Native Plants

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Friday - March 19, 2010

From: Fort Worth, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Vines
Title: Grapevine for pot in Ft. Worth
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Can I plant a grapevine in a large clay pot in Fort Worth, Texas?

ANSWER:

Let us first refer you to our How-To Article on Container Gardening with Native Plants. That will help you make your decisions. Beyond that, we are going to search our Native Plant Database to find grapes that are native to North Central Texas. We found three members of the genus Vitis, grapes, that are native to Texas. While none of these is necessarily native to your area, you can probably help them to adapt since they will be in a pot with good soil, water and care. All of these grapes are considered palatable, and can make good jelly, if you don't mind using a lot of sugar.

One caution: these grape vines all get looong, and will soon be twining around and growing up everything they can get close to. You have surely driven down the highway and noticed great mounds of green that appeared to be grapevines. Under that mound is probably a dead tree, killed by its lack of access to sunlight, caused by the grapes growing over it. You can always experiment with the variety you select, cutting it back when it becomes too aggressive toward other plants, controlling it that way. Since we have no personal experience with growing grapevines in an urban setting, you would do well to contact the Texas AgriLife Extension Office for Tarrant County for more close to home advice. Follow the plant links below to the page on each grape to learn its soil needs, etc.

Vine Possibilities for North Central Texas:

Vitis cinerea var. helleri (Heller's grape) - 36 to 72 ft., medium water use, part shade

Vitis mustangensis (mustang grape) - 36 to 72 ft., medium water use, part shade

Vitis rotundifolia (muscadine) - sometimes exceeds 90 ft., medium water use, part shade

From our Native Plant Image Gallery:

Vitis cinerea var. helleri

Vitis mustangensis