Rogers' Hybrids are a group of 45 grape seedlings, thirteen of them named as cultivars, developed by Edward Staniford Rogers of

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

, in the mid-19th century. Although mostly gone from cultivation now, their success, along with that of the

Concord grape The Concord grape is a cultivar derived from the grape species ''Vitis labrusca'' (also known as fox grape) that are used as table grapes, wine grapes and juice grapes. They are often used to make grape jelly, grape juice, grape pies, grape-fl ...

, inspired many amateurs to try grape breeding, resulting in massive proliferation in the number of grape cultivars in the eastern United States and Canada. Despite this impressive impact, Rogers' hybrids are the product of only two crosses. Rogers pollinated a vine of ''

Vitis labrusca ''Vitis labrusca'', the fox grape, is a species of grapevines belonging to the ''Vitis'' genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to eastern North America and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba, Co ...

'', known locally as Carter or Mammoth Globe, with pollen from two European ''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are curre ...

'' grapes,

Black Hamburg Black Muscat (or Muscat Hamburg) is a red ''Vitis vinifera'' grape variety derived from the crossing of the Schiava Grossa and Muscat of Alexandria by Seward Snow, Head Gardener to Earl de Grey at Wrest Park, Bedfordshire UK in 1850, according t ...

and White Chasselas, being cultivated under glass nearby. He planted the resulting seeds in his garden, and the next spring approximately 150 germinated, but cutworms and other pests and accidents reduced their number to forty-five. Numbers one through five, and fifteen through forty-five, were from the cross Carter x Black Hamburg, while numbers six through fourteen were from Carter x White Chasselas. Rogers' garden was only half an acre in the center of the city of Salem, and the grapevines shared it with apples, pears, and currants. As a result, he was unable to test his hybrids on his own. Instead, he numbered each hybrid and sent cuttings to interested fruit growers and horticulturists. A number of them were identified as having fruit quality superior to that of the native vines while being better adapted to North American conditions than the European cultivars. Problems during the dissemination of these vines resulted in confusion of certain selection numbers, and a few hybrids were assigned new numbers, and as a result a few selections bore numbers greater than 45. In 1867, Rogers' named one selection, Rogers' No. 22 or 53, Salem, after his hometown. A few years later, the Lake Shore Grape Growers Association requested that he name several others, and Rogers obliged, naming another twelve selections, primarily after local place names or prominent scientists and writers. The named cultivars are listed below. Only Agawam is currently cultivated to a small extent.

Rogers' hybrids

Rogers' No. 1 -

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

Rogers' No. 3 -

Massasoit Massasoit Sachem () or Ousamequin (c. 15811661)"Native People" (page), "Massasoit (Ousamequin) Sachem" (section),''MayflowerFamilies.com'', web pag was the sachem or leader of the Wampanoag confederacy. ''Massasoit'' means ''Great Sachem''. Mas ...

Rogers' No. 4 - Wilder
Rogers' No. 9 - Lindley
Rogers' No. 14 - Gaertner
Rogers' No. 15 - Agawam
Rogers' No. 19 - Merrimac
Rogers' No. 28 - Requa
Rogers' No. 39 -

Aminia Aminia is a branded chain of restaurants with twelve locations in West Bengal, India, which specialises in traditional Mughlai cuisine of Eastern India. The restaurant is most noted for its special Biryani and Aminia Special. It was opened in ...

Rogers' No. 41 -

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

Rogers' No. 43 -

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

Rogers' No. 44 -

Herbert Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert ...

Rogers' No. 22/53 -

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

References

{{American wine Hybrid grape varieties