Parthenocissus quinquefolia Red Wall- Virginia Creeper

The Parthenocissus quinquefolia 'Red Wall' is a vigorous True Virginia Creeper, a climbing plant with non-adhesive tendrils that allow it to cling to any support without risking damage. Its foliage, divided into 5 leaflets, of a beautiful dark green, will cover large areas with its elegant vegetative mass. Its rather insignificant flowering, however, has the merit of producing small, quite decorative blue-black berries. But it is in autumn that this climber puts on a show when its foliage turns to a spectacular bright red. This variety thrives in all exposures and grows in any well-prepared, deep ordinary soil.

The Parthenocissus quinquefolia is also known as Ampelopsis quinquefolia, Vitis quinquefolia or even Virginia Creeper. It is a plant of the Vitaceae family, just like the grapevines used for wine production, but also vines like the Tetrastigma voinieranium, capable of covering enormous surfaces in the greenhouses of French botanical gardens where it can be found. The Parthenocissus quinquefolia is a woody climbing shrub, native to North America, widespread in Canada, United States (Minnesota to Florida), Mexico and Guatemala. This indomitable and very hardy Virginia Creeper has naturalised in many countries such as France and England.

The 'Red Wall' variety, originating from Poland, is a fast-growing climber, capable of reaching about ten metres in height and six metres wide. It is adorned with beautiful dark green leaves, with an attractive graphic shape drawn by the deeply cut 5 leaflets. Each leaflet is serrated and its tip is acuminate while its surface is shiny. Thanks to its tendrils that attach to supports (trellis, arbor), this Virginia Creeper is capable of forming a dense and decorative vegetal wall. The flowering, greenish and rather insignificant, takes place in June-July, then gives way to small blue-black fruits that are not edible for mammals but appreciated by birds and quite decorative. But it is obviously its breathtaking autumn colouration that attracts all the attention, when the foliage turns to a bright red as the night temperatures drop.

This Virginia Creeper is hardy down to -25°C (-13°F) or even -30°C (-22°F), it grows in deep, rather clayey soil, in shaded, semi-shaded or even sunny locations. However, the colour of the foliage tends to lose its shine in full sun. Once well established, the plant tolerates drought very well, which allows it to be planted at the edges of a large garden, in a somewhat wild place, on a shady slope that is never watered, even in the Mediterranean. Pruning without constraint in any season keeps the plant in its space. Easy to cultivate and capable of adapting to all situations, including polluted urban areas or coastal locations, this Parthenocissus is a real joy for beginners!

'Red Wall' will be hard to surpass aesthetically in autumn, but you can plant it alongside climbing roses or other flowering climbers to animate its foliage in summer. 'Seagull', a vigorous rose capable of climbing up to 8 metres (26 feet) high and tolerating semi-shade, will be a good companion, with its bouquets of semi-double white flowers. Or the wonderful Clematis montana 'Mayleen', a Clematis with large development whose fragrance of pretty pink flowers will enchant you in spring.