| Author | Content |
sallyg
Anne Arundel,, MD (Zone 7a)
March 18, 2008 2:11 PM Post #4678095
| Nice job. You said just what I would say about VC from my experience with it in Maryland. |
LTilton
Glen Ellyn, IL (Zone 5b)
March 18, 2008 2:30 PM Post #4678182
| Thanks!
I'd have to say I prefer ivy to VC as a groundcover, but that's another Invaders article.
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critterologist
Frederick, MD (Zone 6b)
March 18, 2008 2:55 PM Post #4678290
| Excellent article! I'd rather have an "issue" with Virginia Creeper than with the poison ivy I've got along the back edge of the yard... I've been trying to kill it off for years, and I think I'm winning, but the war isn't over! Thanks to your photos, I'm now entirely certain that it's PI and not VC, as a couple of people (trying to make me feel better) have suggested.
Unfortunately, and VC that is back there is also getting killed as I'm fighting the PI... but I can always plant some VC later if I decide I need it back there! |
Kelli
L.A. (Canoga Park), CA (Zone 10a)
March 18, 2008 4:31 PM Post #4678680
| Interesting article and relevant for a lot of people. I planted Virginia creeper in my yard and I think the climate (dryness) keeps it under control to some degree. I still have to keep at it a little, but is isn't nearly as troublesome for me as some things like blackberries and Vinca major. This is not to belittle anyone's VC problems, just a different experience in a different climate. |
Jax4ever
Boxford, MA (Zone 6a)
March 18, 2008 5:45 PM Post #4678987
| Good article!
I've been feeling very guilty about the one stem on VC climbing up my big pine in the front of the house. I love the shape of the leaves and the fall color- and it doesn't seem to be a fast grower for me- I cut it back b/f it gets higher than I can reach. BUT, the term "weed" haunts certain plants, and I feel, as a good gardener, that I have to kill it. It's a very similar situation to Goldenrod!
Besides poison ivy, I've discovered Queen Anne's Lace (sorry, I don't know the latin) to be a horrible invasive! I allowed ONE plant of it to grow n my cutting garden... I thought it was lovely! The next year, I had 1000 plants... the next year, probably a million. They are hard to pull up b/c of the big tap root- a very pretty thug! |
LTilton
Glen Ellyn, IL (Zone 5b)
March 18, 2008 5:59 PM Post #4679039
| I let the goldenrod grow in my prairie garden. It provides wonderful color in the fall and the bees like it. But I do have to make an effort to keep it from taking over.
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MaryE
Baker City, OR (Zone 5b)
March 18, 2008 7:00 PM Post #4679229
| My Virginia Creeper grows next to a split rail fence and makes a lovely bushy mound over the rails and fenceposts. In my climate it would die if not watered, so invasiveness is not a problem here. One group of roots is all I allow. Some of the runners have rooted in the nearby flower bed, and are fairly easily pulled out. I confine it to a certain space and will not let it go farther down the fenceline. The fall color is beautiful, berries feed the birds, and I enjoy having it. A few years ago I posted two pictures of it in Plant Files if you want to look. |
bivbiv
Central FL, FL (Zone 9b)
March 18, 2008 9:42 PM Post #4679724
| Here on my one acre in Central FL, Virginia creeper is the bane of my gardening existence, and I hate it. In this case, I have to consider it an invasive and most unwelcome weed. It tries to climb up everything: our house, trees, shrubs, and any plants in its path. It crept through a tiny space at the edge of a door and found its way into my laundry room. It snakes along the edge of a screened porch and ends up growing across the tiled floor. It would be quite at home in the Little Shop of Horrors! |
robcorreia
San Diego, CA (Zone 10b)
March 18, 2008 9:43 PM Post #4679727
| Does Parthenocissus Tricuspidata (Boston Ivy) have the same properties? |
LTilton
Glen Ellyn, IL (Zone 5b)
March 18, 2008 10:05 PM Post #4679817
| The ivy that seems to be the most invasive is the English Ivy, Hedera Helix.
But I think in all these cases, it depends most on your growing conditions. I have Hedera Helix growing as a groundcover in deep shade, and while it spreads, it doesn't climb much as the exposed vines are killed by subzero weather. I do have to keep pulling it out of the airconditioner compressor.
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Indy
Alexandria, IN (Zone 6a)
March 19, 2008 12:53 AM Post #4680424
| Here, I have called VC ...five leaf ivy! |
Angel_D
Quincy, IL (Zone 5b)
March 26, 2008 12:59 AM Post #4709662
| I have Virginia Creeper growing on a fence in my backyard. I keep it well trimmed, and it looks lovely. I do a lot of trimming on it, particularly in the late fall after all its leaves fall off ... I trim it back about half. It keeps coming back! I think it's beautiful, but yeah, a lot of people think it is poison ivy! |
Jax4ever
Boxford, MA (Zone 6a)
March 26, 2008 9:10 PM Post #4713189
| The best way to rid your garden of weeds is to call them something else! Either "native species" or "ornamentals"!!! (I resort to this method of weed removal in mid-August, when I'm sick of weeding in 85 degree heat!) |
robcorreia
San Diego, CA (Zone 10b)
March 26, 2008 10:11 PM Post #4713416
| I can't believe it's that bad! : ) I still haven't heard from anyone...is Boston Ivy as invasive? I am thinking of planting some on a wood fence on my side yard...
If anybody knows, please let me know! |
LTilton
Glen Ellyn, IL (Zone 5b)
March 26, 2008 11:27 PM Post #4713668
| Rob - I don't believe it is as invasive in general, but invasiveness is always a function of conditions. You would probably have to keep trimming the vines that decide not to climb the fence and crawl into your lawn, instead.
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robcorreia
San Diego, CA (Zone 10b)
March 27, 2008 12:08 AM Post #4713850
| hahaha,...got it, thanks L! |
bivbiv
Central FL, FL (Zone 9b)
March 27, 2008 12:39 AM Post #4714000
| Yep, and the conditions in FL make this a monster invader. I don't think I could even maintain this vine on a fence without its escaping into everything around it. |
LTilton
Glen Ellyn, IL (Zone 5b)
March 27, 2008 1:17 AM Post #4714126
| biv - I can well believe it.
In southern CA, which is generally drier and quite hot iirc, I suspect it might be less enthusiastic, but I have no personal experience in that zone. It prefers moist soil and doesn't tolerate dry heat well.
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bivbiv
Central FL, FL (Zone 9b)
March 27, 2008 2:12 AM Post #4714388
| Well, we've been in drought conditions here in Central FL since 2005, and last summer I had to fight its invasion of our porch floor. Perhaps it hasn't been quite as bad during the drought, but it's still a monster weed. I really do hate this plant. It's growing up through podocarpus and attaching itself to the house now. My husband is always detaching it from the eaves. It's very difficult to reach its roots amidst all the other plants. |
LTilton
Glen Ellyn, IL (Zone 5b)
March 27, 2008 2:41 AM Post #4714528
| FL is a hothouse. I had a hard time getting over my astonishment in seeing what I considered houseplants growing outside as full-sized trees! |
robcorreia
San Diego, CA (Zone 10b)
March 27, 2008 4:11 PM Post #4717125
| You should go to Brazil...(where I'm from)...heliconias and gingers there are WEEDS!!! oh well... |
