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Common Name: fox grape
Type: Fruit
Family: Vitaceae
Zone: 5 to 8
Height: 15 to 20 feet
Spread: 15 to 20 feet
Bloom Time: May to June
Bloom Description: Greenish
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium
Maintenance: High
Flowers: Fragrant Flowers, Flowers not Showy
Fruit: Showy Fruit, Edible Fruit
Tolerates: Deer, Rabbits
Culture
Best grown in deep, loamy, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerates a wide range of soil conditions, but must have good drainage. Needs a location sheltered from winter winds (preferably a southern facing slope) and well removed from frost pockets. Self-pollinating. Grapes need a support system, training, regular spraying and regular pruning to maximize fruit production. For more detailed information on grape culture, see Home Fruit Production, Grape Culture and Home Fruit Production Grape Training Systems (University of Missouri Extension publications G6085 and G6090) which are available for inspection or purchase at the Kemper Center Information Desk.
Noteworthy Characteristics
'Niagara' is a seedless American grape variety. It is a woody, deciduous, tendril climbing vine which typically will grow 15-20' long unless pruned shorter. Panicles of fragrant, greenish flowers in spring are followed by clusters of white seedless grapes which ripen in midseason (early September in USDA Zone 5). Considered to be a good grape for wine, fresh eating, juice or jellies. Large, shallowly-three-lobed, green foliage. Flowers are attractive to bees. Ripe fruit is attractive to some hornets and wasps.
Problems
Grapes are high maintenance plants which require regular chemical spraying and pruning. Grapes are susceptible to a large number of diseases, particularly in humid summer climates such as Missouri, including anthracnose, black rot, downy and powdery mildew, crown gall and botrytis bunch rot. Insect pests include phylloxera, grape berry moth, Japanese beetle, leaf hopper and leaf roller.
Garden Uses
Grapes are primarily grown for fruit production in home fruit gardens where they provide little ornamental value to the landscape. However, grapes do in fact have good ornamental value: bold summer foliage, some fall color, showy fruit and shaggy, twisted trunking and branching often best seen in winter. When grown on fences, walls, trellises, arbors or other structures, grapes can be quite attractive year-round and can provide good cover, screening, or shade to areas around the home.