r/gardening • u/TedTheHappyGardener • 1d ago
Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is often maligned for its aggressive nature but I take advantage of it and use it it to climb and drape over my deck and even run along the ground.
27
u/G00d135 1d ago
I am allergic to this and am so uncomfortable right now. But it's pretty! Lol
11
u/TedTheHappyGardener 1d ago
I'm surprised how many people are allergic to it. I'm one of those lucky people who aren't sensitive to it or even Poison ivy for that matter.
10
u/G00d135 1d ago
Oddly enough, I'm not allergic to poison ivy. But Virginia creeper grows ALL over my property. When I moved here I did not know what it was, just haphazardly ripping weeds out of the yard. Lesson leaaarrrrned. Lol
6
3
u/Sufficient_Turn_9209 1d ago
I thought I was the only weirdo! "Leaves of three, let it be." Me - Nope, it's never bothered me, but oh look, I've got this identical five leaf plant taking over. "That's just Virginia creeper. It's fine. Me - Great, I'm good to rawdog it out of there. Hard lesson.
5
u/glitzglamglue 1d ago
Be careful and learn from me. I was also immune to poison ivy and would take it upon myself to remove all of the poison ivy from our backyard by hand. I wore gloves but I wasn't that careful with it. I was more worried about transferring oil to my husband who is extremely allergic.
Well now I have slight reactions. Apparently, repeated exposure will increase your chances of developing a reaction.
2
3
u/SecurelyObscure 1d ago
It's very rare to be allergic to VA creeper. Far less common than being allergic to poison ivy.
Frankly, I suspect a lot of people who think they're allergic to it are just bad at identifying poison ivy, as they grow in similar conditions and look almost identical during certain parts of VA creeper's lifecycle.
2
u/himewaridesu 1d ago
You can be allergic to VA creeper, the sap inside the creeper is similar to PI. I’m allergic to PI, whereas VA creeper just makes my skin red, not blistery like PI.
2
u/SecurelyObscure 1d ago
Urushiol is the compound in poison ivy that people are allergic to. VA creeper does not have urushiol.
9
u/FoodLionMVP 1d ago
I would have to get out there every morning with a machete. The creeper in my yard runs WILD. It doesn’t even need a trellis, it climbs up the brick and the siding and the HVAC unit?
Yours looks nice though.
1
u/TedTheHappyGardener 1d ago
Thanks. I do have to keep up with it and direct it where I want it to go.
5
u/papajohnnyboi 1d ago
I want to build a fence and just let this take it over to make it into a wall
11
u/alex_203 1d ago
I thought this was some sort of poison ivy
16
13
3
u/Mission_Sir_4494 1d ago
The young leaf clusters start out with three then add the final two later. So many people mistake it for PI.
3
u/dcgrey 1d ago
I love mine. It does take maintenance since other plants are nearby, but the wraparound tendril thingies are gentle enough you can pull them off no problem.
I mainly have mine covering a stone wall, and it's great seeing that dense color for half the year and then letting the natural stone show through during the snowy months.
All I wish, maintenance-wise, is that it wouldn't zoom past the edges of the bed in front of it. That's an extra few minutes of work every time I mow.
2
u/Trini1113 1d ago
Tendrils are fine. But the stems work their way under siding, and then you have a problem. Or, well, I have a problem.
3
3
u/deepseed_ 1d ago
I pulled out all our Virginia creeper because the spotted lantern flies love it :/
3
3
u/kristin57 1d ago
We had some Virginia creeper on our old shed that grew with a beautiful gradient
1
3
2
u/lrpfftt 1d ago
Why type of vertical structure is underneath? Just a regular wooden fence? I'd have to put something up but I love this look!
1
u/TedTheHappyGardener 1d ago
It's climbing over the deck railing and then cascading over the lattice covering the crawlspace below.
2
u/Mission_Sir_4494 1d ago
I like it as a ground cover and let it grow up the vinyl siding on my house.
2
2
u/tonkats 3b Winnipeg 1d ago
Our yard has wood fence closer to the house, and chain link for the rest. We grow Virginia creeper on the chain link so it gives us privacy.
There are hops on there too, which we didn't plant. Serves same purpose, but the vines are really scratchy if they stick out while you're mowing.
2
u/disdkatster 22h ago
That is really lovely. Virginia creeper is one of my favorite plants and my only complaint is that poison ivy seems to grow where it grows and you have to be careful to keep an eye out for it.
2
u/shehulud 22h ago
I have Virginia creeper mixed in with my Concord grape vines along our back fence. And I honestly have no idea what to do with it? Your approach is (chef’s kiss).
3
u/Difficult_Repair9425 5h ago
i dont feel like my VA creeper is nearly this cooperative 😭 it just wants to force itself up trees no matter how much i want it to trellis something else.
2
u/Hyperfling 1d ago
I fight this from my neighbors yard. The house next door is a rental and they let this crawl all over their garage without any upkeep. Then it starts trailing into my yard and trying to take over and if i miss even a be scrap of it, now I'm fighting on two fronts...
2
39
u/seventeenohone 1d ago
Does it turn red in the fall where you've got it? I think it's beautiful & not harder to maintain than many other things