How to Grow a Frost Grape Grapevine When You’re an Obvious Novice

Frost grape, also known as riverbank grape or Vitis riparia, is a plant you might find out in the wild, especially by, whadya know, riverbanks! But what if you find frost grape in your yard? Is owning a vineyard your destiny? Will you suddenly become a world-class winemaker? Or is this merely a sign to eat more fruit? If you’ve discovered a frost grape plant growing on your patch of earth, read on for some tips to get you started!

Growing a frost grape plant is pretty easy for beginners because frost grapes have quite sturdy, resilient vines. I found two different volunteer frost grape plants in my yard, so I fancied having a buoyant grapevine, romantically climbing across a trellis.

My fence builder, Sergio, installed a bench trellis by one of the frost grape plants, then I transplanted the second frost grape volunteer to grow on the other side of the structure. Having never planted grapes, I was happily surprised to see both plants start to bud in the spring.

If you want to nurture you own grapevine, come with me on my journey of growing frost grapes and get some beginner tips from a fellow beginner!

This post is all about how to grow a frost grape plant.

The Great Frost Grape Experiment

I got a sweet and charming trellis bench like this one online. I did set it up in the exact spot my neighbor’s massive sycamore tree drops log-like limbs. This wasn’t very smart on my part, but we live and don’t learn sometimes. SO, on second thought, I may never actually sit here, but I will be dazzled by it from afar.

Why Grow Grapes in Your Yard?

Source of food

Frost grapes are a unique gem to find because they’re not only edible for humans, but also attractive to our bird friends. Supporting a natural habitat for wildlife is a great way to give back to our earth and environment.

But always make sure you 100% KNOW you’re eating grapes! Not everything in nature is good to eat, so overly research.

Also, grapes are toxic to dogs, so don’t let your pups eat them and watch those fur children to make sure they steer clear of the grapevine.

IF YOU fancy a fairy tale garden

Also, have you ever seen a well-done grapevine trellis? It’s gorgeous! Particularly, climbing plants have always intrigued me. They feel so whimsical and romantic and something you’d find in a secret garden. And if you’re wondering, yes, I’m kind of obsessed with a secret garden.

If you’re a dreamy type, too, you probably need your own grapevine as well.

Build Gardening Confidence

Frost grapevines are pretty easy to grow and they grow fast! Especially if you’re new to gardening, starting with something that’s not too persnickety and has a higher success rate will help you to keep GROWING!

For instance, if you start with roses and they completely go kaput (because roses are particular little princesses), then you might get discouraged and give up on your garden.

But frost grapes will encourage you! They make you think, “Hey, I’m a darn tootin’ gardening pro!”

Bring Back Memories

My grandfather grew an amazing garden of corn, green beans, peas, tomatoes, onions, peanuts, and okra, to name a few. And one plant I always remembered was the Concord grapevine that trailed several feet along his property. I’m not sure why this left such an impression on me, but maybe because most kids like grapes and I’d probably never seen anything like it…beyond the produce section in Kroger.

My grapevine reminds me of my granddad, the hard work he put into feeding his family, with the help of my grandmother, who made all kinds of delicious dishes with their homegrown veggies and fruit. I think being outside in his garden influenced me more than I realized at the time.

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How to Identify Frost Grape

Lots of plants look alike and if you’re new to gardening, it can be confusing! However, the more you tend to your flowers, shrubs, and trees, the easier it will become to immediately recognize plants popping up.

Two tools I use to identify plants are the PictureThis app and Google. PictureThis has an annual membership fee. And, through Google, you can use the “Look Up Plant” feature through your phone’s Photos app.

PictureThis App

I love this app! It has a reasonable yearly cost, plus I’ve found it to be pretty accurate overall. Usually, it’ll even identify plants in their early blooming stages, but it’s best to get a clear, close pic of small blooms or wait until they’re more fully leafed out.

It can sometimes misidentify a single stem or vine without enough leafage, but it’s pretty on-point with plenty of leaves, blooms, or foliage present!

The PictureThis app also gives its opinion on whether your plant is healthy or needs attention, plus other tips and tricks on how to care for it. You can either send it a pic you’ve already taken or take a photo through the app. Then, you can save your plant to your garden to reference later.

If you’re not sure what vine you have in your yard and you don’t want to accidentally propagate poison ivy, then I’d say this app is for you!

One way to get an accurate plant identification
is to check it multiple times.
Take several pics of the same plant
at different angles.

Also, run it by a plant expert,
like someone who works at a nursery.

Look Up Plant Feature

If you’re trying to save money, this is a great option. Once you take a plant photo on your phone (I have an iPhone, so it might vary on other smartphones), swipe up and you’ll see a prompt that says “Look Up Plant.” Tap and see what info it provides.

I chose my common lilac flowers for this example because these photos pretty clearly show a lilac bloom. When I looked up my sapling grapevine this way, it couldn’t recognize the correct plant yet. We’ll see how it does once it grows larger!

Growing Tips for Frost Grapes

• Grapes thrive with sunlight, so find a sunny place to plant.
• If you’re not too handy, get someone who IS handy to either build you a trellis or install one. Buying a pre-made trellis is typically cheaper because custom-built structures can get expensive with cost of material and labor hours. I bought this bench arch that looks so cute and is also pretty comfy to sit on. The back of the bench is at an angle to help you relax in your garden. You can also hang a twinkling lantern at the top or string fairy lights.
• Keep an eye on the vines and train them to wrap around your trellis or grapevine structure.
• Grapevines can be pretty self-sufficient, but check periodically to make sure it’s gotten enough water and isn’t wilting.
• You’ll probably need to prune and trim your vine to keep it vibrant and under control. This is something I’m still learning, so I’ll update when I become an expert!

The Grape Shape

I personally like arched trellises and entryways. They feel very magical to me.

But you can find all kinds of structures to support grapes. Some gardeners even use twine or string!

From building a structure to buying an arbor online or just training them to grow up the side of your home, there are plenty of options.

Now, when you grow climbing plants on your home, you have to remember to trim them so they don’t creep up into the soffits or completely take over the building. My guess is that grapes will less likely do that, but climbers like wisteria and English ivy will definitely have a heyday.

What My Grapevine Looked Like Towards the Summer’s End and Into the Fall

After growing a pop-up pumpkin patch, I was ready to take on more random produce! But, while the grapevine grew up the arbor beautifully, it wasn’t ready to produce grapes just yet.

Maybe next year!

However, my grapevine looked like it belonged in a secret garden. And I was more than good with that!

Conclusion: Frost Grape Adventures are Just Beginning

What I learned about growing frost grapes:

• To let my intuition lead me in the right direction
• To stay curious
• To keep my eyes open for tiny surprises and miracles
• To give things time to grow at their own pace
• To get out of my comfort zone
• To be patient
• To feel gratitude

The grapevine has been a fun journey and one I would recommend, especially if you’re interested in growing climbing plants. And it was very beginner-friendly!

What climbing plants do you love? Any super duper easy ones I should try? Let me know in the comments!

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