Grape Vines for Cold Climates

 In the North, where short summers and cold winters are the norm, gardeners who want to grow grapes have to choose the grape cultivars with care. The European grape (Vitis vinifera), renowned for its large sweet fruits, rarely does well there: it is slow to mature and easily damaged by cold. Various North American and Siberian grape species are much hardier, but give small, sour fruits that are essentially inedible. The usual compromise is therefore to grow hybrid grapes resulting from crosses between the two groups. The best hybrid grapes are sweet and tasty and some even approach European grapes in size.

Here are a few cultivars that will be of interest to Northern gardeners.

Green Grapes

 ‘Delisle’, zone 4

‘Edelweiss’, zone 4

‘Eona’, zone 3

‘Kay Gray’ zone 4

‘Polar Green Seedless’, zone 4

‘Quebec Muscat’, zone 4

‘Seyval’, zone 4

‘St-Pépin’, zone 4

‘Swenson White’, zone 3-4

‘Vandal-Cliche’ zone 3

 

Blue Grapes

‘6447’, zone 5

‘Beta’, zone 2

‘Big Blue’, zone 4

‘Concord’, zone 5

‘Early Blue’, zone 3-4

‘Fredonia’, zone 3

‘Frontenac’, zone 3-4

‘Magenta’, zone 4

‘Maréchal Foch’, zone 3

‘Mars Seedless’, zone 4

‘Minnesota 78’, zone 3

‘Montreal Blue’, zone 4

‘New York Muscat’, zone 4

‘Sovereign Coronation’, zone 4

‘Troll’, zone 5

‘Valiant’, zone 3

‘St-Croix’, zone 3

 

Red Grapes

‘Canadice Seedless’, zone 4

‘Pink Pearl’, zone 4

‘Petits Joyaux’, zone 4

‘Reliance’, zone 3-4

‘Somerset Seedless’ zone 4

‘Swenson Red’, zone 3-4

‘Tuscany Red’, zone 2-3

‘Vanessa Seedless’, zone 4