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| Category: Vine |
| Family: Vitaceae (Grapes) |
| Origin: California (U.S.A.) |
| Flower Color: Greenish White |
| Bloomtime: Spring |
| Parentage: (Vitis californica x V. vinifera) |
| Height: Climbing (Vine) |
| Width: 15-30 feet |
| Exposure: Light Shade/Part Sun |
| Summer Dry: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: <15° F |
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Vitis 'Roger's Red' (Roger's California Grape) – A fast growing deciduous grape vine that has as one parent the grape native to central California. It can grow 25-40 feet tall and wide with support with dull grayish green that are transformed into great draperies of rich, scarlet red leaves in autumn. It has small fairly insignificant flowers followed by edible grapes that are small and dark purple – the juice is very tasty but it has a large seed and a bitter skin so not one that anyone but the birds would eat very much of. Plant in full sun to part shade. It is frost hardy and has low water needs. This selection made by Roger Raiche, who came across this unusual red specimen while driving in Sonoma County in 1983. This plant has been quite popular because it is visually attractive, its fruit attractive to wildlife and because it was thought to be a native California plant; however recent DNA studies on this plant indicate that it is not a pure Vitis californica selection, as originally thought, but is a hybrid between our native grape and Vitis vinifera, the grape of commerce. In 2006 we were contacted by Dr. Les Goertzen in the Biological Sciences at Auburn University about supplying pieces of Vitis 'Roger's Red' and subsequent DNA sequences suggested that it is a hybrid. In the process they recovered a pure V. californica allele and a mixed cal/vinifera allele, apparently resulting from recombination. This combination suggested to Dr. Goertzen that it was a backcross of some advanced generation, rather than a simple V. californica and V. vinifera F1 hybrid. This was explained in the October/November 2011 issue of Pacific Horticulture in an article by Roger Raiche titled Vitis Roger's Red'. We have grown this plant at our nursery since 1997.
Information displayed on this page about Vitis 'Roger's Red' is based on the research conducted about it in our library and from reliable online resources. We also note those observations we have made of this plant as it grows in the nursery's garden and in other gardens, as well how crops have performed in our nursery field. We will incorporate comments we receive from others, and welcome to hear from anyone who may have additional information, particularly if they share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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