Virginia creeper

[Bonsai4ever]

Hi Waltron - This is a great starter you have here and you can make this a very nice Bonsai.

Here are a couple of ideas for you to contemplate working towards.

Wolfgang Putz.jpg

Virginia Creeper.jpg

[anttal63]

Hi Waltron - This is a great starter you have here and you can make this a very nice Bonsai.

Here are a couple of ideas for you to contemplate working towards.

Wolfgang Putz.jpg

Virginia Creeper.jpg

A very beautiful plant or accent perhaps... However the compound foliage is huge and wolfgang cant seem to reduce it any further. until proven otherwise it along with many / all creepers dont make convincing Bonsai, imo, however are beautiful plants, ornamentals , accents ...

s_Putz71.jpg

[Waltron]

Hi peoples, sorry for the late reply but I've been away fishing for the last few days.
Anttal, you do have a point, I too agree that in many cases the line between a well styled ornamental and a true bonsai are a bit blurred.
Bohdi, I didn't plan to do any styling this growing season. Semi cascade did cross my mind, for now my plan was to just let it recover and see where it's at come winter time. Do you think this is the right approach?
Bonsai4ever, Thanks for the ideas. Fantastic colour on that Wolfgang creeper.

[bodhidharma]

O.K, you asked. For me, if it were mine, The top of the tree is not on the plan. Cut it at the lowest branch, the right hand one, and start your semi cascade from there. It has growth already so it would not be a problem. Cut it back to the foliage on the bottom branch and start your design from there.

[Waltron]

That first right hand branch has a nasty bulge/reverse taper and is actually 2 branches - one behind the other. My thoughts were to chop it and the top and go with the first left hand branch, I think it will flow better and have nice taper. If I were any good at virts I'd show you what I mean. Though I'm the kind of person who'll probably stare at it for a couple of years before making any solid decision. I appreciate any feedback whether you agree with me or not.

[Waltron]

Update:

140131-1.jpg

[Andrew F]

I bought a creeper from Ray's as an accent plant, even though its mame size technically, the tail is now just about 3 feet long.

Any do's and donts as far as this species is concerned?

[Stu_my]

Nice work

[Waltron]

Any do's and donts as far as this species is concerned?

Hi Andrew, I can't really give any advice on this species yet, only that Bodhi suggested two defoliation's a year.

[Andrew F]

Any do's and donts as far as this species is concerned?

Hi Andrew, I can't really give any advice on this species yet, only that Bodhi suggested two defoliation's a year.

Hey thanks for that link Waltron. Might give mine a snip this arvo and post the outcome, thanks again.

[kcpoole]

I have 2 small ones in little cascade pots as accents and just prune any larger leaves, and tip prune as needed to stop them getting long and lanky

[bodhidharma]

I would still be tempted to create the tree from the lower left hand branch and get rid of the rest

[Waltron]

It's looking a bit that way Bodhi.

[Waltron]

I repotted this last night, the tail was approximately 15m long!
However, I am now convinced that this is in fact not Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia Creeper), but rather Parthenocissus vitacea.
The difference is in the tendrils.

"The species is often confused with P. vitacea or "False Virginia creeper", which has the same leaves, but does not have the adhesive pads at the end of its tendrils." - Parthenocissus quinquefolia

"It is very closely related to Virginia Creeper (P. quinquefolia), differing only in its means of climbing, the tendrils twining around plant stems, not having the sticky pads found on the tendrils of Virginia Creeper. One consequence of this is that (unlike Virginia Creeper) it cannot climb smooth walls, only through shrubs and trees. The leaf shape, and also the brilliant fall colors, are indistinguishable from Virginia Creeper." - Parthenocissus vitacea

The twisting tendril of the Grape woodbine (I like that name the best) can clearly be seen here, and the tendrils of the virginia creeper can be seen in the link above with the footnote: "Climbing roots with adhesive pads, which are absent in P. vitacea". They are quite distinguishable from each other.

Furthermore, my dad was forever manually reattaching it to the wall as seen in the original photo on this thread, he has since replaced it with a Boston Ivy.

I'll post a picture of the repot soon.

[Waltron]

Update. Again, sorry about the quality of the photo.

161107-2.jpg