Illustration
Virginia Creeper
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Also called five-leaved ivy and five-finger
Virginia Creeper blooms from May through August.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Virginia Creeper
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 3–9. Expect it to reach about 40 ft tall and 7.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 4 years (a house reading).
Is Virginia Creeper toxic to dogs or cats?
- Listed as toxic to dogs and cats by Pet Poison Helpline and Royal Horticultural Society.
- Listed as poisonous to people by NC State Extension and Royal Horticultural Society.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Virginia Creeper
Plant Virginia Creeper in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 3 to 9, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from May to August.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Virginia Creeper get?
40 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult7.5 ftwideSee Virginia Creeper in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Virginia Creeper
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Virginia Creeper about 7.5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Virginia Creeper to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Virginia Creeper's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags were checked against 8 published sources on October 21, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- NC State Extensionheight, spread, hardiness zones, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- University of Wisconsin HorticultureUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Extensionheight, hardiness zones, sun, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Utah State University Extensionheight, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Chicago Botanic Gardenhardiness zones, sun and bloom months and color
- himanursery.comHima Nurseryheight, spread and water
- Mt. Cuba Centerhardiness zones, sun and water
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societytrait tags
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
Native to 37 states and 3 provinces
United States: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and 25 more
Canada: Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan
Recorded growing wild in 1,492 counties.
Also grows wild, but is not native, in Montana.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
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Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.