Osceola Muscat Grape
Osceola Muscat Grape
Species: Vitis vinifera x V. rupestris x V. ripraria x V. labrusca
History: Osceola Muscat/ES.8-2-43 was bred by renowned grape breeder Elmer Swenson as part of his effort to mix French and North American grapes to create high-quality varieties that grow well in cooler climates. Osceola Muscat is a cross between four different species: Common grape (Vitis vinifera), Vitis rupestris, Riverbank grape (Vitis riparia) and Fox grape (Vitis labrusca). Swenson bred it on his farm near Osceola, Wisconsin and in 2010 the variety was named after the town. The grape's alternate name, Muscat de Swenson, is named after Swenson himself who passed away in 2004.
Why We Grow It: Osceola Muscat produces loose clusters of seeded, intensely aromatic grapes with notes of peach and apricot. The small-medium, thin skinned fruit is suitable for fresh eating or juice and wine. This is one of the hardiest 'muscat' varieties available and is relatively vigorous.
Fruit Specs
Fruit Specs
Recommended Use: Fresh eating, juice, white wine
Grape Size: Small
Grape Colour: Yellow-Green
Seeded or Seedless: Seeded
Storage: Keeps up to two weeks when stored in the fridge
Harvest: September - Mid
Growing Specs
Growing Specs
Canadian Hardiness Zone: 4b
Soil Preference: Loam is best, but is tolerant of different soils as long as they are well-drained.
Bloom Colour: Green
Pollination Requirements: Self-pollinating, this variety will produce fruit without a different grape variety but will produce more and better fruit if one is present.
Sun/Shade Requirements:
Full sun (approx. 8-10 hours of sun daily)
General Growth Habits:
Vine reaches 10-12ft long, moderately vigorous, takes up to three years to produce fruit.
Shipping vs. Pick Up
Shipping vs. Pick Up
CLICK HERE to see how shipping compares to pick up.
Shipping: Every year we ship thousands of trees across Canada (except BC due to CFIA regulations). We carefully bag roots in damp sawdust, then box them and send them out via courrier. CLICK HERE to see our shipping policy.
Pick-up: We also have thousands of trees picked up from our nursery each year. The pick-up options is free, though you must wait until you have been emailed a confirmation that your order is ready to pick up, which will have further information such as hours, locations, etc. We really appreciate if you can make an appointment to pick up, then we can be as organized as possible during our busy season.
Size at Purchase
Size at Purchase
Grapes are divided into the following grades:
- 1 year plant - pruned to ~20cm, well-rooted
- 2 year plant - pruned to ~30cm, extensive root system
There is some overlap in size since we are also taking the age of the plants into account. Some older plants may not have put on quite as much vegetative growth but will have larger root systems.
Unless specified, heights exclude the roots since seedlings and some berries will often have a lot of root growth but relatively little vegetative growth (ex. our Shagbark Hickories seedlings are often 5-15cm above the soil but will have roots that reach 20cm+ in length).
Not all of our berries and seedlings will be available in all of these grades since growth rate can vary significantly across species and even varieties. While we remain competitive in our plant size, it's also worth noting we don't use synthetic chemicals to push vegetative growth, therefore you may find conventional nursery stock larger in some instances comparatively.