If I may be so bold... Climbing Hydrangea is a vine that is imbued with a desire to seek whatever (vertical) support available to it. It's content to climb a tree, ramble along a stonewall and over the ground, or up the side of a building. Point is, it's looking for support, and will grab onto whatever is available. A trellis is an obvious choice, I agree. BUT, this is not a vine that's going to content itself with a trellis. It's going to afix itself to the trellis and then it's going to move straight back and afix itself to the building that supports the trellis. CH is a vertical "creeper"! And it will vanquish any trellis that seeks to "contain" it. It's only a quesition of time. If you want to keep this "bad boy" ON a trellis you'd better provide a serious trellis and you'd best be willin' to get out yearly and provide training sticks to span distance between the rails of the trellis and keep the vine from adhering itself to the building that supports the trellis. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I know a lot about this vine and I've learned most of it the hard way. This is a great plant, but if you think offering a trellis will appease its desire to move onward/upward, guess again. This sucker is more than willing to engulf anything in its way. I have knowledge of one in my town that exceeds 60'... engulfing a pergola outside a loggia. Magnificent! But this ISN'T a vine for the faint-hearted; if you don't take control of it it will engulf you, too! Remember Audrey II? ;)

There's a lot of misinformation out there about ivy and its pros and cons. And it should be made very clear what plant we are talking about - English ivy, Hedera helix and various cultivars, is an aggressive, tenacious evergreen vine. Boston ivy (Virginia creeper), Parthenocissus spp, is a far less aggressive deciduous vine that is not considered invasive. One species is even native to much of North America. As English ivy is evergreen it does grow in winter, especially in milder winter areas, but growth is considerably slowed. And also, in mild winter areas it can be planted in winter, just as any other hardy landscape plant. However, it should be planted with extreme caution as it has all manner of undesirable attributes, not the least of which is its extremely invasive properties, especially on the west coast and warmer areas of the eastern seaboard. It is NOT a good plant for erosion control or slope stabilization because it is surface rooted. It actually can contribute to slope failure. And because it forms a dense, thick evergreen cover, it is an ideal habitat for rodents. Removal of thickets or plantings of ivy inevitably turn up colonies of rats. Not to mention it provides year round cover for slugs and snails. Ivy can damage mortar on brick and stone facades, as it holds moisture against the surface and encourages deterioration. Same with any wood surface. It is actually more toxic in all its parts than poison ivy (Toxicodendron spp) and the polyene Falcarinol is what causes the dermatological reaction. Careytearose, contrary to what you were told, maintaining Emglish ivy in a horizontal plane is far preferable to allowing it to grow vertically. Ivy goes through several growth stages that are influenced by height. The juvenile stage - maintained with hortizontal growth - does not allow the plant to flower and set seed. Once the plant has achieved a sufficient vertical height, typically at around 5-6 feet, it morphs into the adult stage. The leaves change shape (more rounded and heart-shaped, no obvious lobes or points) and it readily flowers and sets seeds. The seeds are eaten and dispersed by birds, which accounts for its invasive characteristics. teachermom, I don't know where you are located in zone 7, but I would seriously advise against planting English ivy, as your climate is just too conducive to its rapid establishment and spread. While you may be able to maintain it correctly, there is no guarantee subsequent owners would do the same. It is never a good idea to knowingly plant an invasive species regardless of your good intentions. And I would never recommend anyone in any location plant it to grow on a house or any other permanent structure.

Dirr in his Manual of Woody Plants says that it's a zone 4-7(8) hardy plant, and then quickly adds that it doesn't do so well in the South. I'd just slowly acclimate your potted hydrangea to the outside. No big deal. I'd also consider leaving it outside next time. You can take it out of the pot and bury the rootball in the ground and then mulch it. I overwinter potted plants like Boxwoods that spend the summer in pots byt digging them into a pile of bark mulch left over from thesummer. Saves the pot and keeps me from having to be concerned about watering or freezing. . This plant is so massive looking that you'd imagine some enormous chimney under all that. In the winter you'd see that it's just a little skinny chimney built out of what looks like concrete blocks. Just a couple feet square at the most. The laterals on the vine are enormous. Hay

My problem is different. My Virginia Creeper will NOT attach itself to a brick chimney. I had one there before with no problems (I forget what killed that one) but although the new vine is growing like wildfire it will not grab on to the bricks. All the little attachments are there but they're not latching on. Does anyone have any suggestions?