Good plant #45 - Parthenocissus Quinquefolia

This is an incredibly vigorous deciduous climbing plant that will grow almost anywhere in my experience - good or poor soil, sunny or shady sites and moist or dry soil.  One of its key benefits is that it does not need any support to climb. It sends out suckers that stick to almost everything.

It is great at covering fences and ugly structures during the summer months.  It is also a useful plant for others to cling to and act as a green background for summer flowering plants. The leaves are green in summer and it puts on amazing multi-coloured show in autumn.

This plant 'layers' itself.  i.e. low growing plant shoots touch the soil and grow roots.  Once these roots are established, you can sever the shoot with roots in autumn or spring and replant somewhere else.  You can deliberately layer the plant to propagate it too. Just use a hook and ensure 6 inch section is pinned below the soil.

Feel free to prune this as hard or gently as you like in Spring, Summer or Autumn. It will almost certainly keep going.  If you feed it, it will go like the clappers - be warned.  I have seen this plant cover huge surfaces.

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