Here’s the thing about Virginia Creeper, it gets you in trouble with your neighbors. My garden is the epicenter of the neighborhood plantdemic. How can I deny its origin when a portion of my fence is covered with it? It’s like saying you never took the cookie when your mouth is covered with crumbs.
My neighbor and sarcastic gardening friend, Jim, approached me earlier this year with a leaf in hand and a smirk on his face. The conversation went like this…
Jim: Recognize this? (As he rolls the stem between his fingers, spinning the leaf in my face.)
Me: Go home Jim.
Jim: Yeah, I thought so.
He lives across the street from me and discovered several vines growing in his backyard garden which is about 60 yards away from the point of origin, also known as my garden.
I received Red Wall Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) as a plant sample many years ago and planted it in the Redbud garden that’s visible from the dining room windows. Native to the Chicago area and the Midwest, I thought it was a great way to cover an empty cedar fence. Had I done my homework first, I would have burned it and planted a climbing hydrangea instead. But I was anxious to add some green to the fence, the plant was free, and this certainly did the trick, fast. Since then, my neighbors have received “free samples” too. Sometimes free isn’t all that great.
If you keep up with me on the blog or on Instagram, you know that my redbud bit the dust this year. The photo above shows the piled remains of the tree. While I was cleaning up the debris, I ripped down the Virginia Creeper too, a garden task that was long overdue. Perhaps the only saving grace of this vigorous vine is the beautiful fall color, hence the name “Red Wall.” The blue berries in the summer are pretty too but let’s not ignore the writing on the wall. It was time to put the bully in its place.
The tendrils were easy to detatch and gave willingly. The determined root system is another issue and will likely continue to force new growth for the next several years. I also walked the garden, as well as my neighbor’s, to pull any stragglers. There were many and I’m amazed at this plant’s determination and ability to grow in places where others wouldn’t have a chance, like in this yew beneath the dining room windows.
Virginia creeper ranks right up there with rabbits. Where there’s one there are many, many more. And you know how I feel about rabbits.
What do you wish you never planted?
Virginia creeper is a volunteer in my yard. I pull it whenever I see it. Previous owner planted liriope spicata and allowed it to take over large beds. What a disaster! After trying to control it or kill it for three years, this year I bit the bullet and sprayed it with glysophate at 50% concentrate per my local extension. I only tried it on two large beds and it seems to have worked. I won’t really know until the spring. I have more to handle, some mixed with plantings I want to save.
Ugh. That’s a headache. It’s a tough decision to use glyphosate but I’m glad it’s working for you. I had to do the same with the bindweed in my garden. It’s been awful these last few years, swallowing up other plants and spreading like wildfire.
We thought the creeping Charlie from the vacant lot was pretty when blooming in the spring. We let it climb over the fence…and then I ripped it all out the next year and now keep it at bay with vinegar and dish soap.
I have creeping Charlie too in the shady areas. I think that stuff could survive an atomic bomb!
I know thrives in shade. Ironically mine was full sun. I was digging it out of landscape rocks. It certainly is pretty when it blooms.
Did you notice the fragrance as you pull it out? A bit like mint.
Yes, it’s quite nice. I would let it grow, if it wouldn’t spread sooo fast and sooo much.
This is hilarious “since then my neighbors received free samples too” 😆😆
It’s true and they all know where it came from. 😬 I’m just glad we’re all still friends!
Great post- lol- I found myself here after researching Engelman’s Ivy and this. I have the former and they are mild comparedto what you describe BUT without pretty berries and red stems. I was contemplating getting one. I might anyway because the invasive weeds that are allowed to run rampant around me eliminate any considerations I may otherwise have for neighbors. I am looking for aggressive native plants to out compete weeds! Bindweed, Creeping bellflower and some nasty viney, desert looking clumps are my nemesis. They’ve given me an appreciation for dandelion. No joke.
Hi Elizabeth! I’m not familiar with Engelman’s Ivy but I raise an eyebrow to any ivy these days but Virginia Creeper takes the cake and sounds like it may be exactly what you have in mind. Oh, and I have bindweed so bad that no matter how much I pull it out and spot treat with herbicide, it just keeps coming. I appreciate dandelions too!