Will Virginia Creeper Kill Cedars &/or Maple tree?

by Jordan
(Thornhill, Ontario, Canada)

I have a swamp cedar hedge running along the back of my yard. Part of the hedge passes under a very large maple tree. The cedars under the maple have died off. Instead of trying to grow more in the space, I have installed wood trellis pannels with the intention of growing vines for privacy. I was thinking of Virginia Creeper, as I understand from your website that it grows places where other plants fear to tread. My question is, will the vines end up spreading to the cedars on either side? Will they end up killing the cedars? Might they damage the maple? The maple is beautiful and I would hate to harm it.

Doug says that this is a very aggressive vine. It will grow up into both plants once it reaches them. Will it kill 'em? Darn good question. The answer depends on how healthy the plants are.

I wouldn't trust it near the cedar. The vine will grow up into those plants pretty quickly and will twine into and through it. Some folks like the look and as long as you keep the area well watered so the cedar are happy, they'll co-exist. I'd be less worried about the maple as it has extensive root systems and it's pretty hard to smother this plant.

So if you do plant this vine (and yes, it is quite aggressive and will grow almost anywhere short of inside a closet) then my garden would keep it out of the cedars by pruning and yanking it out of there as it invaded. Force it to stay to your trellis (a regular pruning exercise)