Few native vines are as versatile as Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia).  Do you want a ground cover in a shady area?  It’ll do it.  Do you want a vine to cover an unsightly outbuilding?  It’s at your service!  This native workhorse goes by a number of labels, including Virginia creeper, Victoria creeper, Five-Leaved Ivy, or Five-Finger.  

Virginia Creeper is a species of flowering vine in the grape family, Vitaceae and native to eastern and central North America.  It’s commonly found in our own Minnesota woods.  It’s not to be confused with Boston ivy, a Japanese import covering the hallowed halls of the Ivy League and Wrigley Field.  The latter is invasive and not nearly as decorative as our own native son.

Virginia creeper is easy to grow.  It is happy in full sun or deep shade in most any well drained soil.  Although it seems to prefer a moist, acidic soil.  Given time it can grow as long as 50 feet.  As it grows by tendrils with adhesive disks at their ends, Virginia creeper can stick itself to whatever it is growing on.  So, it can cover almost anything without benefit of a trellis.  If you have a low-value tree in the landscape it is perfectly at home growing up its trunk or limbs.  We have it growing up a flood light post to great effect.  As mentioned above, it also can act as a fine ground cover on a difficult, steep slope.

In addition to its versatility and durability, Parthenocissus quinquefolia is a very showy plant, creating a wonderful cloak of green during the spring and summer which turns a fiery red in the fall.  Fall also brings a show of blue-black berries which are inedible for us but an important source of energy for birds beginning their migration southward.  Another ecological plus is the rich nectar produced by its modest green-white flowers.  It is greatly favored by both bees and hummingbirds.  

Virginia creeper is usually available in most nurseries.  There are a couple of cultivars commonly found in the trade: “Star Showers” which has a variegated foliage and “Yellow Wall” whose foliage turns yellow in the fall rather than the red of the species. Either cultivars or species should perform well in most all of Minnesota.

Photo Credits:

University of Wisconsin-Madison (1,2)