Virginia Creeper is a genus of climbers belonging to the Vitaceae family, including 10 species that grow naturally in North America and East Asia. Usually 3 of them are cultivated in our gardens -Virginia Creeper ,Three-leaf CreeperandBush CreeperThese Creepers they are very popular, usually reliable to grow, and their leaves turn a gorgeous red color in the fall. How do they differ and which ones to choose for the garden? Here's everything you need to know about therequirements and growing of Viniflora !
Virginia Creeper
Virginia Creeper
"Virginia Creeper(Parthenocissus quinquefolia), also known as wild wine, is the most frequently planted species. Its advantage is total frost resistance and high resistance to air pollution, which makes it perfect in cities - not only in gardens but also, for example, as a plant that covers a balcony.Virginia Creepercan cope with both sunny and shaded positions, and its soil requirements are also not excessive. The leaves are palm-shaped with five leaflets. The individual leaves are up to 10 cm long, are serrated at the edge and usually naked. Intensely green leaves turn red in autumn, making a great decoration for supports or walls on which plants cling. Sometimes this virginia creeper climbs buildings at a height of up to 20 m."
Virginia Creeper is a plant that is highly resistant to frost(plant hardiness zone 5a) and can be cultivated without fear throughout the country. However, attention should be paid to the fact that individualvarieties of Virginia creeper may exhibit slightly different frost resistance
If our garden or the wall of the building where we want to plant the Virginia Creeper is exposed to frosty winds or we live in colder regions of Poland, it is worth paying attention toStar Showers 'Monham' , which is extremely frost resistant (frost resistance zone 4). The plant grows to a height of 3 to 6 m, and its shoots grow 50 cm to 1 m per year. The distinctivefeature of this beautiful variety is its green and white mottled leaves.It turns scarlet pink in the fall. It is therefore an excellent plant for people who are looking for a slightly slower-growing virginia creeper with non-typical leaf color.
Star Showers 'Monham'
And if we are looking for a variety of Virginia creeper for a backyard garden in a city, chooseFive-leaf Creeper Redwall 'Troki'This variety is also highly frost-resistant (zone 5A) and it grows quickly (1 -2 m per year, ultimately up to 20 m) and tolerates air pollution in cities well.
The most popular, however, is the masonry varietyVirginia Creeper var. Murorum , which has the strongest ability to cling to walls. Wall virgin ivy strongly clings to walls with its rebates, but also, like other virgin ivy, it can curl with a mustache around the elements of supports. It is this vine that we most often observe as it rises high on the walls of buildings. This variety tolerates air pollution in cities well, but has a slightly weaker frost resistance than the above-mentioned varieties (frost resistance zone 6A).
Vine ivy
Crested Creeper
"The Virginia Creeper is often confused withCrested Creeper(Parthenocissus inserta), which is also called wild wine. It has almost identical leaves as the Virginia creeper and is highly frost resistant (frost resistance zone 3). It can grow in both sun and partial shade, tolerates air pollution in cities well and has low soil requirements.
Howeverthe bush creeper does not have such a well developed clinging ability and cannot be led against walls of buildingsIn order to be able to wrap itself around with tine, it requires a support for climbers with a small cross-section, such as a fence mesh or a small wooden grate. It is worth remembering about this when shopping to choose the right type of wild wine for the wall or wall. "
Three-lobed Creeper
However, the best developed clinging abilities haveThree-lobed Creeper(Parthenocissus tricuspidata), producing sticky mustaches with rebates that allow it to climb over almost completely smooth walls or fences. In addition, its leaves have a fairly regular tile-like pattern, which prevents the covered wall from getting wet during rain. However, it is worth remembering that if we want to remove it one day, its rebates will come off quite hard.
Three-lobed virginia creeper
Three-lobed Virginia CreeperHard to confuse with the two previously described species, because its leaves are completely different - single, three-lobed on short shoots, and elliptical on long shoots with a wavy edge. The leaves are stiff and shiny, and may be covered with slight hair on the underside of the veins. In autumn, as in the above-mentioned species, the leaves of the three-leaf virginia creeper also wonderfully discolor in shades of red.The process of their fall to the winter period is very interesting. It has two stages - first the leaf blades only, and then the petioles.
Thanks to the perfect self-adhesion and the tile-shaped arrangement of leaves, sealing against rain, thethree-leaf creeper would be an ideal climber for walls and walls, if it were not for its lower frost resistance(frost resistance zone 6A). We can plant it only against walls facing south or west, in warm and quiet positions, sheltered from winds. Before the onset of winter, it is worth covering the base of shoots of young plants with a mound of soil. Ground garden bark can also be used to make a mound.
Virginia Creeper in autumn
When looking for three-lobed virginia creeper , it is worth looking for the 'Veitchii' variety, with slightly smaller leaves than the species, or the 'Lowii' variety, with even more fine foliage.Attractive large leaves with red discolored veins, in turn, are found in the 'Green Spring' variety.
If you are looking for a more frost-resistant variety, it is worth paying attention tothree-leaf creeper 'Diamond Mountains'The hardiness zone of this plant is 5B, so it can be grown throughout the country without fear of freezing. This variety of the trefoil virginia creeper grows slower than the others, eventually reaching 4-5 m in height. It tolerates urban conditions well and does not have high soil requirements.
Completing the review of species and varieties of Vinobius, it is also worth noting that bothVirginia CreeperandScrub Creeper , planted without a support, will work perfectly as ground cover plants. They can cover large surfaces, both in sunny and shaded places. They do great under trees, where the lawn is often ailing.
