Parthenocissus tricuspidata
Boston ivy
Common names: Japanese creeper
At a glance
- Light
- Partial shade
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −25 °C
- Pruning
- Feb–Mar
- Flowering
- Jun–Jul
- Spacing
- 200 cm, rows 200 cm
- Water need
- Medium
Photo: Gohachiyasu1214 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
Description
Boston ivy, botanically Parthenocissus tricuspidata, is a vigorous, deciduous self-clinging climber from East Asia. It holds on with branched tendrils that end in small adhesive pads, and it climbs without a support frame on walls, facades, and pillars to 10 m or more. The leaves grow up to 20 cm across and have three pointed lobes, which gives the plant its name. This distinguishes it from the five-part foliage of Virginia creeper. The greenish, inconspicuous flowers appear in June and July. In October the foliage turns brilliant scarlet to fiery red, and afterward blue-black berries with a pale bloom hang on the bare shoots. In gardens it covers house walls, garages, walls, and pergolas, and in a large container it stays smaller.
Care instructions
Plant Boston ivy in spring or autumn about 30 cm from the wall, in sun or partial shade. In full sun it develops the strongest autumn color. Guide the first shoots to the wall with stakes or cords, after which it attaches itself. A climbing support is only needed on pergolas and fences, where you stretch wires or fit a lattice for the tendrils to grip. Plant it only in front of an intact, plastered or masonry wall. For loose plaster, wooden facades, or insulated facades, a freestanding frame is the better choice. Water thoroughly during drought in the first two years, and later only water during long dry periods. Keep windows, gutters, shutter boxes, and vents clear.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
FloweringJun–Jul
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
humus-rich, well-drained, loamy
Boston ivy is undemanding and grows in almost any garden soil, best in humus-rich, free-draining, loamy earth. Whether the soil is slightly acidic or chalky hardly matters. Beside a house wall the planting spot is often in a rain shadow, and the soil is compacted or full of building rubble. So loosen it deeply, swap coarse rubble for garden soil and mix in compost. It does not tolerate permanent waterlogging.
Feeding
Light feeder
Boston ivy needs no fertiliser in normal garden soil. If it shoots weakly after planting or the soil at the wall is very lean, a thin layer of mature compost around the root zone helps in spring. More is not necessary; too many nutrients only make it sprawl even more. In a container, put horn shavings or mature compost on top in spring.
Pruning
Prune Boston ivy once a year in late winter, in February or March, before it starts into growth. Shorten any shoots that reach windows, gutters, roller shutter boxes or roof tiles, and remove dead branches. If it grows too vigorously in summer, you can trim again in June or July. The plant reliably shoots again from old wood, so a hard cut back is possible.
Overwintering
Boston ivy is fully hardy and tolerates even severe frosts without protection. In autumn the foliage changes colour and then falls, while the bare shoots stay clinging to the wall. In the bed you do not need to do anything. In a container, protect the root ball from freezing through by moving the pot against the house wall, wrapping it in horticultural fleece or hessian and standing it on wood.
Propagation
Methods
- Cuttings
- Layering
Layering is the easiest: in spring or summer, lay a long, flexible shoot on the ground, pin it down with a hook or a stone and cover the spot with soil. After a few months it has rooted and can be separated. Cuttings work too: in summer, cut soft shoot pieces with two to three leaf nodes and put them in seed compost; in winter, you can set woody, pencil-thick pieces as hardwood cuttings in loose soil.
For your garden
Grow Boston ivy yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
Free, no time limit
Notes from real gardens
What other gardeners have written down about this variety, anonymous and voluntary.
No notes shared yet. Will you be the first to write one down?