Has anybody had success growing a grape vine on a West facing wall?

[Greenqueen]

Hi

I am planning to have a large pergola built on the back of my house and really would love to grow some grape vines and perhaps an accompianing climber..  It will be on a west facing wall in the North West of England, running the full width of the house.  I am doing this as my children love grapes and I want to make a shaded area where I can sit during the afternoon (I am ginger and hate the sun ;D)

Would anybody have any advise please.

Much appreciated  ;D
Greenqueen.

[Greenqueen]

[Vinlander]

I have got very good results from Himrod even on a bit of fence at the side of my house (in N.London) that only gets sun after it has moved into the West - I think this is a worse situation than a west-facing wall.

Himrod always ripens well outdoors - it is very early because it is a hybrid with some N.American species from New England - it is also resistant to mildew.

Green seedless grape with a fantastic sweet flavour - I can't recommend it enough. The only negative thing about it is that if you don't pull the grapes carefully they come off with 4mm of stalk - it's pretty trivial in the balance considering how outstandingly easy it is to grow.

Check out http://www.sunnybankvines.co.uk/ - you might be picking grapes in 2012 - certainly 2013.

Cheers.

[saddad]

Our Regent does well here in Derby on a SW wall but Himrod sounds a better bet as we find them very seedy... because I'm never severe enough with the thinning!  :-X

[Digeroo]

Thanks for this thread.  I have a huge west facing wall and have never thought that it was suitable for a grape vine.  It gets a great deal of sun in the afternoon but not much before.  It also acts as a night storage heater so is very warm.

[chriscross1966]

eresting... I might have to look at one of those cos the front of my house faces West, and has nothing in/on it ATM... how big a tub do you think I'd need?... I'm not above rigging autowatering for it so that's not a problem....

chrisc

[Vinlander]

eresting... I might have to look at one of those cos the front of my house faces West, and has nothing in/on it ATM... how big a tub do you think I'd need?... I'm not above rigging autowatering for it so that's not a problem....

chrisc

I've had trouble with getting some hybrid grapes to fruit in pots - I've never tried with Himrod because it grows so easily I've never needed to coddle it - but it was a bad idea with Glenora and Beauty (which may not be a hybrid).

It may be OK with Himrod - it's amazingly biddable - but that's a guess.

Of my new ones Reliance lived up to its name by producing 2 small bunches of spicy delicious grapes in its 3rd year in a 3L pot but Mars, Concord Seedless, Sovereign Coronation haven't yet.

Reliance is a good bet but it has a hint of that muscadine grape flavour - buy some Welch's purple concord grape juice to make sure you like it.

Cheers.

[Greenqueen]

Thanks for all your replies.

I have had a good look round and emailed sunnybankvines.co.uk for advise as well and funnily enough one of the varieties they recommended was Himrod as Vinlander suggested.

So I think thats what I am going to do.

Thank you so much everybody, and if you have any other advise I would appreciate it.

Greenqueen x