I love this plant. For all the people who say Los Angeles has no seasons, this plant will prove you wrong. Big, happy green leaves burst forth from bare vines starting in early Spring. Flowers come as the weather warms up, followed by grapes in summer. They ripen to a deep purple in the heat of Summer, at which point it’s a race to eat them before the birds. As the grapes fade, the leaves turn bright red and fall off, heralding the return of the wet season.

The grapes are seedy but flavorful. If you don’t eat them, the wildlife will, so either way it’s a win. In my yard I’ve placed it over a gravel patio and that necessitates cleaning up the leaf drop and the seeds but an hour or two with a shop vac removes the seeds and a leaf blower takes care of the leaves. I have another one on the west side of my house growing up a trellis to shade our house from the September Heatwaves that have plagued us; it’ll take a few years to grow in, but Roger’s Red Grape is really fast.

All vines, Grape or not, want to clamber their way up shrubs, trees, fences and roofs; that is they have evolved to do, so do not fault them for that. Expect to do pruning work once a year in Winter. Since the grape goes deciduous in the winter, it makes pruning easier so you can see which vines need to to be cut back.

Calscape