What's a good grape for...

I don't really care about the fruit, although it would be a plus if it was of quality. What I'm interested in is a grape with really hard wood. One that would survive in zone 7.

Can anyone make any recommendations?

Just about any Northern fox grape starting with old Concord and its like has no problem in zone 7. I grew up with the old combination of Concord, Catawba, and Niagra. Lots of new ones out there now.

This message was edited Jan 5, 2008 6:17 PM

Micha, most grapes are hardy in zone 7. The bigger problem is diseases; if you don't plan on spraying much you should get a more disease-resistant variety. I would try for a quality fruiting grape to make it more worth your effort. Jupiter is a tasty seedless grape for example which has good disease resistance.

Scott

Well, the reason that I didn't care too much about the fruit is b/c I plan on cutting the wood as often as I can get long pieces out of it for bird toys and things. If I understand the pruning thing, I wouldn't get grapes for a year after pruning.

Which grapes, that have really hard wood, are disease resistant?

The wild fox grape, has a very tough wood, probably hard to find commercialy, it is native all along the Atlantic coast to Georgia, maybe further. It is a weed here which is how i know how hard the wood is, lol. I leave it on my property because i like the grapes, real tart, and just prune it away when it threatens other things. The possum grape is similar and about as tough.