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Bunch grape

Vitis hybrids

Southern bunch grapes are hybrids bred to survive Pierce's disease, the bacterial disease that kills European wine and table grapes along the Gulf Coast. They grow in tight clusters like store grapes, with thinner skins than muscadines, and are used for juice, jelly, wine and a few for eating fresh. Most need a regular fungicide spray program in humid Southern summers.

Tree facts

Scientific name
Vitis hybrids
Origin
Bred mainly in Florida and Texas from European and native American grapes
Tree size
Vine; trained up a stake to a single wire about 6 ft high, with vines 7½–8 ft apart
Growth rate
Medium to fast
Sun
Full sun; run rows north to south so both sides of the vine get light
Soil
Most well-drained soils, ideally fine sand or upland soil over clay about 3 ft down. Poor choices: white sands, and wet soils like marl, peat and muck. Avoid low frost pockets
Soil pH
About 6.0; lime very acid soil. Where soil runs above 7.0, plant vines grafted on Dog Ridge rootstock
Pollination
Self-fertile; one vine bears a full crop alone
Cold hardiness
No reliable winter figure in the sources used; late spring frosts can kill new shoots and flowers
USDA zones
8–10 (Florida and the Gulf Coast, where these grapes were bred)
Years to first fruit
Not stated in the sources used; fruiting canes are kept from the second winter on
Season
Jun–Jul
Water
About every 7 days once established, without rain; more in heat, in pots and while young
Feeding
About every 90 days, Feb–Aug
Pruning
Jan–Mar
Taste
Varies by cultivar, from muscat-flavored green grapes to dark, tart wine grapes
Nutrition
No reliable figures in the sources used

Is bunch grape safe to eat? Edible and toxic parts

What you can eat

  • Ripe grapes, fresh (best from Conquistador and Stover)
  • Juice and jelly
  • Wine

Toxic parts and cautions

  • Toxic: Grapes and raisins of every kind can cause sudden kidney failure in dogs, even in small amounts. Clean up fallen fruit and never share grapes with a dog.
  • Take care: Whole grapes are a choking risk for young children; cut them in quarters.
  • Good to know: Vines that tolerate Pierce's disease can still carry the bacterium, so Texas A&M advises keeping susceptible European grapes well away from them.
  • Good to know: Fungal diseases (anthracnose, black rot, bitter rot, downy mildew) are the main cause of failure in Florida. UF/IFAS suggests spraying every 10–14 days from when shoots are 3–4 in long until 7–10 days before harvest; the spray at bloom matters most.

Pets: Dangerous to dogs: any amount of grapes or raisins can cause kidney failure, so call a vet right away if a dog eats them. Keep cats away from them too, to be safe.

How to eat and enjoy bunch grape

  • Fresh off the vine
  • Grape juice
  • Jelly and jam
  • White and red wine
  • Port-style wine (Black Spanish)

When it's ripe

In Florida most ripen in late June and July; Stover is first, then Blue Lake and Lake Emerald. Cut whole clusters once the berries are fully colored and taste sweet, since grapes don't sweeten after picking. Net the vines if birds find them.

Storing it

Chill at about 40°F unless you're making juice, jelly or wine right away.

Bunch grape varieties (12)

  • Black Spanish · also Lenoir, Jacquez

    A red wine grape with large clusters of small berries and very dark juice, grown mainly because it keeps bearing under heavy Pierce's disease pressure.

    Origin: Old Southern grape of unknown parentage, grown in South Texas since at least 1889 · Taste: High in sugar, tannin and acid; best known for port-style wine · Season: Mid–late Jul · Size: Small

    Resists powdery mildew but gets downy mildew, anthracnose and black rot; clusters ripen unevenly. Grown on its own roots in Texas and handles alkaline soil better than Blanc du Bois, though very alkaline soil causes iron chlorosis. UF/IFAS grafts it on Tampa or Dog Ridge in Florida and notes its low sugar-to-acid ratio.

  • Blanc du Bois

    A light green wine grape, rated by UF/IFAS as its best bunch grape for wine and by Texas A&M as perhaps the finest white wine grape that resists Pierce's disease.

    Origin: University of Florida, 1988 · Taste: Pleasant muscat flavor; slip-skin berries that keep their acid in hot climates · Season: Early Jul · Size: Medium

    Also resists downy mildew and Isariopsis leaf blight; loose clusters are less prone to sour rot. Ripens in early July on the Texas Gulf Coast. Less tolerant of alkaline soil than Black Spanish.

  • Blue Lake

    A purple UF bunch grape for the dooryard and for juice and jelly.

    Size: Small

    Ripens soon after Stover. UF spaces it a little wider than most (8 ft apart).

  • Champanel

    One of the most widely grown of T. V. Munson's grapes, used mostly for jelly.

    Origin: Texas (T. V. Munson)

    Listed by Texas A&M among grapes that tolerate Pierce's disease.

  • Conquistador

    A purple UF bunch grape, rated by UF/IFAS as the best for wine and for eating fresh; also good for juice and jelly.

    Size: Small to medium

    Needs grafting on Tampa or Dog Ridge rootstock to grow and bear well.

  • Daytona

    A red UF bunch grape recommended for dooryard planting.

    Tolerates Pierce's disease.

  • Herbemont

    An old Southern wine grape, sometimes called the brown grape, that gives clear juice for white and port-style wine.

    Origin: South Carolina, early 1800s

    Resists Pierce's disease, phylloxera and several fungal diseases; a reliable producer.

  • Lake Emerald

    A light green UF bunch grape, rated by UF/IFAS as the best for juice and jelly; also used for wine.

    Size: Small

    Ripens soon after Stover. UF spaces it a little wider than most (8 ft apart).

  • Orlando Seedless

    A seedless UF bunch grape that resists Pierce's disease but is no longer among UF/IFAS's recommended cultivars.

    Berries tend to shatter from the cluster, and it's very prone to anthracnose. Needs grafting on Tampa or Dog Ridge rootstock.

  • Stover

    A light green UF bunch grape for the dooryard, fresh eating and wine.

    Size: Small to medium

    The earliest Florida bunch grape to ripen. Grows and bears better grafted on Tampa or Dog Ridge rootstock.

  • Suwannee

    A light green UF bunch grape for the dooryard, wine, juice and jelly.

    Size: Medium

    Grows on its own roots except in alkaline soil.

  • Victoria Red

    A seeded red table grape for home growers that has borne good crops of attractive, high-quality fruit for over 25 years under heavy Pierce's disease pressure near Victoria, Texas.

    Origin: University of Arkansas, Tarkington Vineyards and Texas AgriLife · Taste: Sweet; can reach about 25° Brix

    Mainly for eating fresh; may also suit blending wine.

Pests and diseases to watch for

  • Scale insects

    Small bumps, waxy or shell-like, on stems and leaf veins; sticky honeydew and black sooty mold below.

    What to do: Scrub small colonies off with a soft brush.

  • Mealybugs

    White cottony clusters in leaf joints, under leaves and on fruit stems; honeydew and sooty mold.

    What to do: Blast off with a strong spray of water.

  • Aphids

    Clusters of tiny soft insects on new shoots; leaves curl and get sticky.

    What to do: Spray off with water.

  • Sooty mold

    Black, papery film on leaves and fruit that wipes off; it grows on honeydew.

    What to do: Control the insects making honeydew; the mold then weathers away.

  • Spider mites

    Fine pale speckling on leaves, dusty undersides and fine webbing; leaves bronze and drop.

    What to do: Hose the undersides of leaves.

Growing bunch grapes? Let Yardkin keep track.

Yardkin tells you when your bunch grape needs water based on your local weather, reminds you to feed and prune in season, and keeps every harvest and photo.

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General guidance, not medical or veterinary advice. Poison Control (US): 1-800-222-1222. ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435.