There are a few variaties of grape specially bred in Holland to cope with a colder climate. You could try Brand or Boskoop Glory. Should cost about £6-£10 for a decent plant from a nursery. Be prepared to wait a few years for fruit though.

"Andy Hunt" wrote in
:

The last couple of summers up here have been long and hot, but before
that we had a few very wet ones. But if it's a climate change thing,
then that means that as well as hotter summers we'll be getting colder
winters, and it has been very cold here this winter. Do you think that
very cold weather and frosts might damage the plant in winter? I
suppose there's one way to find out . . . !

All I know is that ours never got damaged by frost. But that was in Devon.
I think they do grow them in some fairly extreme climates though.

Make sure you give them plenty of space - they are *big*plants.


When should I put it in?

Containerised plants can be planted pretty much anytime, but I would
probably leave it a bit later and do it in March or April, because it's
hard to dig frozen ground.

(Not that it is freezing he positively spring-like.)


Victoria
--
gardening on a north-facing hill
in South-East Cornwall
--

On Fri, 09 Jan 2004 09:33:31 GMT, Martin Bates
wrote:

There are a few variaties of grape specially bred in Holland to cope
with a colder climate. You could try Brand or Boskoop Glory. Should
cost about £6-£10 for a decent plant from a nursery. Be prepared to
wait a few years for fruit though.

The ones I have were bought in the garden centre of the monastery at
Maria Lach in Germany and are of types grown in mountains in Greece or
Yugoslavia AFAIR.
--
Martin

I would be looking for a German variety, and I was always told that white
grapes will ripen further North than Black.

If you are going for a kiwi then remember the old adage for hardy plants "
Move then South"
If they have been grown in colder conditions than you get they will have a
much better chance than something that has been grown in a milder climate.

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

On Fri, 9 Jan 2004 11:42:36 -0000, "David Hill"
wrote:

I would be looking for a German variety, and I was always told that white
grapes will ripen further North than Black.

That makes sense as most northern German vineyards produce white
grapes.

All mine are black. Whether they ripen or not depends on the amount of
sun in late summer and whether we beat the birds.

Incidentally if you are buying wine just about everything from 2001
onwards from Languedoc is superb.

--
Martin

There is some info about grape growing on the BBC site he

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/gqt/fshe...sheetsq6.shtml

Boskoop glory is a black grape, specifically bred for cold (I believe Ducth) climates. I have one growing fine in Hampshire. I've never made wine from the grapes, as they always get eaten first.

Thanks Martin - what a good idea. That's exactly what I'll do.

Might be a test case for a pseudo-mediterranean walled garden in darkest
Lancashire!

Watch out for experts searching for WMDs :-)

Lol :-)

I'd better clean out my fridge then! ;-)


Andrew