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California Grape
Vitis californica
  
About California Grape (Vitis californica) 57 Nurseries Carry This Plant California Grape (Vitis californica) is a species of wild grape that grows throughout central and northern California and occasionally in southern California. Specifically, it grows as far south as the foothills of the Transverse Range, over the entire range of Sequoia and Cascade Foothills, occasionally in the San Joaquin Valley, and throughout the Sacramento Valley, North Coast Range and Klamath Range, and into southern Oregon.

Its grapes provide an important food source for a variety of wild animals, especially birds, and the foliage provides thick cover. Bees love the flowers, and it is one of the best plants for butterflies in fall.

California Grape is extremely fast growing and easy to grow. It's easy to train into an arbor or windbreak along a fence, or pretty much any shape you want. If it has nowhere to climb, it makes a nice, though winter deciduous, groundcover.

This deciduous vine can grow to over 30 feet in length. It climbs on other plants or covers the ground with twisted, woody ropes of vine covered in green leaves. In the fall, the leaves turn many shades of orange and yellow, and bunches of small and often sour but edible purple grapes hang from the vines.

It is a common sight along the banks of the Sacramento River. The California Grape grows along streams and rivers and thrives in damp areas; like most other native California plants, however, it can withstand periods of dry conditions. It puts down deep roots and, in most of its native range, needs little or no incremental irrigation once established, though it will tolerate as much irrigation as you want to give it. More water makes it larger and lusher (not necessarily a good thing).

It prefers to have its leaves in full sun and will stretch up through the trees to achieve that. It prefers heavier soils.

The downside of this plant is that it can be extremely aggressive and may require continuous pruning to keep under control. Though it can be invasive, pulling out is easy. Also, it is winter deciduous, and its abundant dead leaves can be a problem in a tidy garden.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub, Vine

Size
Size
10 - 40 ft tall
1 - 2 ft wide

Form
Form
Upright Columnar

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast

Dormancy
Dormancy
Winter Deciduous

Fragrance
Fragrance
None, Slight

Flower Color
Flower Color
Cream, Green, Yellow

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring

Wildlife Supported
 
many species of birds and small mammals

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 41 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Part Shade, Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Low, Moderate - High

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / week once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 20 - 25° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium, Slow, Standing

Soil Description
Soil Description
Heavier soils. Soil PH: 5 - 8

Common uses
Common uses
Groundcovers, Bird Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Western Sycamore, Toyon, Coast Live Oaks

Maintenance
Maintenance
Grape White Fly is a common but not particular damaging pest. Can handle hard pruning. This plant is very aggressive and may require regular pruning to keep under control. It can also be trained and woven into a variety of shapes and purposes.

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
4, 5, 6*, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Usually found in wetland-riparian areas, such as streamsides, springs and seep. Often adjacent to forest or woodland habitat, such as evergreen forest or foothill woodland

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 3.8" - 107.2", Summer Precipitation: 0.15" - 3.80", Coldest Month: 26.5" - 54.5", Hottest Month: 48.2" - 82.1", Humidity: 0.18" - 34.56", Elevation: -10" - 10807"

Alternative Names
Common Names: California Wild Grape


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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