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I'd like to put a grape vine in the polytunnel, and as my kids are a bit "special" about pips, thought it would be good to get a seedless variety. Unfortunately I can't find anywhere in Spain offering them for sale. Can anyone recommend a UK nursery online and maybe I can convince them to ship here? Cheers!

Sunnybank Nursery have loads of varieties for sale as rooted plants or cuttings, although it is too late to order cuttings for this year as the vines have now been pruned in preparation for the new season.

Their links is:


http://www.sunnybankvines.co.uk/

Elhuerto,

Your name is the clue - it made me check your location as northern Spain - that means you don't need my opinion - I always recommend hybrids with V.labrusca (from humid N.America) for the UK.

In N.Spain (especially in a polytunnel) you can look at grapes they grow in eg. the northern half of Italy so you can choose any of the seedless varieties of good old dry-loving V.vinifera.

However you could also look at some of the hybrids they grow right across the US, not just the New England ones that suit the UK.

The most famous must be Concord (or rather 'seedless Concord') but US links suggest that 'Reliance' and 'Glenora' (both seedless) do well everywhere as well as here - and they are both really delicious - particularly the latter with its unique spicy taste, though the former is more productive and more berry-fruity than grapey.

Cheers.

Thanks very much, very informative - just a question of finding some but that gives me some names to search on now.

Not everybody likes the foxy taste that V.labrusca gives to his hybrids.
Has somebody tried the V.amurensis hybrids and are there seedless varieties among them?

I have got one of these in my greenhouse and my daughters love them. Took 2 years to get fruit.

http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/grape-vine-lakemont-seedless-pid2807.html

I'm considering trying a Lakemont outside...  :-\

I bought a seedless vine today - chuffed to find one but not sure 100% what it is - it's label says vitis sultanina which I understand is a v.vinifera variety - mentioned by Vinlander earlier.

Vitis Sultanina is another name for Thompson Seedless, high yeilding and an excellent variety for your polytunnel.

It is the grape sultanas are made from so it is nice and sweet (you don't have to make sultanas :)) Large bunches too.

You'll have all those grapes to look forward to in a year or two.

That's brilliant, thanks Ed  :)

Quote from: John85 on March 17, 2012, 13:03:21
Not everybody likes the foxy taste that V.labrusca gives to his hybrids.
Has somebody tried the V.amurensis hybrids and are there seedless varieties among them?

Himrod has all the advantages of a hybrid with absolutely none of the foxyness.

It also tastes slightly different from the stuff in the shops (no more than Lakeland) which is a big plus for me as I`m going to be eating thomsons for 9months of the year and its nice to have a change.

In fact Himrod is so nice I see it as a waste to grow white grapes in a polytunnel when you could grow seedless red Glenora which also has no foxyness at all- by some mircle an entirely different intensity replaces it - absolutely delcious and in a different league from the shops (Reliance is slightly foxy strawberry for those that like it).

The only vinifera I would grow is Muscat of Alexandria... if I had a gardener to do the intensive care.

Cheers. 

Quote from: Vinlander on March 27, 2012, 20:33:27
In fact Himrod is so nice I see it as a waste to grow white grapes in a polytunnel.

I meant to say unless you are in E.Scotland which is the only place I might not try Himrod outside.

Cheers.

PS. Over the last 500 years breeders in the US Canada and elsewhere have used ALL their native species in cross breeding programs (deliberately or accidentally) so the pacific coast species are in there as well - just possibly not as much as the atlantic coast species. Many of the best ones for amateur use and flavour rather then yield were amateur bred and their genetics not so well documented..