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Boston Ivy vs. Virginia Creeper????

15 years ago

I have a new wood (solid) fence which is 20+ feet long, that is calling for a vine. I'm thinking of either Virginia Creeper or Boston Ivy. What is the best for summer and fall both? They are so close but are so different. Does Boston Ivy fill in more complete?

Which one do I choose?????????

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Comments (3)

bluebars
15 years ago
Virginia Creeper is invasive, and the roots will crawl just underground. Don't think it will behave nicely and stick to just the fence.
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thistle
15 years ago
I have 120 square feet of fenced back yard which needed to be covered quickly because of a neighbouring swimming pool. I decided to use Virginia creeper.This stuff grows like wildfire and covered the fence beautifully.Unfortunately it has become a bit of a rogue and wants to travel even further along the ground and into my flower beds.I am continually ripping it up,and also thinning it out on top.It is VERY vigorous so be careful if you plan to use this as a cover. I am sure my neighbours hate me because of this vine.I may be moving soon,and the poor people who inherit this will hate me too.
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Lance, The disease I was thinking of is discussed in the linked webpage below. When you click on it, you'll see they are discussing grape diseases, but if you read down a couple of sentences, you'll see that the mention the disease affects Boston Ivy and Virginia Creeper as well. I don't usually see it on my Virginia Creeper....only in the absolute wettest of years. Matt, If you have children, you should know that all parts of Carolina Jessamine are highly poisonous. There have been cases reported of children becoming ill after sucking the nectar out of the flowers, like lots of us used to do with honeysuckle when we were kids. Deer do tend to avoid eating it though, so it is a great plant for folks with a deer problem. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: MOBOT: Disease iof Boston Ivy
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ftm...the area where the fence is backs up to a neighbor who has evergreen trees and a London Plane tree planted very close to the lot line. So although the fence gets sun, the ground along it and for quite a distance out is full of tree roots. That is why I decided I could plant the VC vine and it could compete with the roots in one small area and travel the distance over the 50ft of bare stockade fence with little trouble. I had thought of trying euonomous fortunei at the base of the fence since it could compete with the roots and allow it to climb it, but read that was pretty much an invasive in natural areas. At least the VC vine is native. I don't know much about firethorn. I do like the look of it especially in the fall, so I will look into it. Thanks.
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I agree with Dieter on using the "glove of death" method. However, use the Round-Up at the dilution recommended on the label, and only use it when the ambient temperature is between 50 and 80 degrees (+/- 5 degrees)consistently. This was explained to me: When the temperature drops below 50, or above 80, most plants put their active photosythesizing in slow-motion. Round-Up used full strength kills the leaves immediately, and they drop off, so the poison never has a chance to make it into the roots to kill the plant. The longer the herbicide sits on the leaves, and is being sucked down into the roots, the better. Round-Up is only active for 24 hours after use, so I have been lectured, LOL!
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MariposaTraicionera
15 years ago
I have no idea which type I have, but it seems really hardy and has covered an area I didn't know what to plant in. Now I am getting scared because it's up the tree and on the fence and covered the ground well, but maybe it's too much of a good thing?

Are ALL Ivy plants like that?
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