Purple Muscadine

Vitis rotundifolia  

Seeds per pack ~15

Germination: 83% (Packed for 2025)

Muscadine grapes are native North American grapes indigenous to the lower half of the United States. These Southern grapes boast much larger individual berries than bunch grapes, but grow in smaller bunches and have a thicker skin. Researchers have discovered the seed of muscadines to have cancer-preventing properties, so many commercial growers now make more money selling the seeds to pharmaceutical companies than they make on other juice or wine products (though for the home-grower, these are still the most common uses). Muscadine wine is especially fine. Our Florida-grown seed comes from Sheffield Seeds in Locke, NY.

Growing from seed: Place the seed into a plastic baggy half full with damp peat moss. Seal the bag. Place the baggy in the refrigerator for 3 months. Place the 2-3 seeds into a 4-inch pot that are 3/4ths full of soil. Push the seeds down 1/4th of an inch into the soil – you’ll need to maintain a temperature of about 75 degrees F The pot needs to be in an area with bright, indirect light. Mist the soil with lukewarm water. Germination happens within 3 weeks. Afterward, keep the seedlings in bright light and transfer to 6-inch pots. After a full year of growth in the pots, transfer the seedlings to the ground. Muscadines are generally considered hardy to Zone 6 or 5.