Virginia creeper

Parthenocissus quinquefolia

 A bee visiting the flowers of Parthenocissus quinquefolia at USU in October 2025. Photo: S. Burlakoti

Summary

Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper) is a vigorous, deciduous vine in the grape family (Vitaceae), native to eastern and central North America, with a natural range extending from southern Canada through much of the United States. A fast-growing climber, it can reach 50–60 feet in height, sometimes putting on as much as 20 feet of growth in a single season, attaching itself to rough surfaces such as bark, rock, and masonry via tendrils tipped with small adhesive pads. Its leaves are alternate and palmately compound, each composed of five obovate leaflets with coarsely toothed margins and a glossy green upper surface, turning a striking crimson to purple in autumn. In late spring through summer, the plant produces small, inconspicuous greenish-white flowers roughly ¼ inch in diameter, which are insect-pollinated and give way to clusters of bluish-black berries that persist into early winter. Hardiness ratings vary across sources; most academic and extension references, including Utah State University Extension and the University of Wisconsin Horticulture Extension, list it as hardy in USDA zones 3–9, while commercial nurseries such as Monrovia cite zones 4–9, and the University of Florida IFAS Extension broadens the range further to zones 3B–10. These differences likely reflect variation between commercially conservative estimates and research-based assessments rather than any fundamental disagreement about the plant's cold tolerance. 

Regardless of the precise zone range cited, Virginia creeper tolerates a wide range of conditions, including full sun, partial shade, heat, cold, drought (particularly in established plants), and even saline soils, making it a highly adaptable and resilient plant for the landscape.

South Coast REC Results & Discussion

The Virginia creeper performed exceptionally well across the majority of the plants throughout the trial, with zero mortalities observed. It featured large leaves consisting of five individual leaflets extending from a central petiole to create a dense and lush canopy. The vine demonstrated vigorous growth and successfully covered the entirety of the trellises. During its late spring blooming period, it produced minuscule bud-like flowers scattered across the plant, which eventually transitioned into an abundance of dark fruit. For the majority of the trial, the taxon remained pest and disease-resistant. However, some individual plants developed minor leaf spots towards the end of 2025, which could potentially be attributed to some sort of disease.

During the 2024 establishment period, the vines rapidly pushed new growth and quickly provided a solid wall of greenery. By 2025, this vine provided full and dense coverage. This performance was reflected in the 2025 Summer Open House, where participants gave the plant high overall appearance ratings. However, as a deciduous plant, its appearance changed significantly in the fall as the foliage turned red and leaves started to drop. This shift caused a split in feedback during the 2025 Fall Open House, where participants liked the Autumn colors but disliked the defoliation and bare branches. While it was rated lower in the fall due to defoliation, the plant was considered one of the top-performing taxa during this trial across all of the water treatments.

Utah State University Results & Discussion

Virginia creeper has demonstrated exceptional performance in Utah's diverse, often challenging climate. At Utah State University's Greenville Research Farm in Logan, Utah, twenty-four 1-gallon plants were established in June 2023, each provided with individual trellis support and drip irrigation at 80% of reference evapotranspiration during the first year. In the following two growing seasons, plants were subjected to three contrasting irrigation regimes: low (two irrigations), medium (four to five irrigations), and high (eight to nine irrigations), yet none of the vines showed any meaningful response to the differing water treatments, with all plants continuing to grow vigorously throughout. Notably, this resilience held even through record snowfall in the winter of 2023–24 and an unusually hot and dry summer in 2025, confirming the plant's strong adaptability to semi-arid, high-elevation climates. Virginia creeper received high ratings in both 2024 and 2025 evaluation seasons and was regarded as one of the most liked and best-performing vines grown in Utah in 2025. These findings firmly support Virginia creeper's suitability for low-water landscaping in the Intermountain West. In broader landscape use across Utah, the vine performs well in the state's alkaline soils and tolerate both intense summer heat and cold winters. While irrigation is necessary during the establishment phase, older vines become increasingly drought-tolerant. Fall color is most vibrant and consistent when plants are grown in full sun, and the vine proves versatile for covering fences, walls, trellises, and arbors, or as a groundcover on slopes for erosion control.

University of Arizona Results & Discussion

University of California Davis Results & Discussion

During the summer of 2024 researchers observed the stems of Virginia creeper tended to grow upwards 1-2 rungs of the trellis, then any new growth would hang off the trellis and grow downwards. As a result in February-March 2024, researchers wove these stems, which were quite flexible, upwards into the trellis. This noticeably increased coverage and this trait could be due to the natural habit of this species as a rambling plant. The plant pushed out a canopy of healthy green leaves in the spring and eventually flowered from late spring to mid-summer. The flowers are not very showy, however researchers observed they were very popular with honeybees. While collecting thermal data in the field, there was a consistent, audible hum from the quantity of bees visiting the flowers. Foliage quality, especially on the southern side of the trellis declined as the season progressed. Researchers observed sunburn and edge necrosis as frequent foliage issues. By September foliage quality was unacceptable for multiple individual plants, and some foliage had started to turn scarlet. At the same time the massive amount of flowers had progressed into large quantities of fruit. By September the berries had ripened, turning to a shade of dark blue and possessing a whitish coating.

At the June Open House, participants felt the plants were “acceptable” but several participants mentioned they were “not showy”. A few specifically remarked that they “loved the red stems” in reference to the red colored pedicels on clusters of fruit. Nearly 25% of the participants commented on the fruit in their written comments, with most viewing it positively - “ just love the look of this, covered w/ fruit.” At the September Open House roughly a similar portion noted that they loved the berries. While one person felt the appearance “was not helped by the berry clusters”, the berries acted as a point of interest and distracted from the foliage scores. Several participants noted the foliage looked “a bit dry with leaves curling a bit” and “they look like they are experiencing the start of fall.” Multiple participants also noted that the fruit might be good for wildlife - “I bet the birds love the berries.” The overall appearance ratings were high in June and had declined by September likely due to foliage quality concerns. Participants felt the overall appearance of an individual plant representing the 20% irrigation treatment had fallen below acceptability thresholds in September. 

University of Washington Results & Discussion

        Virginia creeper performed highly across the deficit season at the UW site. This taxon showed full survival of the 24 individuals initially planted over the three years of the trial. As one of the faster growing taxa, most individuals fully filled the trellis and required some supplemental pruning to prevent excessive size beyond the trellises. However, this taxon was very good at twining up the trellis with tendrils and did not require supplemental training after the establishment year. Foliage quality was high across the deficit irrigation period, however, some leaf spots, red leaves and potential edge burn was present, and in the second half of the summer some powdery mildew was observed on the lower leaves of some individuals. Flowering rate was highest in June but continued into July, and many berries followed. No significant differences between irrigation treatment were found for any of the aesthetic qualities or growth rate, however, the medium treatment did show a marginally higher relative growth rate when compared to the high or low treatment. Vigor as well as pest and disease resistance remained high across the trial period. Virginia creeper rated highly at our 2025 open house, receiving a mean overall appearance of 4.4 across the irrigation treatments, however, some participants noted maintenance concerns given the vigorous growing habit. This taxon also exhibited beautiful foliage colors in fall after the conclusion of the ratings. Due to receiving a mean overall appearance rating of 4.03 on the low irrigation treatment across the 2025 trial, Virginia creeper is a Blue-Ribbon winner at UW.