Scottish growing tool
Grapes Variety Selector: Which One For Your Garden
Every recommendation below traces back to our full Grapes varieties comparison — this page is the fast route to one answer for your specific situation, no clicking through required.
If: Open ground, no wall to spare → Just the most cold-hardy, reliable all-rounder or Open ground, no wall to spare → Not sure, just give me the safest all-round choice or A warm, sheltered wall to spare → Not sure, just give me the safest all-round choice or Not sure, just give me the safest all-round choice
Rondo
Rondo is the strongest all-round pick for an open, outdoor Scottish site, the only variety named for "northerly gardens" specifically. It was bred for disease-resistance and cold hardiness, suited for outdoor cultivation in northerly gardens, with high yields of blue-black grapes ripening in late summer.
If: Open ground, no wall to spare → Want an AGM-rated pick that still copes outdoors
Reliance or SchuylerAGM
Both are AGM varieties that carry an outdoor classification with no warm-site caveat, unlike the other three AGM varieties. Reliance is well suited to northern growers due to its speed to maturity, early-maturing with sweet, firm red dessert grapes in September. Schuyler carries the same outdoor tag with no warm-wall caveat at all, just grow outdoors in full sun and provide support.
If: Open ground, no wall to spare → Shortest season, want an early finish
Solaris or Reliance
Solaris and Reliance are close seconds to Rondo outdoors, both flagged for fast maturity, early-finishing enough to beat a short season. Solaris is suitable for outdoor cultivation with some resistance to fungal diseases; Reliance is one of the AGM five but is individually classified for outdoor cultivation, well suited to northern growers due to its speed to maturity.
If: A warm, sheltered wall to spare → Best flavour, Muscat taste, can manage wasp protection
Siegerrebe
Siegerrebe has an excellent Muscat flavour, one of the two picks named for a warm, sheltered wall wanting the best flavour. It needs protecting from wasps specifically, which take its ripe fruit readily, worth planning netting around.
If: A warm, sheltered wall to spare → Musky dessert flavour, don't mind needing real wall warmth
Sovereign CoronationAGM
Sovereign Coronation is graded to grow outdoors in full sun, best against a sheltered warm wall, fast-ripening dark blue-purple fruit with a sweet, musky flavour. In cold areas the instructions add it should go indoors in a greenhouse or conservatory to produce a good crop.
If: A heated greenhouse or conservatory
Muscat of AlexandriaAGM
Muscat of Alexandria is the one variety stated plainly won't crop without a greenhouse or conservatory. Although the plants are hardy, this cultivar needs to be grown with heat in the autumn to produce a decent crop, the vine itself survives outdoors but the fruit won't ripen there.
Try another crop
- Angelica
- Apples
- Asparagus
- Aubergines
- Basil
- Bay
- Blackberries
- Blackcurrants
- Blueberries
- Borage
- Broad Beans
- Broccoli
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cabbage
- Calabrese
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Celeriac
- Celery
- Chard
- Cherries
- Chillies
- Chives
- Comfrey
- Coriander
- Courgettes
- Cucumbers
- Damsons
- Dill
- Endive
- Florence Fennel
- French Beans
- Garlic
- Gooseberries
- Grapes
- Honeyberries
- Jerusalem Artichoke
- Kale
- Kohlrabi
- Lavender
- Leeks
- Lemon Balm
- Lettuce
- Loganberries
- Mint
- Onions
- Oregano
- Pak Choi
- Parsley
- Parsnips
- Pears
- Peas
- Peppers
- Plums
- Potatoes
- Pumpkins
- Quince
- Radish
- Raspberries
- Redcurrants and Whitecurrants
- Rhubarb
- Rocket
- Rosemary
- Runner Beans
- Sage
- Shallots
- Sorrel
- Spinach
- Spring Onions
- Squash
- Strawberries
- Summer Savory
- Swede
- Sweetcorn
- Tarragon
- Tayberries
- Thyme
- Tomatoes
- Turnip
- Winter Savory