Muscadine grape

Tree facts

Scientific name

Vitis rotundifolia

Origin

Southeastern United States

Tree size

Vine; trained on a trellis or arbor, one vine covers about 15–20 ft of wire

Growth rate

Fast

Sun

Full sun

Soil

Well-drained sandy or loamy soil. Avoid low, wet spots.

Soil pH

5.5–6.5

Pollination

Female cultivars (Fry, Scuppernong, Supreme, Jumbo) bear only with a self-fertile vine within about 50 ft. Self-fertile cultivars bear alone and pollinate the females.

Cold hardiness

Dormant vines tolerate about 10°F; most are damaged near 0°F

USDA zones

7–10

Years to first fruit

2–3

Season

Jul–Sep

Water

About every 7 days once established, without rain; more in heat, in pots and while young

Feeding

About every 60 days, Mar–Jul

Pruning

Jan–Feb

Taste

Sweet, musky and grapey, with a tart, chewy skin around soft pulp that slips out

Nutrition

Rich in resveratrol and other polyphenols, especially in the skins and seeds; good fiber

Is muscadine grape safe to eat? Edible and toxic parts

What you can eat

• Ripe grapes: squeeze the pulp into your mouth, then eat or discard the skin and seeds
• Juice, jelly and jam
• Wine

Toxic parts and cautions

• Toxic: Grapes and raisins of every kind, muscadines included, can cause sudden kidney failure in dogs, even in small amounts. Clean up fallen fruit and never share grapes with a dog.
• Good to know: The seeds and thick skins are a choking risk for small children. Squeeze out and seed the pulp for them.

Pets: Dangerous to dogs: any amount of grapes, muscadines 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 muscadine grape

• Fresh off the vine
• Muscadine jelly and preserves
• Muscadine hull pie, a Southern tradition
• Juice
• Sweet muscadine wine
• Frozen whole as a summer snack

Muscadine grape varieties (10)

• Carlos

  A bronze, self-fertile muscadine, a standard for juice and wine and a dependable backyard pollinizer.

  Origin: North Carolina, 1970 · Taste: Sweet, mild · Season: Aug–Sep · Size: Small to medium

  Self-fertile; good disease resistance.

• Fry

  A large, bronze female muscadine with excellent sweet flavor, one of the best for eating fresh.

  Origin: Georgia, 1970 · Taste: Very sweet · Season: Aug–Sep · Size: Large

  Female; needs a pollinizer. Prone to fruit rots in wet years.

• Ison

  A black, self-fertile muscadine that bears big crops of medium-large fruit.

  Origin: Georgia · Taste: Sweet · Season: Aug–Sep · Size: Medium to large

  Self-fertile; an excellent pollinizer.

• Jumbo

  Very large black muscadines that ripen over a long stretch of weeks.

  Taste: Sweet, mild · Season: Aug–Oct · Size: Very large

  Female; needs a pollinizer.

• Noble

  A black, self-fertile muscadine used for red wine and juice, bearing heavy crops.

  Origin: North Carolina, 1971 · Taste: Sweet, musky · Season: Aug–Sep · Size: Small

  Self-fertile; a good pollinizer.

• Scuppernong

  The original bronze muscadine, found growing wild near the Scuppernong River, and the name many Southerners use for all bronze muscadines.

  Origin: North Carolina, 1700s · Taste: Sweet, musky · Season: Aug–Sep · Size: Medium

  Female; needs a self-fertile vine nearby.

• Southern Home

  A self-fertile black muscadine with deeply lobed, ornamental leaves, a good choice for an arbor.

  Origin: Florida (UF) · Taste: Sweet · Season: Aug–Sep · Size: Medium

  Self-fertile; does well in Florida.

• Supreme

  A very large black muscadine, highly rated for fresh eating.

  Taste: Sweet, rich · Season: Aug–Sep · Size: Very large

  Female; needs a pollinizer.

• Tara

  A large, bronze, self-fertile muscadine with good fresh-eating quality.

  Taste: Sweet · Season: Aug–Sep · Size: Large

  Self-fertile.

• Triumph

  An early, bronze, self-fertile muscadine with good flavor.

  Origin: Georgia, 1980 · Taste: Sweet · Season: Aug · Size: Medium to large

  Self-fertile.

Pests and diseases to watch for

• Powdery mildew

  White powdery coating on flower stalks, young leaves and tiny fruit; flowers dry up and fall.

  What to do: Sulfur or potassium bicarbonate spray at the first white patches.

• 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.