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Managing and maintaining Virginia Creeper

LatimerLatimer Posts: 1,068
in Plants
Hi all

We have a Virginia Creeper (I think!) that the previous owner planted at the corner of our house. Up until now I’ve been dragging it out and cutting it down as it’s been clinging to the guttering and I was afraid of damage. 

However, if I wanted to get it under some control and also allow it to cover more of the sides and front of the house instead of just the corner that it’s currently doing, how do I go about that? And am I giving myself a headache of maintenance by having it? 


I’ve no idea what I’m doing. 
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Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Certainly looks like VC.
    I'd get rid of the whole thing tbh before you find it growing around your loft!
    They do look stunning in the autumn, but they are real garden thugs and the older and bigger it gets the more you're going to have to keep it under control.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • ChezNousChezNous Posts: 40
    Currently it looks rather lovely to me but I've only read negative things about it sadly. It seems impossible to control after a certain point. I would be too afraid to plant one in my garden. 
    Late to gardening .... @cheznousgarden
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I have one and it's doing a great job. I can't decide if I should pull it out now or possibly regret it later.
  • LatimerLatimer Posts: 1,068
    My worry was that it is a bit of a thug and I’m not sure I want to have it taking over. I think I’ll let it do it’s autumn blaze of glory then pull it out. 
    I’ve no idea what I’m doing. 
  • GranniegardenerGranniegardener Posts: 65
    They are really aggressive, and I would NEVER have one again.  I planted one, bought from Woolworths years ago, probably for a quid, beside the back fence. I decided to remove it about 6 years ago, because I wanted to paint the fences (Urban Slate, a dark grey, looks luvverly) , and the darned ivy was a beggar to remove. It also still keeps popping up! I have to weed both sides of the fence 2 or 3 times a year to keep on top of it. In my opinion, the couple of weeks worth in early Autumn when the leaves are glowing red is not worth the 50-other-weeks-in-the-year-worth of hassle. 
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    ... but they are good at covering ugly structures.
  • Balgay.HillBalgay.Hill Posts: 1,089
    edited September 2022
    Are you sure it is VC?
    I have VC growing along a stone wall, and the leaves look a bit bigger than yours.
    Maybe just the photo.
    I zoomed in and the Leaves have 5 lobes so it is VC.
    Sunny Dundee
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    You would think that they grow towards the light, but they enter your eaves and then expand in your loft.  Fast growing has its downside.

    Also their climbimg suckers stick to evertything you don't want them to and leave an indelible trace.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    There is a smaller leafed, slightly less vigorous one ( can't think of the correct name offhand ) which still gives the beautiful autumn colour if you want to hide an unsightly building/object.
    I remember growing it against the East facing wall of my house in France - just a bit pf a trim to keep the height reasonable but worked well enough. 
  • AthelasAthelas Posts: 946
    edited September 2022
    philippasmith2 said:
    There is a smaller leafed, slightly less vigorous one ( can't think of the correct name offhand ) which still gives the beautiful autumn colour if you want to hide an unsightly building/object.

    Chinese Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus henryana)?
    Cambridgeshire, UK
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