Gertens Plant Finder

Brand:  Gertens

Description:

One of the better and more productive hardy grapes, selected for its large sweet red fruit in fall, excellent for eating fresh, jellies or wine; a vigorous vine, use as a screen for arbors or trailing along fences, requires regular pruning and full sun

Edible Qualities

St. Croix™ Grape is a woody vine that is commonly grown for its edible qualities. It produces large clusters of deep purple round fruit with powder blue overtones which are usually ready for picking from mid to late fall. The fruits have a sweet taste and a juicy texture.

The fruit are most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Preserves
• Juice-Making
• Wine-Making

Features & Attributes

St. Croix™ Grape has rich green deciduous foliage on a plant with a spreading habit of growth. The lobed leaves turn yellow in fall. It produces small clusters of deep purple grapes with powder blue overtones in mid fall.

This is a dense multi-stemmed deciduous woody vine with a spreading, ground-hugging habit of growth. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage. This is a high maintenance plant that will require regular care and upkeep, and requires a special pruning regimen to reliably produce fruit; consult a specific reference guide or contact the store for proper pruning techniques. It is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Spreading

Aside from its primary use as an edible, St. Croix™ Grape is sutiable for the following landscape applications;

• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Orchard/Edible Landscaping

Planting & Growing

St. Croix™ Grape will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. As a climbing vine, it should be planted next to a fence, trellis or other rigid structure where it can be trained to grow upwards on it. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years. This is a self-pollinating variety, so it doesn't require a second plant nearby to set fruit.

This woody vine is typically grown in a designated area of the yard because of its mature size and spread. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.

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