About 5 years ago I purchased a small property in Saltair. Among the 3m high Himalayan blackberries a grapevine had found its way up a bigleaf maple sapling. The seller informed me that the grape was good for dolmades, but not for fruit. The property was originally developed in the mid 60s and I suspect that the grapes were planted around that time. As I cleared off the land for my garden, I retrieved some of the rootstock and planted it along a fence where I wanted it to grow. It gets full sun, but is on a 9% NE slope. The plant grew well and after 3 years produced a few grapes.In subsequent years the vine florished and currently,(5th year) produces some 25lbs of green grapes. Although, understandably, the grape struggles to ripen, ripe grapes, evidenced by a yellow colour (vs the hard green of the unripe ones), have a great full sweet muscate flavour. The berries are upto 20mm in size with 1-4 pits. The skin is firm (good if you like to chew on them) and separates readily from the gel-like flesh (slip-skin?). The bunches are compact and of convenient size. The leaves are shallowly 3-5 palmately lobed and about 18-20cm wide and slightly longer. I found that placing the grapes in the fridge for about 6 weeks further ripens the berries (they also dry out a bit). I have include a couple of pictures. Can someone tell me what species/variety of grape this is and offer any advice on how to manage it? Is this one of the north american rootstocks or is it a cultivated variety? Are there cultivation issues to watch for or is it quite hardy? What can I do to overcome the marginal heat units of the NE slope?
This looks and sounds like Niagara. It will be hardy in Chemanus, but you may be able to give it a head-start by tenting with poly around but break in the spring. By the way, "rootstock" is a term usually reserved for the bottom (in ground) portion of a grafted plant. If you took a stem or root cutting and propagated this plant, it is referred to as "self rooted", and Niagara is the "variety". Ralph
Thanks Ralph, You have brought music in what thus far was a silent world. Indeed, since I transplanted a piece of root I was not sure if this was a rootstock, or, as you put it a self rooted species. The grapes appeared too nice to be just a rootstock, so I am happy with your explanation. Niagara it is! I know that they are tenting some of the pinot gris near the upper elevations of Mt Prevost, so your suggestion to gain a few heat units sounds plausible. Since I have a couple of plants, I may try one and see if it makes a difference Thanks Jim van Barneveld
