Habitat

• native to Japan and central China
• hardy to zone 4
• Special Note: This species has demonstrated an invasive tendency in Connecticut, meaning it may escape from cultivation and naturalize in minimally managed areas. For more information, Click Here.

Habit and Form

• a deciduous vine with tendrils
• tendrils are branched with holdfasts at tips (5 to 12 branchlets)
• needs no support
• 30' to 50' tall (variable)
• fast growth rate
• medium texture

Summer Foliage

• alternate arranged leaves
• simple, lobed leaves
• 4" to 8" wide
• serrated leaf margin
• glossy green leaf color
• pubescent leaf veins

Autumn Foliage

• reddish purple
• showy leaves held late into fall or early winter

Flowers

• greenish white flowers
• blooms in June
• flowers form terminal panicles
• not impressive or ornamentally important

Fruit

• bluish fruit
• borne on red pedicles
• persist
• ripens in September
• birds enjoy fruit
• visible after leaf fall

Bark

• squarish stems with prominent lenticels
• lenticels are vertically arranged
• tendril branchlets are shorter than on P. quinquefolia

Culture

• best transplanted form containers
• tolerant of most soil conditions
• full sun to full shade
• salt tolerant
• tolerant of most all conditions

Landscape Use

• wall cover
• trellises
• for fall color

Liabilities

• can become invasive
• holdfasts can be hard to remove from buildings
• leaf spot
• canker and scale
• leaf hoppers

ID Features

• blue fruit borne on red pedicles
• alternate leaf arrangement
• simple. lobed leaves
• circular shaped hold fasts
• vertically arranged lenticels

Propagation

• by cuttings
• by seed

Cultivars/Varieties

'Atropurpurea' - The leaves are tinged purple on this selection. The foliage emerges reddish and ends the season bright red before leaf fall. 'Purpurea' is similar, but the purple tinge is retained throughout the growing season.

'Green Showers' (also listed as 'Green Spring') - This selection bears larger leaves that may be 10" wide. The fall color is deep red.

'Fenway Park' - Discovered by an Arnold Arboretum employee near the famous Boston ballpark, this plant has leaves that emerge yellow, gradually turn green and flame red in fall.

'Veitchii' - A common selection, this plant has smaller leaves that are purplish at first and bear strong serrations.