Woodbine
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Last reviewed: August 2026
Virginia creeper is a fast growing vine that blooms in June and July with small greenish flowers, tolerating part shade and medium moisture across a wide range of eastern and central US climates.
Toxicity unknown
Woodbine (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is not listed by the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (opens in new tab) or the other sources we check, so we have no verdict for it either way. Absence from those lists is not a clearance. If your pet shows symptoms after eating any plant, call the ASPCA at (888) 426-4435.
The USDA PLANTS Database (opens in new tab) does not flag Woodbine as toxic to livestock.
Light
part shade
Water
medium
Size
240"–600" H × 240"–600" W
Bloom
Jun, Jul
Native to
AL, AR, CT, DE and 31 more states
Pollinators
bees, beetles
Before you buy
Your city may pay you to plant this
Cities and water utilities offer rebates for replacing lawn with native and water-wise plants. We track 452 programs across 44 states, each with a link to the provider and the date we last checked it.
Find rebates in your areaBrowse plants for this ecoregion
Virginia creeper is a vigorous native climbing vine that can quickly cover walls, fences, or trellises with its distinctive five-leaflet foliage. The leaves turn brilliant red to purple in fall before dropping, and small blue berries provide food for birds through winter.
Growing Woodbine
Grow Woodbine in part shade and medium water. Mature plants reach 240 to 600 inches tall and spread 240 to 600 inches wide. Expect high maintenance to keep it looking intentional in a front yard.
How to care for Woodbine, by region
How to care for Woodbine where it is actually grown: year-round basics plus what to do each season, region by region, with the sources for each.
Care guidance last updated: July 2026
Cross Timbers (includes Fort Worth, TX)
Year-round
Woodbine (Virginia creeper) is a native North Texas vine that climbs by sticky tendril pads rather than twining, so it will happily attach itself to wood siding, brick mortar, or a fence if you do not steer it somewhere else first.
- Give it a real destination. Each vine can climb 30 to 50 feet, self-attaching to wood siding, painted trim, brick mortar, and fences with small adhesive pads, so route it up a tree trunk, arbor, or chain-link fence rather than the house itself.
- Plant in part shade to filtered sun. It tolerates deep shade but its fall color and vigor are best with some sun through the day.
- Water regularly through the first growing season to establish roots, then it manages on typical North Texas rainfall.
- Keep children and pets from eating the berries. Extension sources rate them a high-severity poisoning risk if swallowed.
- Plan on pruning it back at least twice a year (spring and fall) once established. It spreads fast along the ground and up anything nearby.
Because this vine grows fast and is not naturally tidy, it reads as intentional only when it is confined to a defined support (a fence line, arbor, or single tree) and trimmed back from windows, gutters, and the roofline.
Fall
Fall is this vine's best season to look at (bright red foliage and dark ripening berries that birds strip quickly) and also the better time here to plant or move a woody vine like this one.
- Foliage turns red to burgundy from late September through November, ahead of most other fall color in the yard.
- Berries ripen dark blue-black in September and October and become an important food source for migrating and wintering birds.
- Do not let children or pets eat the berries. Extension sources rate them a high-severity poisoning risk if eaten, with symptoms including nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
- If you are adding a new vine, plant it in October or November, the better window for woody vines in North Texas.
- Sweep dropped berries off walkways, driveways, and patios before they stain the concrete.
The red fall color is worth keeping visible from the street, so prune back any stems crossing walkways or the driveway before leaf drop rather than letting berries track indoors or stain the pavement.
Winter
The vine drops its leaves and goes fully dormant, leaving bare woody stems, so winter is the season to see exactly how far it has spread and cut it back hard.
- Once leaves drop in November or December, cut back any stems that reached the roof, gutters, siding, or a neighbor's property.
- This is the time to remove old, thick stems near the base if the vine has outgrown its support; it regrows readily from the crown come spring.
- Check where tendrils have attached to a wood fence or trellis. Dense growth trapped against wood can hold moisture and encourage rot.
- North Texas winters are mild with brief hard freezes and occasional harder Arctic outbreaks; this vine is hardy well beyond our zone and needs no winter protection.
A hard prune back to the support structure while the vine is bare keeps the dormant stems from reading as overgrown clutter until spring growth fills back in.
Spring
Spring is the planting window for this vine here, and once it leafs out in March it grows quickly, so start guiding the new stems onto their support right away.
- Plant after the mid-March last frost so roots have time to establish before summer heat arrives.
- Water two to three times a week for the first couple of months after planting, then taper off as it takes hold.
- As soon as new stems appear, direct them onto the trellis, fence, or tree trunk you actually want covered. Unsupported growth will find your siding or a neighboring shrub instead.
- Pinch or cut back any stems heading toward windows, vents, or the roof edge before the tendril pads attach, since they are hard to remove cleanly once stuck.
- Lay 2 to 3 inches of mulch around the base to hold moisture through the first summer.
Guiding new growth onto a chosen support from the start, instead of letting it find its own path, keeps the vine looking like a planned planting rather than something that got away from you.
Summer
July and August afternoons over 100 degrees are hard on new plantings, but an established Virginia creeper handles the heat fine. It just keeps growing fast enough to need a monthly check.
- Water first-year plantings deeply once or twice a week during stretches of 100-plus-degree afternoons; established vines usually get by on rainfall alone.
- Small greenish white flowers open in June and July and draw bees; the berries that follow stay green and unripe through summer.
- Check monthly for stems climbing onto windows, gutters, the roofline, or a neighbor's fence, and cut them back.
- Watch it at the base of any nearby tree. Left alone it can climb into the canopy and shade out leaves, so pull errant runners off trunks.
Trimmed back from windows, gutters, and the roofline, the vine reads as a deliberate fence or ground cover instead of something overtaking the house.
Sources: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Parthenocissus quinquefolia, NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Texas Blackland Prairies (includes Dallas, TX)
Year-round
Woodbine (Virginia creeper) is a native North Texas vine that climbs by sticky tendril pads rather than twining, so it will happily attach itself to wood siding, brick mortar, or a fence if you do not steer it somewhere else first.
- Give it a real destination. Each vine can climb 30 to 50 feet, self-attaching to wood siding, painted trim, brick mortar, and fences with small adhesive pads, so route it up a tree trunk, arbor, or chain-link fence rather than the house itself.
- Plant in part shade to filtered sun. It tolerates deep shade but its fall color and vigor are best with some sun through the day.
- Water regularly through the first growing season to establish roots, then it manages on typical North Texas rainfall.
- Keep children and pets from eating the berries. Extension sources rate them a high-severity poisoning risk if swallowed.
- Plan on pruning it back at least twice a year (spring and fall) once established. It spreads fast along the ground and up anything nearby.
Because this vine grows fast and is not naturally tidy, it reads as intentional only when it is confined to a defined support (a fence line, arbor, or single tree) and trimmed back from windows, gutters, and the roofline.
Fall
Fall is this vine's best season to look at (bright red foliage and dark ripening berries that birds strip quickly) and also the better time here to plant or move a woody vine like this one.
- Foliage turns red to burgundy from late September through November, ahead of most other fall color in the yard.
- Berries ripen dark blue-black in September and October and become an important food source for migrating and wintering birds.
- Do not let children or pets eat the berries. Extension sources rate them a high-severity poisoning risk if eaten, with symptoms including nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
- If you are adding a new vine, plant it in October or November, the better window for woody vines in North Texas.
- Sweep dropped berries off walkways, driveways, and patios before they stain the concrete.
The red fall color is worth keeping visible from the street, so prune back any stems crossing walkways or the driveway before leaf drop rather than letting berries track indoors or stain the pavement.
Winter
The vine drops its leaves and goes fully dormant, leaving bare woody stems, so winter is the season to see exactly how far it has spread and cut it back hard.
- Once leaves drop in November or December, cut back any stems that reached the roof, gutters, siding, or a neighbor's property.
- This is the time to remove old, thick stems near the base if the vine has outgrown its support; it regrows readily from the crown come spring.
- Check where tendrils have attached to a wood fence or trellis. Dense growth trapped against wood can hold moisture and encourage rot.
- North Texas winters are mild with brief hard freezes and occasional harder Arctic outbreaks; this vine is hardy well beyond our zone and needs no winter protection.
A hard prune back to the support structure while the vine is bare keeps the dormant stems from reading as overgrown clutter until spring growth fills back in.
Spring
Spring is the planting window for this vine here, and once it leafs out in March it grows quickly, so start guiding the new stems onto their support right away.
- Plant after the mid-March last frost so roots have time to establish before summer heat arrives.
- Water two to three times a week for the first couple of months after planting, then taper off as it takes hold.
- As soon as new stems appear, direct them onto the trellis, fence, or tree trunk you actually want covered. Unsupported growth will find your siding or a neighboring shrub instead.
- Pinch or cut back any stems heading toward windows, vents, or the roof edge before the tendril pads attach, since they are hard to remove cleanly once stuck.
- Lay 2 to 3 inches of mulch around the base to hold moisture through the first summer.
Guiding new growth onto a chosen support from the start, instead of letting it find its own path, keeps the vine looking like a planned planting rather than something that got away from you.
Summer
July and August afternoons over 100 degrees are hard on new plantings, but an established Virginia creeper handles the heat fine. It just keeps growing fast enough to need a monthly check.
- Water first-year plantings deeply once or twice a week during stretches of 100-plus-degree afternoons; established vines usually get by on rainfall alone.
- Small greenish white flowers open in June and July and draw bees; the berries that follow stay green and unripe through summer.
- Check monthly for stems climbing onto windows, gutters, the roofline, or a neighbor's fence, and cut them back.
- Watch it at the base of any nearby tree. Left alone it can climb into the canopy and shade out leaves, so pull errant runners off trunks.
Trimmed back from windows, gutters, and the roofline, the vine reads as a deliberate fence or ground cover instead of something overtaking the house.
Sources: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Parthenocissus quinquefolia, NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Want these tasks as reminders timed to your yard? Pollinator Patch turns this guidance into a season-by-season care plan for the plants you actually grow.
In an HOA neighborhood
Woodbine takes more care to keep looking intentional in a front yard. Maintenance level: high. Consider it for backyard or mid-zone beds rather than the street edge.
Works well in: backyard only.
- Extremely vigorous growth can overwhelm structures
- May be perceived as invasive or uncontrolled
- Can damage siding or masonry if not managed
Wildlife value
Host plant for luna moth, sphinx moth.
Small summer flowers attract bees and beetles, while the berries are eaten by over 35 bird species including woodpeckers and songbirds. The dense foliage provides nesting sites and cover for various wildlife.
Common questions
- When does Virginia creeper bloom?
- Virginia creeper produces small greenish flower clusters in June and July, though the blooms are easy to overlook against the foliage.
- What pollinators visit Virginia creeper?
- Bees and beetles are the main visitors to the small summer flowers, which offer nectar even though the blooms are not showy.
- How much light does Virginia creeper need?
- This vine grows well from full sun to full shade, but it tends to flower and fruit more in brighter conditions such as part sun to part shade.
- How much water does Virginia creeper need?
- It prefers medium moisture but adapts to both wetter sites and drier soils once its roots are established.
- What kind of plant is Virginia creeper?
- It is a woody, deciduous climbing vine that attaches to surfaces with tendrils and turns red in fall.
- Is Woodbine toxic to livestock?
- The USDA PLANTS Database does not flag Woodbine as toxic to livestock.
- Is Woodbine HOA-friendly?
- Woodbine takes more care to look intentional in a front yard. Consider it for backyard or mid-zone beds rather than the street edge.
These answers were drafted with an AI model from this plant's data. Verify care details with a local expert.
Native range data from vouchered herbarium specimen records and regional native plant society lists. Pollinator and host plant associations compiled from GBIF, iNaturalist, and published ecological literature.
If something looks wrong
Common plant problems, and what to check first
These come up on almost any plant. Each guide lists the likely causes in the order they are worth ruling out, with one thing to check before you act on any of them, and links to the source it came from.
- It is dying right after planting
- Leaves turning yellow
- Wilting even though I watered it
- Brown crispy leaf tips
- Bugs on the plant
Ready to grow Woodbine? Add it to your garden in Pollinator Patch to track it and get season-by-season care guidance.
Planning a bed around it? Start a free plan with this plant
Not sure where to start? Take the 2-minute yard quiz