Growing Virginia Creeper
This vine will grow anywhere and cover anything.
It never met a wall it didn’t like, a fence it couldn’t conquer or a plant it couldn’t smother.
Growing Conditions
Grow it in full sun, shade, sand, clay, drought, damp or any combination of your choosing. This is a vine to live where no other vine will survive.
Hardy- you want tough. This plant will grow well into USDA zone 3 and down into 9. How’s that for a plant range? :-)
How Fast Does it Grow?
Yes, but is it fast?
Able to leap tall buildings in a single year, this plant will grow 6 to 10 feet a year. It may not do that the first year of planting as it sometimes sulks a little for the first year.
Watch out for second year!
Flowers?
Does it have flowers or anything attractive about it?
It has flowers but you’ll not be impressed as they are greenish-white and hidden by the foliage. So unless you like hidden greeny-white flowers, no flowers.
But the fall foliage is red and spectacular.
Salt Tolerant
OK is it salt tolerant? You got it. For sure. No roadside salt on this plant will slow it down so feel free to use it on a fence as a green barrier.
Will it climb on buildings?
Does Superman fly? Take a look at many of the “ivy-covered” colleges in northern parts of North America. They’re Virginia Creeper covered.
Damages Buildings ??
Once it gets to windows and the roof, it can insert tendrils into loose spaces and latch on.
Yes. You have to prevent this from happening or damage can result.
Varieties
Are there varieties available other than the species? It is hard to believe but yes, there are indeed other varieties available:
The most common is ‘engelmannii’ which gives rise to the name “Engelmann’s Ivy” under which this plant sometimes masquerades. It has smaller leaves than the species.
A second, ‘saint-paulii’ has smaller leaflets again but apparently (and very difficult to believe) clings better.
Killing It
Doug, I have this vine and I want to get rid of it. How?
Well, I guess you could nuke it but that might damage the siding of your house. The trick to killing this plant is to take some straight Roundup (undiluted concentrate – not the ready to use spray) and then paint it on the freshly cut stump. Have the concentrate handy and then make the cut of the trunk (s) of the ivy. Immediately paint the trunk.
If it resprouts, remove the sprouts and recut an inch lower on the main trunk and repaint the main trunk. This should kill all but the most senior of vines.
Off The Wall
OK but how do I get it off the walls now?
Why ask me? I’m a gardener, I tell you how to grow and sometimes kill plants but I’m no carpenter or stone mason (both of which you may need now) :-)
Having said that, I cut all the main trunks off the plants on our new house (leaving the vines up on the building to die. A year later, they came off easily with no damage to the house although there were bits and pieces that had to be manually removed.
Propagate It?
Your neighbor has some and you want it. The easiest way is to take some tender tip cuttings (just like a houseplant ivy) and root them up in a glass of water. Once they are well rooted, plant them where you want them.
Questions and Answers
The problem with my Virginia Creeper problem is that it is only a stick.
And that my friends is the story of Virginia Creeper.
Do you have a question about Growing Virginia Creeper?