General description: The Refren grapevine is a hybrid variety from Hungary. It is one of the earlier-fruiting varieties in the temperate Polish climate. It grows to 3-5 m in height. Due to its average frost resistance, it’s an attractive choice for greenhouses.

Fruit: The Refren variety has grape clusters of medium size that are cylindrical in shape. Fruit are large, spherical, and tasty, with a thick green skin.

Ripening: Refren’s grapes ripen from mid-September to mid-October.

Leaves: This grapevine has dark green leaves.

Cultivation requirements: This grapevine requires a sunny and warm location. It likes average garden soils, preferably clay with humus, with a slightly acidic pH. It can be grown in temperate climes but cultivating in greenhouses is recommended. Seedlings should be planted every 1-1.5 meters, 10-15 cm deeper than in the pot they came in. Very small seedlings should be planted in a shallow hole and only covered wholly with soil in autumn. This significantly increases the frost resistance of grapevines and increases the efficiency of watering freshly planted vines.

Care: To build a powerful root system, grapevines need a lot of water. Caring for a newly planted seedling is basically limited to systematic watering. It is especially important to pay attention to watering in early summer and as the grapes ripen. Each young vine requires up to three buckets of water per watering.

Pruning: In the first year after planting, it’s recommended to keep only one to three stems. In the following years, trimming depends on how the vine is to be shaped. Thinning out, in order to obtain high quality fruit, is advised. Generally, stems should be pruned to a moderate length and care should be taken whilst selecting which stems and shoots are to be cut, to leave well-fruiting ones on the plant. Pruning should be conducted near the very end of winter (at the turn of February and March) and during the growing season (summer) after fresh shoots have partially lignified.

Props: The Refren grapevine is perfect for growing on all kinds of fences, pergolas and arbours, trellises and other garden support structures.

Overwintering: This grapevine withstands temperature drops of down to -21°C. Protecting young seedlings for the winter (for e.g., by using agrotextiles) is recommended. At the beginning of November, cover young seedlings by piling a mound of soil with peat about 30 cm in height over the plants. This not only insulates them from the cold, but also shields them against flooding during the thaw.

Origin: Hungary.