Side by side
Grapevine or Virginia creeper? How to tell them apart
Vitis vinifera · Parthenocissus
How to tell them apart – grapevine: tendrils without adhesive pads, grapes; Virginia creeper: tendrils with adhesive pads and no grapes.
How do you recognise them?
- Grapevine
- Palmately lobed, coarsely toothed leaves, tendrils opposite the leaves and bunches of grapes.
- Compared with Virginia creeper: tendrils without adhesive pads; grapes.
- Virginia creeper
- Climber with tendrils, usually tipped with adhesive pads, and brilliant red autumn colour.
- Compared with grapevine: tendrils with adhesive pads and no grapes.
| Grapevine | Virginia creeper | |
|---|---|---|
| Leaves | Alternate, 3–5-lobed, coarsely toothed, 10–20 cm. | Alternate; in true Virginia creeper palmately compound with 5 leaflets, in Boston ivy three-lobed and glossy. |
| Flowering | Small, greenish, fragrant flowers in clusters (June) (June). | Inconspicuous green flowers in summer, loved by bees (June–July). |
| Fruit | Grapes in bunches, green to bluish-black (September–October). | Bluish-black berries with a waxy bloom; not edible. |
| Bark | Older stems with bark that peels in long strips. | Tendrils with tiny suckers (adhesive pads) that let it climb walls. |
| Shape and height | Climber, up to 10 m, usually pruned short | Climber, climbs to 15–20 m |
| Site | Full sun, any garden soil, normal | Sun to shade, any garden soil, normal |
| Native to Belgium | No, planted | No, naturalised |
| Good for bees, butterflies and birds | Yes, for birds | Yes, for bees and birds |
| Poisonous to people and pets | Not known to be poisonous | Not known to be poisonous |
| Pruning months | June–July and December–January | November–March |
What does it mean for your garden?
- Choose what suits your soil, your light and the space you have: see the growing conditions in the table.
Read on
- Plant profile: Grapevine
- Plant profile: Virginia creeper
- Grapevine: when and how to prune
- Virginia creeper: when and how to prune
- Identification key: the question that separates them
Also looks like
This comparison is compiled from the Bladwijzer species pages.