Grapes somehow always exude a southern flair. If you want to get exactly this in the garden, we have 7 grapevine varieties here that are suitable for garden cultivation.
Growing grapes in your own garden is becoming more and more popular in this country. If you can offer a location in full sun and loose soil, then nothing stands in the way of the grape harvest. Once the decision has been made that grapevines should soon adorn the garden, there is only one question left to be answered: Which types of grapevines are there and which are suitable for growing in the garden?
You will find a huge selection of grape varieties in stores. It can be difficult to decide on a variety. To help you decide, here are a few grape varieties that are particularly good for gardening.
7 Grape Varieties for Gardening
1. "Muscat bleu" (Muscat bleu, Blauer Muskateller)
➤ Location:
This variety comes from Switzerland and is one of the most popular grape varieties in private gardens. The variety is resistant to powdery mildew and can be planted on a west or south-east wall, as well as free-standing or as a pergola cover. The variety needs full sun, but it must be protected from the wind.
➤ Grapes:
The leaves turn yellow in autumn, the bloom resistance is only mediocre. Grapes are formed no earlier than the second year, sometimes not until the third year. In midsummer, the vine produces blue, sweet berries. Muskat bleu has very few seeds and the skin is nice and strong, so wasps don't have it so easy with this variety. Harvesting can start as early as the end of August. Reading tip: Harvest grapes - and do it three times
2. "Phoenix" (Phoenix)➤ Location:
This variety was originally intended for winemaking, but is also a good plant for table grapes. This grape variety is very vigorous and also robust and is particularly suitable for walls that face west or south-east. You can not only place them on walls or walls, but also plant them free-standing. What the flooris concerned, the grape variety Phoenix is undemanding. It produces high yields, is resistant to flowering and is not susceptible to fungal diseases.
➤ Grapes:
The foliage takes on a beautiful yellow color in autumn and you can expect the first grapes from the second or third year. The growth of the grapes is very compact, which is why you have to be careful that they don't press each other too much. A lot of fruit is set, which is why you have to be careful when setting up a trellis that the load doesn't get too heavy.
The berries have a sweet taste with nutmeg and only a few seeds. You can harvest the grapes around the beginning of September. However, if the weather is very humid, you should harvest earlier, otherwise the berries could burst open and rot.
3. "Birstaler Muskat" (Birchstaler Muskat)
➤ Location:
This variety is particularly resistant to fungal diseases. Therefore, you can also grow her well in areas with predominantly humid weather, such as in northern Germany. This very high resistance to fungi also predestines it for cultivation in wine-growing regions where powdery mildew is very common. This good quality also allows the grapes to be cultivated under a foil tent or under glass. The high flowering resistance is also convincing - Birstaler Muskat is therefore also well suited for less protected locations.
➤ Grapes:
If the berries are ripe by the end of September, you can leave them on the vine for quite a while. From the third year at the latest, loose-berry grapes are formed, which can be very large. The yield of yellow, medium-sized berries is then very high. The fruit with few seeds tastes sweet and has a fine nutmeg aroma. To encourage maturity, thin out the plants immediately after flowering so that there are only one or two clusters per shoot.
4. "Regent"➤ Location:
This variety is originally a wine grape. However, it is also suitable as a table grape to a limited extent. It is best to place the plant on a west or south-east facing house wall in the blazing sun. Due to its small size, you can even grow this grape variety in a tub. Reading tip: Planting grapevines - explained step by step
The vine is moderately vigorous but very robust. It defies powdery mildew, but is susceptible to downy mildew. Flowering resistance is medium, but it is very resistant to frost because the berries are quite small. The foliage changes color in autumnpartially red.
➤ Grapes:
You should water the plants with plenty of water, because then the fruits will be a little bigger. These usually appear from the second to third year of growth. The blue berries, which can be harvested from around mid-September, then have a fruity-sweet taste and a thick skin.
5. "Palatina"
➤ Location:
The Palatina variety is a very fungus-resistant and fast-growing table grape. It is suitable for a sunny wall facing west to south-east but also for growing single posts or for greening fences or pergolas. It is very robust and convinces with its good flowering resistance and its beautiful fruits.
➤ Grapes:
From the second or third year it produces medium-sized grapes. The green-yellow berries with a slight hint of red have a sweet, fruity taste and are low in seeds. With this grape variety you can usually count on a regular, high yield. Harvesting is possible from around the beginning of September. But you can leave the grapes on the vine for another three weeks.
6. "Theresa"➤ Location:
This variety is a Hungarian breed that ripens late and produces very large berries. The site should be in full sun and well sheltered, a south to west wall would be ideal. It is only suitable for free standing in full sun and sheltered from the wind and at a maximum height of 150 m above sea level.
➤ Grapes:
The berries ripen very late, so you hardly have to worry about a wasp approach. From the second or third year, the very large grapes appear with a length of up to 30 cm. The yellow-green, low-pitted berries are sour-sweet to very sweet and improve their taste as they ripen. Ripeness for consumption is only reached between mid-September and November.
You should let the fruit fully ripen. It may also be necessary to pre-harvest or thin out, because this is the only way for the remaining grapes to ripen optimally. In the first few years, the fruit set can also be so enormous that you have to thin out the vines to reduce the load on the plants. Additional watering may also be necessary in early summer.
Since ripening is very late, the plants are susceptible to sunburn and berry wilt, especially at high temperatures. If you want to defoliate the grape zone a little, this must not be done before late summer, and then in several stages. From August you should not plant the plantswater more, otherwise the berries could burst.
7. "Esther"
➤ Location:
The fungus-tolerant variety Esther also comes from Hungary. It can also be grown in less than optimal locations, since the fruits ripen relatively early. Since this variety tends to trickle, you should choose a wind-protected location. This grape variety is moderately vigorous, but very frost hardy.
➤ Grapes:
The dark blue berries are almost seedless and have a particularly mild taste. However, this can lead to wasps happily grabbing the berries. The grapes appear from the second or third year. Harvesting is usually possible from the end of August. Incidentally, in autumn the leaves turn an intense red.
Important: do not propagate protected varieties
There are some grapevine varieties that are protected and therefore may not be propagated. From the varieties listed, these are: Phoenix, Birstaler Muskat, Palatina, Theresa and Esther.