Can you grow Virginia Creepers (parthenocissus quinquefolia) indoors?

last year

last modified: last year

I have one outside and it's very vigorous. But I would like to grow one inside my house in a large container near a sunny west-facing window where it can vine up the window. Will it do good (considering that it's a deciduous plant)?

Comments (4)

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last year
Well, you could try, but there are a lot of reasons it is a bad idea. The vines are not only deciduous, they grow absolutely enormous and they climb by sticking to surfaces with small adhesive pads. Your window would be ruined. There are plenty of other vines proven to be happy indoors.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
last year
Let me add to what floral said by mentioning the fact the Virginia Creeper can cause a very irritating dermatitis to susceptible people, much like poison ivy (not related).
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I don't have Virginia Creeper, but I do have Parthenocissus henryana, a close relative. It is 35 feet up the back of my house and it sticks to the wall by itself. Virginia Creeper (P quinquefolia) has the same holdfasts as P henryana, so should stick without help. Maybe all you need is a temporary trellis of some sort to encourage it in the right direction.
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
last year
It's a sprawling plant even outdoors in full sun. Bringing it indoors would probably at least double the length of internodes, making it look even less tidy. Plus, the plant attaches itself by way of branching tendrils with pads on the ends that synthesize an adhesive that wouldn't get along well with painted drywall or wood, or masonry/ stone walls.

It's listed as hardy in USDA z3-9, so whether or not it requires an obligate cold rest (dormancy) might depend on the provenance of the particular plant, similar to Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia) and some hardy figs (Ficus carica). If you do decide to try it indoors, and I have my doubts re how that might turn out, you might try the cultivar ‘Engelmanni’ (Engelmann’s Ivy). It has smaller leaves and shorter internodes, making it a tighter, more dense plant.

Al
dbarron
last year
last modified: last year
With all the adapted tropical plants to indoor culture, I fail to see why someone would want to intentionally cultivate Virginia Creeper indoors. The only possible reason I can see is 'Can I do it?'. This sounds like a Quora question.

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Can you grow Virginia Creepers (parthenocissus quinquefolia) indoors?

Comments (4)

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

dbarron

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