Vitis × ‘Roger’s Red’
Vitis ‘Roger’s Red’ at UC Davis in May 2025. JA Sisneroz
Summary
Vitis ‘Roger’s Red’ is a naturally occurring hybrid of Vitis californica and V. vinifera discovered growing in Sonoma County, California, by plantsman Roger Raiche (San Marcos Growers). Sources note that this cultivar can produce vines up to 40’ long (Bornstein et al., 2009). Like table and wine grapes, ‘Roger’s Red’ pushes out new foliage in the spring, followed by flowers and fruit (pending successful pollination), before dropping its leaves and going dormant in late fall. While ‘Roger’s Red’ does produce purple, edible grapes, this cultivar was selected for its fall color. As the plant prepares for dormancy, the rich green foliage turns to a vivid crimson that fades to a wine-red color before the leaves are shed. Reportedly hardy to 15°F, however this plant did not survive its first winter in Logan, Utah where it should supposedly be hardy.
South Coast REC Results & Discussion
The Vitis 'Roger's Red' stood out in terms of performance throughout the trial with no mortalities within the replicates. It featured large, heart-shaped leaves that were vibrant green and roughly the size of an adult’s hand. The vine demonstrated an aggressive growth habit, utilizing thick stems and tendrils to latch itself firmly to the trellis. It produced an abundance of edible seeded grapes that transitioned from a sour flavor to a sweeter profile as the fruit ripened. While the plants remained generally healthy, their fast-growing nature often led to internal leaf yellowing and defoliation as new growth smothered older foliage if left unpruned. Sharpshooters were also a common sighting on this taxon. By 2025, many of the replicates developed subtle yellow spots on the foliage, which could be due to disease.
During the establishment phase in 2024, the ‘Roger’s Red’ exhibited the highest vigor out of all of the taxa, pushing out growth that achieved full trellis coverage by the end of the first year. By the fall, the leaves turned to a vibrant red before dropping, as this is a deciduous plant. This robust performance carried on into 2025, providing even more dense foliage, becoming the highest rated taxon for overall appearance, specifically for the 20% water treatment. Consequently, such growth requires a lot of maintenance to keep the cleanliness and health of the plant. Participants in both the Summer and Fall 2025 Open Houses gave the vine high ratings, with many noting that they liked the full coverage. Others, however, mentioned that the grapes would attract rodents and pests, while others disliked the aggressive and overly vigorous nature of the vine.
University of California Davis Results & Discussion
‘Roger’s Red’ was a vigorous grower at UC Davis. Plant stock was purchased as 4” cuttings in Spring 2023, potted on into #1 size pots and grown in a greenhouse for a month before planting in July 2023. Other than one plant that died during establishment, all plants reached the top of the trellis by September 2024. While plants were dormant in March 2024 and 2025, trials staff pruned longer branches to nodes closer to the trellis. While no pruning was performed during the 2024 data collection season, Roger’s red was pruned 3 times between May and September 2025. Pruning focused on reducing horizontal growth, removing older foliage and inducing new growth. ‘Roger’s Red’ foliage was highly susceptible to the piercing/sucking insects that will feed on table grapes. This would negatively impact foliage quality scores. However, regular pruning combined with a vigorous growth habit meant older foliage could be removed and replaced with high quality new foliage. While this wasn’t measured, the team anecdotally observed that within 1-2 months the plants could grow out a lateral shoot horizontally 1-3’ in length.
Basic Info
| Submitted by: | |
| Site(s): | UC Davis & SCREC |
| Trial Exposure: | Sun |
| Year evaluated: | 2025 |
| Height & Width after 2 years: | |
| Reported Height & Width at maturity: | 30+ ft |
| WUCOLS plant type: | V N |
| Water Needs & WUCOLS Region: | Low - Region 2 Low - Region 3 |
| Mean Overall Appearance rating (1-5 Scale, 5 is highest) | UCD - 3.8 SCREC - 4.2 |
| Flowering Months: |
Growth and Quality Data
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The soft white hairs lend an ethereal appearance to the new growth of Vitis at UC Davis in Spring 2026, with the buds of a future panicle of flowers just forming. Photo: JA Sisneroz
Vitis ‘Roger’s Red’ at SCREC in August 2025 with full coverage and dense foliage. Pruning reveals the unhealthy inner foliage with chlorosis. Photo: N Lo
Vitis ‘Roger’s Red’ at UC Davis in June 2025. Photo: JA Sisneroz
Vitis ‘Roger’s Red’ at UC Davis in July 2025. Photo: JA Sisneroz
Vitis ‘Roger’s Red’ at UC Davis in August 2025. Photo: JA Sisneroz