In message , Charlie
Pridham writes
In article ,
says...
In message , Charlie
Pridham writes
In article ,
says...
Having sweated blood in removing a common ivy that was growing up
the gable
of our house, I'd now like to train a Virginia creeper up there instead.

There's been a VC growing by the gable end for some time but it's
never been
able to get a good enough grip on the painted pebbledash to gain
any height.
What's the best thing to train it up? Trellis, plastic mesh, vine eyes &
wire or something else?


If you have true Virginia creeper (parthenocissus quinquefolia) then it
will require some help to stay up there as it becomes woody and heavy and
will rip off the wall, a few wires and vine eyes should be enough. If
however you have what is often called wrongly virginia creeper in the
UK but is what the americans call Bostan Ivy (Parthenocissus
tricuspidata) then it should stay up on its own. They are easy to tell
apart and the clue is in the latin names quinquefolia = 5 leafleted
leaves, tricuspidata 3 lobed leaves. other than that they do similar
autumn colour

From the failure to climb I suspect that he has Parthenocissus vitacea,
which differs from Parthenocissus quinquefolia in lacking the adhesive
disks.

Does that have a synonym Stewart? its not a name I have every come
across, although Parthenocissus quinquefolia falling off smooth walls I
hear about all the time!

Parthenocissus vitacea syn inserta

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenocissus_vitacea

But we now know that he has P. tricuspidata.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley