my opinion. I had Nesbitt several years ago. I am currently picking Paulk and Ison. I really like the flavor of Ison. Paulk is a bit larger and maybe just a tad sweeter. You would not turn either down.
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Thanks, I just ordered both.
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Picked the last of my Paulk muscadine grapes from a 3 year old vine ahead of the storm coming through tomorrow. I had already picked several pounds over the last few weeks as they began to ripen.
So that is probably a little over 10 pounds total from a pretty young vine. I only got a couple handfulls last year as it was still working its way down the wire.
For some reason, the white spots seem really accentuated by the camera.
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There are so many good tasting muscadines itās hard to say one is better than the other. I think you will like Paulk.
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Many decades ago there was row upon row of a universityās muscadine crosses near a town. After hours kids would bicycle out there and they had their favorite one. Unfortunately for the breeder that grape had a wet scar and was never released.
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picked the last of my black beauty today. They are out of this world. Very sweet. You have to be patient with BB and let them hang a long time after they turn color. Its worth the wait. I think they are slightly better than Supreme, but supreme is also extremely good when dead ripe.
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To anyone growing muscadines in 7A mid-atlanticā¦ when do you normally prune your vines?
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I think I did late February last year, maybe early March, here in Arlington, VA.
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I donāt live in your zone but I would think late February would be a good time to prune back.
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I like the taste of both but l also prefer BB.
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Re pruning, Ison found problems with vine dieback from pruning too early. Based on results, they decided any time after March 1st was workable. Adjusted for zone 7A, this would be about March 10th.
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Thank you. This is where my head was at. I pruned Black Beauty at the end of February in 2022 and it was dead by May. I may have been a bit of a butcher with the prune job but I think I woke the vine up early and it got wiped by a freeze. I was leaning toward a mid-March prune for my Paulk this winter.
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I donāt understand the tendency of vine dieback from pruning too early. How does it die more readily if it is pruned shorter during the dormancy period. Also, if āwaking upā too early is part of the problem, how does pruning stimulate a dormant vine to break dormancy?
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I have never had any die back from pruning early January forward. With that said the recommendations are to wait until late February which might be the safest time. Iām currently in zone 8a Alabama. Iām not suggesting for you to prune early but Iām willing to do so.
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Pruning too early while there is still very low temperatures can kill the exposed tissues that would be there for healing over the cuts. You would get dieback into the stems. Especially in Virginia where we can get some unusual lows into late February.
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So maybe my Virginia zone 7a versus your zone 8a might make that difference.
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Is it that pruning in mild temperatures allows the living cells at the cut surface to callus/heal, thus protecting lower cells? -versus- Pruning in severe weather will freeze-kill those exposed cells at the cut surface, allowing either bacteria or dehydration to creep down the unprotected vessels in the cut stem?
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You might be right. If I lived at your location I would also wait.
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I lean heavily on Isonās experience. Winter dieback is associated with heavy fruit load in the previous year and pruning prior to the end of coldest weather. Varieties Ison and Supreme are very susceptible to high fruit load followed by winter death. Both should be pruned heavily at the proper time and both benefit immensely from fertilizer applied after harvest. I used to winter prune in early Februaryā¦ until I lost a few vines. I have never lost a vine when pruning in early March.
https://www.isons.com/instructional-videos/ and see the videos on pruning.
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I made a muscadine pie from a mix of old Supremes and more recent black beauty. Very very tasty. Separated the skins and cooked the insides a bit then strained out the seeds. Then put skins and pulp back together in the pie along with sugar flour salt butter and lemon juice. Turned out kind of like a cherry pie. Home made crust.
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