Are my grapes Scuppernong or muscadine?

August 26, 2014 by bobkat1177 Leave a comment

The muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifolia Michx.) is native to the southeastern United States and was the first native grape species to be cultivated in North America. The natural range of muscadine grapes extends from Delaware to central Florida and occurs in all states along the Gulf Coast to east Texas. Muscadine grapes will perform well throughout Florida, although performance is poor in high alkaline soils or in soils with very poor drainage.  These grapes do not like to be in areas where water is likely to drain off slowly or near retention ponds. There are three species within the Muscadania subgenera (Vitis munsoniana, Vitis popenoei and Vitis rotundifolia ). Wild muscadine grapes are functionally dioecious meaning they have male and female vines.  Male vines account for the majority of the wild muscadine grape population. Muscadine grapes are late in breaking bud in the spring and require 100-120 days to mature fruit. Typically, muscadine grapes in the wild bear dark fruit with usually 4 to 10 fruit per cluster. Bronze-fruited muscadine grapes are also found in the wild, and they are often referred to as scuppernongs. There are hundreds of named muscadine grape cultivars from improved selections, and in fact, one that has been found in the Scuppernong river of North Carolina has been named Scuppernong. So to directly answer your question, not all muscadines are Scuppernong but all Scuppernongs are muscadines and yours is a muscadine.  How about that for a tongue twister! There are over 100 improved cultivars of muscadine grapes varying in size from 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter and 4 to 15 grams in weight. Skin color ranges from light bronze to pink to purple to black. Flesh is clear and translucent for all muscadine grape berries. One reason for the popularity of muscadine grapes is that they are a sustainable fruit crop in the southeastern United States. They are tolerant of insect and disease pests, and homeowners can successfully grow muscadine grapes without spraying any pesticides. For more complete information on planting, fertilization, pruning, etc. look over the following UF/IFAS publication:  http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs100