A friend of mine has virgina creeper growing up over and around her garage doors (in half-day sun), and it is gorgeous! She planted it in a small contained bed by the front door, which has the house on one side, the cement porch on another, and a brick wall and brick sidewalk on the third and fourth sides. She ran the VC along the back of one of the two front steps, and then trained it up around the garage. It really isn't all that much work to keep it in check *in this situation* and truly looks lovely. I'm thinking of doing the same to my garage. That being said, while the VC would most likely do well in the shady area, my fear is that it would do TOO well! I have VC all over my woods, and I often have to hack it back from spreading out into the lawn. It doesn't bother me that much, but I don't know that I would voluntarily plant it in an area that I might not attend to that often, i.e. a naturalized area. As sugarhill says, you may never see your trellis again - at least not without regular and consistent attention. Sure is pretty in the fall though - mine gets pretty good color even in the woods. Sorry, can't help with the crossvine. Good luck. Dee

Sandra, did you read any of the previous responses? They should have successfully answered your question. VC or any other very vigorous vine, if allowed to grow up into the tree canopy, can shade out the growth to the extent that it will not be able to photosynthesize and heavily affected branches can die off. It happens here in my area with English ivy!! As Tom noted, the vine doesn't actually strangle the tree but just deprives it of necessary light. If a very dense patch of vine, like the ivy is typically found here, it can also compete with the tree for moisture and nutrients. And if allowed to grow unchecked, the vine can also make the tree top heavy and more prone to wind damage. It is best to cut and remove.

Mine does die back to the ground in winter and sprouts anew in spring. It does grow fast but mine is not taking over. The Japanese beetles are eating it here. Interestingly enough, they seem to especially enjoy the flower buds. Regards, spiderwoman

Last night Tropical Storm Beryl ripped our beautiful Virginia Creeper vine off of our brick chimney. Although some branches are broken and dying, much of the vine is still alive and lying sadly on the lawn. It was a very mature vine and the biggest branches were at least a half-inch to an inch in diameter. Is there any way we can reattach it to the chimney? I had heard once of using a type of caulking which dried hard, inserting heavy duty twist ties into it in a V shape, and then using them to reattach the vine. I have no idea what type of caulking it was or even if this is a feasible idea. Has anyone had any experience in this area and if so would you offer some suggestions or advice? Our vine really made the house look great and we would hate to have to start over. Thank you so much. Donna