Plant Library

Description:

A common table wine grape, featuring large tart bright burgundy-purple fruit in fall, excellent for eating fresh, makes a fantastic red wine; a vigorous vine, use as a screen for arbors or trailing along fences, requires regular pruning and full sun

Edible Qualities

Merlot Grape is a woody vine that is typically grown for its edible qualities. It produces clusters of purple round fruit with burgundy overtones which are usually ready for picking in mid fall. The fruits have a sweet taste and a juicy texture.

The fruit are most often used in the following ways:

• Juice-Making
• Wine-Making

Features & Attributes

Merlot Grape has rich green deciduous foliage on a plant with a spreading habit of growth. The lobed leaves turn yellow in fall. It produces abundant clusters of purple grapes with burgundy overtones from early to 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, Merlot Grape is sutiable for the following landscape applications;

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

Planting & Growing

Merlot 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.