Boston Ivy - 'Parthenocissus tricuspidata' Boston Ivy, Parthenocissus tricuspidata, is a deciduous vine with bluish fruits and bright red fall foliage. Boston Ivy is commonly used as a decorative addition for buildings. This means that it is most often used to grow on sections of buildings, walls, and fences for its aesthetic beauty. The glossy dark green leaves turn bright red in the fall. Showy leaves held late into fall or early winter. This vine does well in poor soil can grow in shade to full sun. It is originally native to Japan but is very popular in the United States. Boston ivy has been grown everywhere from Fenway Park in Boston to Dallas, Texas. With a habit that most often chokes out competing plants and weeds, Boston ivy is excellent in preventing soil erosion.
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| Common Name: |
Cottage Ivy, Japanese Ivy, Japanese Creeper, Boston Creeper |
| Type: |
Perennial Deciduous Vine |
| Family: |
Vitaceae |
| Leaves: |
Leaves alternate and are simple, slender-stalked, broad-ovate, and 4-8" wide. They are 3-lobed with new growth being bronzish to reddish. Turning rich lustrous deep green in summer, leaves are a purple-red to crimson-red in fall. Usually Boston Ivy and Virginia Creeper are the first of all woody plants to color effectively in the autumn. |
| Stem: |
Squarish, tendrils 5 to 12, shorter than those of Virginia Creeper, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, prominent, vertically arranged lenticels, usually glabrous |
| Size: |
30' to 50' and more; the structure upon which it climbs is the limiting factor |
| Hardiness: |
Zone 3 to 9. For an idea of your plant zone please visit the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. |
| Habit: |
Deciduous vine with tendrils which have 5 to 8 branches, each ending in adhesive like tips; has the ability to literally cement itself to the wall and therefore needs no support; good on trees, will also crawl along the ground |
| Rate: |
Fast, 6 to 10' and beyond in a single season |
| Flowers: |
Greenish white, appearing from June-July in cymes which usually form terminal panicles |
| Diseases & Insects: |
Canker, downy mildew, leaf spots, powdery mildew, wilt, beetles, eight-spotted forester, leaf hoppers, scales and several other insects |
| Landscape Value: |
Excellent, tough, low-maintenance coer for walls, trellises, rock piles; can be an asset if used properly; the ivy covered walls of most universitites are not ivy covered but "creeper" covered; have seen the species growing on sand dunes in the company of various salt tolerant species; if other vines fail this is a good choice; cements itself to structures and does not need support; may leave a residue on buildings that is difficult to remove; can become a weed as birds "plant" the seeds with reckless abandon |
| Soil Preference: |
Will grow in moist, well-drained, loamy, sandy or clay soils. Boston Ivy will tolerate most soils. |
| Care: |
Trim as neccessary. If left unattended, ivy will spread continuously. |
| Fertilization: |
Enrich the soil towards the end of the winter or in autumn with a slow release fertilizer or manure. During the spring provide fertilizers rich in nitrogen and potassium.
| | Planting Instructions: |
Dig a hole about 8 to 12 inches in diameter, with a depth no deeper than the original soil line on the stem. Break up the soil to the finest consistency possible. Place plant in hole and fill, compacting the fill dirt. Water the plant heavily to seal soil around the roots and remove air pockets. Plant one plant for ever 2 linear feet. The larger the plant the faster the area will fill in.
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