Form: deciduous vine
Seasonality: perennial
Size: to 30 feet or more
Flowers: insignificant

Flame Red Grape

Thompson Seedless Grape

Fruit: berries that grow in bunches known as grapes.
Stems: rapid growing, produce tendrills by which the plant attaches itself to supports. Leaves simple, large, roundish lobed
Range/Origin: cultivar developed in California
Hardiness:

• Flame Red; Sunset zones 6 - 9,11 - 16; ripen early midseason
  
  
• Thompson Seedless; Sunset zones 7 - 14, 18,19; ripen mid season
  

LANDSCAPE VALUE:

• not intended to be a landscape plant
• grow on a trellis or an arbor

CULTURAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Exposure: full sun
• Water: regular
• Soil: deep enriched sandy soils
  
• Propagation: grafting
• Maintenance: considerable, grafting, pruning, disbudding, fixing to structures to hold them off of the ground, cultivation, disease and insect control, fertilizing, harvesting. Thin the clusters for larger berries. Needs plenty of heat. 100 hours. Self-fruitful.

NOTES:
Vitis "Red Flame" Flame grapes were developed in California. They are the result of a cross between Thompson, Cardinal and other grape varieties. Flame grapes are one of the most popular varieties along with Thompson grapes. These grapes are seedless, sweet-tart, and crunchy. The Red Flame was introduced in the 1970s, and it is now number two in the US market, helping push the seedless market share to 80 percent, says Sayed Badr, a professor in the Viticulture and Enology Research Center at California State University in Fresno.

Vitis "Thompson Seedless: Developed in California. Mr. George Thompson of Sutter County, CA received 3 cuttings from Almira & Barry, of Rochester, N. Y., and grafted them on the roots of one of their grapevines. Only one survived due to flooding and from this plant, all of the Thompson seedless grapes were developed. It is the most popular fresh grape in California and Arizona. Pale green, and very sweet. Golden raisins are also made from the Thompson seedless grape.

Other Varieties:
Grapes are often classified according to their use as table or wine grapes. Vitis vinifera, grown in Europe and considered the ideal grape for wine production, encompasses thousands of types. Vitis labrusca and Vitis rotundifolia are primarily found in North America and include the Concord (dark purple to black) grape, which is used both as a table grape and to make juice, jellies, and wine. Another popular grape variety in U.S. markets is the pale green Thompson seedless grape, a variety that accounts for half of the table grapes grown in California, and that is also used to make over 90 percent of the raisins in the United States. Other popular table grape varieties include Cardinal (red), Emperor (bright red), Flame seedless (red), Niagara (green), Catawba (red), and Ribier (jet black).

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This page compiled for the Moody Demonstration Garden by D. Post 4 Jun 2004; last updated 11 Nov 2006
References: Desert Tropicals Free Information; http://www.desert-tropicals.com/

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