Vine & groundcover · North Texas care guide
Parthenocissus tricuspidata
Nursery Pro tip: Covers a wall in two seasons, then goes scarlet in October.
The vine on old brick university buildings — broad three-lobed leaves in flat overlapping layers, deep green all summer and brilliant scarlet in fall, then bare in winter. It sticks to masonry by itself with adhesive pads and can climb 30–50 ft.
Full sun to shade; fall color is best with sun. Any soil. Only plant it on sound masonry or a sturdy fence — it holds on tightly, and pulling it off later takes the paint, the mortar face, or the siding with it. Keep it off wood siding entirely.
Spring or fall. Hole twice the pot width, ball at grade, native soil, Root Stimulator, mulch. Lean the first stems against the wall; it finds its own way.
Weekly the first summer, then very little.
Not needed.
Cut it back from windows, gutters, eaves and the roofline once or twice a summer — that is the whole maintenance program, and skipping it is how it gets into trouble. Hard-prune in winter as needed.
Its grip on surfaces, and its speed. Japanese beetles in some years. It is not our native Virginia creeper, which has five leaflets and climbs the same way.
Masonry walls, retaining walls and chain-link fences you want to disappear. Its fall color pairs with Chinese pistache and Shumard red oak.
Written for Rockwall's black clay, heat and winters by the Landscape Source team. Every yard is different — bring a photo by, or ask LS-Ai, and we'll tailor it to your spot.