Lady Washington
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Lady Washington is in many respects a most excellent grape but falls
short in quality and does not excel in vine characters. The grapes
make a good appearance, keep and ship well and are tender, juicy and
sweet. The vines are luxuriant, hardy, for a grape with Vinifera
blood, and healthy although slightly susceptible to mildew. As an
exhibition grape, few green varieties show better w
en grown with care
than Lady Washington. In the West and Southwest, the variety is said
to succeed better than any other Concord seedling. Lady Washington is
another of J. H. Ricketts' fine seedlings, this variety having come
from seed of Concord fertilized by Allen's Hybrid. It was introduced
in 1878.
Vine vigorous, productive. Canes long, few, thick, dark brown;
nodes greatly enlarged, variable in shape; internodes long;
tendrils continuous, long, bifid or trifid. Leaves large, thick;
upper surface dark green, older leaves strongly rugose, glossy;
lower surface pale green, pubescent; leaf entire with terminal
acute; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, frequently closed and
overlapping; basal sinus usually wanting; lateral sinus shallow;
teeth shallow, narrow. Flowers self-fertile, open in mid-season;
stamens upright.
Fruit late mid-season, keeps and ships well. Clusters large,
broad, irregularly cylindrical, single-shouldered, frequently
double-shouldered, loose; pedicel short with numerous conspicuous
warts; brush very short, greenish. Berries variable in size,
round-oblate, yellow-amber, glossy with thin bloom, persistent;
skin thin, tender, adherent; flesh pale green, transparent, juicy
and tender, stringy, aromatic, sweet; very good. Seeds free, one
to four, broad, brown.