There is a tremendous diversity of herbaceous perennial plant species being grown for both the retail and landscaping sectors of the industry. Because of the diversity in species grown, there is much more unknown about perennials production than is known. Growth regulation is of particular concern. In production settings, as well as in retail locations, herbaceous perennials grown in pots tend to stretch and become leggy or simply overgrow their pots before their scheduled market date. These plants are less marketable, and harder to maintain. Many growers resort to pruning, which is not only costly in terms of labor, but also delays plant production two to four weeks.

Understanding the natural "habit" or shape of shrubs will help you determine how to prune them. All shoots grow outward from their tips. Whenever tips are removed, lower buds are stimulated to grow. Buds are located at nodes, where leaves are attached to twigs and branches. Each node produces from one to three buds, depending on shrub species.

Topping occurs when the vertical stem (leader) and upper primary limbs (scaffold branches) on mature trees are cut back to stubs at uniform height. Topping is also referred to as heading, stubbing, or dehorning.

(Callicarpa americana)

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf

Height: 10 feet

Spread: 6 feet

Shape: upright informal habit.

The primary and sole attribute of beautyberry, a large loosely branched shrub, is the showy display of magenta fruits in the fall.

(Cladrastis kentukea (prior name C. lutea))

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf

Height: 50 feet

Spread: 55 feet

Shape: Vase-shaped

This vase-shaped medium tree has smooth bark and showy white flowers in the spring. It is also quite drought and alkaline soil tolerant.

Lepidoptera: Psychidae, Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis

Plants Attacked: Juniper, arborvitae, other cedars, pine, hemlock, spruce, Chinese elm, honeylocust, primarily. Also on crabapple, maple, sycamore, box elder, willow, linden, poplar, and many others.

(Kolkwitzia amabilis)

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf

Height: 15 feet

Spread: 8 feet

Shape: Upright, arching

The primary and sole attractive aspect of beautybush is a stunning mass of pink, bellshaped flowers in spring.

(Buxus species)

Summary:

Foliage: Evergreen broadleaf

Height: 5 to 20 feet (depending on species and cultivar)

Spread: 5 to 20 feet (depending on species and cultivar)

Shape: Upright mound to round to upright narrow (depending on species and cultivar).

(Prunus laurocerasus `Otto Luyken')

Summary:

Foliage: Evergreen broadleaf

Height: 4 feet

Spread: 8 feet

Shape: Spreading

The species (Prunus laurocerasus) is generally not sold in the U.S. Cultivars of cherrylaurel are low-growing with handsome glossy foliage and white flowers in spring. This species tolerates shade and is used as a border, hedge, and in mass.

(Cotoneaster species)

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf (some species are evergreen)

Height: 12 inches to 6 feet

Spread: 2 to 8 feet

Shape: Spreading or upright

Leaves are small and glossy green. Showy small, white/pink, spring flowers are followed by red or black fruit which cover branches in the fall. The fruit display can be quite showy.

Cottony Maple Scale (Homoptera: Coccidae), Pulvinaria innumerabilis

PLANTS ATTACKED: Maples and dogwood primarily, but also many woody ornamentals.

(Lagerstroemia indica)

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf

Height: 4 to 25 feet (depending on cultivar)

Spread: 5 to 20 feet (depending on cultivar)

Shape: Upright or mound (depending on cultivar)

Glossy, dark green foliage turns yellow, orange, and red in fall. Flowers may be white, pink, red, or purple. Exfoliating bark is ornamental.

Lepidoptera: Sesiidae, Synanthedon scitula

PLANTS ATTACKED: Dogwood, pecan, elm, hickory, and willow

(Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum)

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf

Height: 10 feet

Spread: 12 feet

Shape: Upright with horizontal branching pattern

Doublefile viburnum is a large wide spreading shrub with a horizontal branching habit and a spectacular flower display in spring.

(Leucothoe fontanesiana)

Summary:

Foliage: Evergreen broadleaf

Height: 6 feet

Spread: 6 feet

Shape: Mound with arching branches

Drooping leucothoe is a beautiful and graceful evergreen medium-sized shrub with lustrous, dark green foliage. White bell-shaped flowers bloom in the spring. Its arching branches give it a fountain-like effect. This plant is not suitable for sunny or dry locations.

Coleoptera: Buprestidae, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire

Plants Attacked: Emerald ash borer (EAB) attacks all species of ash trees that grow in Virginia. Only Asian species of ash trees have shown any resistance to this pest.

(Betula pendula)

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf Height: 40 to 50 feet

Spread: 25 to 35 feet Shape: Upright

European white birch is a small/medium fast-growing tree with showy white bark and pendulous branch tips (especially when bearing seed). Small, glossy-green summer foliage turns yellow in fall exposing ornamental white bark. This species is considered to be short lived due its susceptibility to pests.

Summary:

Foliage: Evergreen broadleaf

Height: 3 to 8 feet (depending on cultivar)

Spread: 4 to 8 feet (depending on cultivar)

Shape: Upright, spreading

There are hundreds of evergreen azalea cultivars which vary in hardiness, size, form, flower color, time of flowering, and foliage. The primary attractive feature of azaleas is the very attractive and showy flower display in spring.

Summary:

Foliage: Evergreen

Height: 6 to 15 feet (depending on species or cultivar)

Spread: 5 to 15 feet (depending on species or cultivar)

Shape: Upright, rounded to oval

There are many Rhododendron species and cultivars thereof, as well as hundreds of hybrids.

Rhododendron species come in many sizes and shapes with a wide variety of leaf and flower forms. Azaleas are in the Rhododendron genus and will discussed in another article.

Distribution and Hosts Native to North America, the fall webworm occurs throughout the United States and southern Canada. Its hosts include more than 100 species of deciduous forest, shade, and fruit trees, with preferences varying from region to region.

(Chaenomeles speciosa)

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf Height: 10 feet

Spread: 12 feet Shape: Upright

Flowering quince is a large fast-growing shrub whose main merit is showy flowers (red, orange, white, pink depending on cultivar) in early spring. Uses of this species include hedge, shrub border, or mass plantings. Plants have thorns and therefore need careful placement.

(Photinia x fraseri)

Summary:

Foliage: Evergreen broadleaf Height: 20 feet

Spread: 10 feet Shape: Upright

Red tip is a large evergreen shrub. Newly emerging foliage is red and quite showy for a few weeks after which it changes to glossy, dark green. Clusters of white flowers occur in late spring. This plant is widely used in the south as a hedge. Unfortunately, this plant is overused in the landscape and is also susceptible to a serious leaf spot disease.

Fusarium wilt is a common and lethal disease of mimosa (Albizia julibrissin)1, also commonly known as silktree. In the United States this disease occurs in the east from New York southward and also in Louisiana, Arkansas and California. Fusarium wilt is caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum forma specialis perniciosum. This pathogen causes Fusarium wilt on Albizia species and also on tree-ofheaven (Ailanthus altissima). Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. perniciosum colonizes and clogs the tree's vascular (water-conducting) tissue, and interferes with the movement of plant sap. This results in relatively rapid tree death.

(Ginkgo biloba)

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf Height: 80 feet

Spread: 40 feet Shape: Spreading, a lot of variation in the species

Ginkgo is a large shade tree that is tolerant of adverse growing conditions and has a bright yellow fall foliage color. One should only plant male trees since female trees bear fruit that smell like vomit.

(Koelreuteria paniculata)

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf

Height: 40 feet

Spread: 30 feet

Shape: Upright rounded

Goldenraintree is a medium tree with showy yellow flowers in early summer. Flowers are followed by bladder-like fruits that start out light green, turn yellow, and then brown. Fall color can be fair to good depending on the individual tree. This species is quite tolerant of adverse conditions.

(Fraxinus pennsylvanica)

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf Height: 60 feet

Spread: 50 feet Shape: Spreading

This large fast-growing tree is very tolerant of adverse conditions. Its fall foliage color is a yellow.

The spectacular spring flowers of azaleas and rhododendrons make them among the most popular garden shrubs. However, azaleas and rhododendrons are shrubs for all seasons. Throughout the summer and fall the leaves add a pleasing, deep-green color to the garden. Some deciduous azaleas add bright fall color before the leaves drop. In winter, some varieties stand out with large, evergreen leaves.

(Berberis thunbergii var. atropurpurea )

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf

Height: 3 to 8 feet (depending on cultivar)

Spread: 4 to 7 feet (depending on cultivar)

Shape: Upright mound

This medium to large shrub has purple foliage throughout the growing season. Japanese barberry has thorns which may be an advantage (deer proof, pedestrian traffic control) or a liability (injury to pedestrians).

The Virginia Department of Conservation and Resources and the Virginia Native Plant Society have ranked this as a “moderately invasive species” in the mountain, piedmont, and coastal areas of Virginia.

(Camellia japonica)

Summary:

Foliage: Evergreen broadleaf

Height: 15 feet

Spread: 10 feet

Shape: Upright, dense Japanese camellia is a dense and formal-appearing large shrub/small tree suitable for USDA plant hardiness zones 7 to 9. Foliage is a glossy, dark-green. Large flowers, ranging from white to pink to red, bloom from winter to spring.

(Ilex crenata)

Summary:

Foliage: Evergreen broadleaf

Height: 2 to 10 feet (depending on cultivar)

Spread: 2 to 10 feet (depending on cultivar)

Shape: Upright or low mound (depending on cultivar)

There are numerous cultivars of Japanese holly. Many are compact, mounded forms with small, spineless, dark-green leaves and black fruit. They are primarily used in mass for borders, backgrounds, and foundation plants.

(Acer palmatum)

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf. Foliage color, depending on cultivar, varies from green to red to purple to a marble pattern composed of varying combinations of white, pink and shades of green. Foliage shape can vary from the “normal” looking leaf to dissected (leaves with very thin lobes often referred to a “cut leaf” forms). Dissected leaves impart a very lacy look and fine texture to plants. Spring and fall foliage colors are quite vibrant and can be bright red, yellow, chartreuse, or maroon. Red-leaved cultivars will have green leaves if grown in the shade.

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf

Height: 75 feet

Spread: 75 feet

Shape: Oval to round, spreading

Japanese pagodatree is a medium/large shade tree with showy flowers in summer. Green seed pods, somewhat ornamental, hang on tree until late in the fall. Flower petals can be messy if tree is used near a house, road, or pathway.

Summary:

Foliage: Evergreen broadleaf

Height: 15 feet

Spread: 15 feet

Shape: Upright, multi-stem shrub

This large shrub has dark green leaves that are large, slender, and wrinkled. This species has showy white flowers in late spring. Clusters of red to black berries form (inconsistently) in late summer.

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf

Height: 70 feet

Spread: 40 feet

Shape: Upright oval

This medium tree has wonderfully fragrant flowers in June and is tolerant of adverse conditions.

Summary:

Foliage: Evergreen broadleaf

Height: 40 feet

Spread: 60 feet

Shape: Spreading

A massive and majestic shade tree with evergreen foliage that is bright olive-green when new and changes to a glossy, dark green when mature.

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf

Height: 100 feet

Spread: 80 feet

Shape: Pyramidal in youth, spreading with age

London planetree is a medium/large species that is very tolerant of adverse conditions. It has ornamental which bark flakes off, exposing tan, greenish and creamy white colors.

It is often necessary to provide extra attention to plants in the fall to help them over-winter and start spring in peak condition. Understanding certain principles and cultural practices will significantly reduce winter damage that can be divided into three categories: desiccation, freezing, and breakage.

Summary:

Foliage: Evergreen or semi-evergreen broadleaf

Height: 10 feet Spread: 5 feet

Shape: Upright, cane growth (very little side branching)

Heavenly bamboo is a medium-large upright shrub. In late spring it bears showy white flowers and in the late fall/winter it has attractive reddish foliage (sun) and large clusters of red berries. This species can tolerate full sun or full shade and is drought tolerant. There are several dwarf cultivars that are suitable for small spaces.

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf Height: 50 feet

Spread: 50 feet Shape: Oval to round

Norway maple is a medium/large shade tree that is tolerant of adverse conditions. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Resources and the Virginia Native Plant Society have ranked Norway maple as a “moderately invasive species” in the mountain, piedmont, and coastal areas of Virginia.

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf Height: 9 feet

Spread: 12 feet Shape: upright, spreading

Old fashioned weigela is a large shrub with a coarse texture and showy spring flowers. This plant is best suited for a shrub border. There are several new cultivars which are improved versions (dwarf, foliage and flower characteristics) compared to the species.

Summary:

Foliage: Evergreen broadleaf

Height: 3 to 9 feet (depending on form)

Spread: 5 feet

Shape: Upright, cane growth (very little side branching)

Oregongrapeholly is a slow-growing, medium to large evergreen shrub with lustrous foliage and bright yellow flowers in spring which are followed by robin egg blue fruit in summer.

Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Hylobius pales (Herbst)

Plants Attacked: Pales weevil feeds on all pines within its range. It will also feed, although to a lesser extent, on Douglas-fir, fir, hemlock, juniper, larch, northern white-cedar, and spruce.

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf

Height: 70 feet

Spread: 40 feet

Shape: Upright pyramidal in youth, oval at maturity

This large oak has wine-red foliage in the fall.

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf Height: 4 to 15 feet

Spread: 4 to 8 feet Shape: Bushy

Small, green, summer foliage. When unpruned, pyramidal clusters of small white flowers produce black berries.

One of Virginia’s most popular yet mistreated landscape plants is the beautiful crapemyrtle (Lagerstroemia indica, L. fauriei, and L. indica with L. fauriei or L. speciosa hybrids ). Selected and prized for their long summer bloom period (often called the "plant of the 100 day bloom"), cultivars have a range of flower colors, with an interesting seed head following the flower. In addition, crapemrytles have lustrous green leaves that change to bright fall colors, subtle to stunning multicolored bark, and unique winter architecture that makes this plant exceed most landscape choices for four-season interest and appeal.

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf

Height: 60 feet

Spread: 60 feet

Shape: Oval to round

Red maple is a fast-growing medium/large shade tree species with a spectacular fall foliage color. It has showy red flowers in the spring. There are many cultivars of this species that vary in form, tolerance of wet conditions, and fall color.

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf Height: 10 feet

Spread: 6 feet Shape: Upright

Rose-of- Sharon is a large shrub with showy. Relatively large single or double flowers bloom in summer. Flower colors include white, red, purple, violet, and blue.

Scale insects are a peculiar group and look quite different from the typical insects we encounter day to day. Small, immobile, with no visible legs or antennae, they resemble individual fish scales pressed tightly against the plant on which they are feeding. There are over l50 different kinds of scales in Virginia. Many are common and serious pests of trees, shrubs, and indoor plants.

Summary:

Foliage: Evergreen broadleaf Height: 15 +feet Spread: 15 feet

Shape: Spreading – can get wild (sprawling) if not pruned

Pyracantha is a large, fast-growing shrub has showy white blooms in spring and a spectacular display of orange/red fruit in the fall. This plant requires pruning since unpruned plants are very rangy looking. Stems have very sharp thorns, thus pruning this plant must be performed with caution. Plants should be not situated where children or pedestrians may encounter stems.

Boxwood is used extensively in the landscape development of homes, gardens, and public grounds in Virginia. Since colonial times, it has been an integral part of the landscape, and many historical gardens in the state are noted for their boxwoods. Today, many people who have colonial architecture select this plant because they feel it fits this style best, but boxwood is also being used with modern or contemporary homes.

In the home landscape, flowering trees are secondary in importance to shade trees. The basic elements of framing, background, and shading are provided by shade trees, while flowering trees provide showy and unusual features with their floral beauty and seasonal interest. In addition, many flowering trees have colorful or interesting fruits which may be edible or attractive to birds.

Ground covers are low-growing plants that spread quickly to form a dense cover. They add beauty to the landscape and, at the same time, help prevent soil erosion. Grass is the best known ground cover, but grass is not suited to all locations. Other ground cover plants should be used where grass is difficult to grow or maintain.

There are many tree species that can be successfully grown in Virginia, but are rarely seen in our landscapes. Although not ordinarily recommended or readily available, these trees may be useful to carry out a specific landscape theme, to substitute for an exotic type which is not locally adapted, or may be prized for unusual form, flowers, fruits, bark, or foliage.

Trees are the basic element for any landscape plan. They set the stage for the entire home grounds design. The type used and their location determine to a great extent what other plantings are appropriate. Providing shade usually requires tall, sturdy, long-living species. Density of foliage, which determines the amount of shading, is important. A tree such as a Norway maple will produce a very dense shade that prevents other plants from growing under it, while a honey locust will produce a light partial shade which is not a hindrance to other plants growing below it. Deciduous trees should be used to shade the south windows of a home in the summer, thus allowing the sun to penetrate in the winter.

What is a shrub? A shrub is generally considered a multi-stem woody plant that is less than 15 feet tall. Of course, this and other plant size categories are definitions contrived by humans to categorize nature. What is the difference between a large shrub and a small tree? In many cases, there is none. A shrub does not become a tree just because it grows higher than 15 feet. Classifying plants into ground cover, shrub, and tree designations are aids to allow us to conveniently classify and describe plants, albeit with a significant amount of ambiguity.

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf

Height: 15 feet

Spread: 15

Shape: Upright, spreading

Smokebush is a small tree or large shrub depending on how one prunes the plant. Leaves of the species are green. Depending on cultivar; leaves can be purple or yellow during the growing season. After flowering (with small relatively inconspicuous flowers) in spring, clusters of fine filaments associated with flowering give the appearance of “smoke”. Fall foliage color is quite showy.

Summary:

Foliage: Evergreen broadleaf

Height: 80 feet

Spread: 50 feet

Shape: Upright, pyramidal to narrow pyramidal

This is a magnificent large evergreen tree with very large, wonderfully fragrant white flowers in late spring and early summer. There are many cultivars with variations in tree shape and size, flower, and foliage characteristics.

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf Height: 15 feet

Spread: 15 feet Shape: Upright, multi-stem

Southern waxmyrtle is a large evergreen shrub or small tree depending on how one prunes it.

This species tolerates wet and dry soils and females have a somewhat showy display of gray berries in the fall/winter.

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf Height: 100 feet

Spread: 80 feet Shape: Oval to round

Sugar maple is a medium/large shade tree with a no less than spectacular fall foliage display.

There are many cultivars; cultivar characteristics include growth rate, form, and fall foliage color.

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf Height: 50 feet

Spread: 30 feet Shape: Pyramidal in youth, round to oval at maturity

Sweetgum is a medium/large tree with very showy fall foliage colors. It tolerates moist to dry

soils. A notable disadvantage is the mess created by the fallen spiny fruit (gum balls).

Bonsai is an art form that stems from ancient Asian culture, originating in China and developed by the Japanese. In the 13th century, the Japanese collected and potted wild trees that had been dwarfed by nature. These naturally formed miniatures were some of the first bonsai.

(Liquidambar styraciflua)

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf Height: 50 feet

Spread: 30 feet Shape: Pyramidal in youth, round to oval at maturity

Sweetgum is a medium/large tree with very showy fall foliage colors. It tolerates moist to dry soils. A notable disadvantage is the mess created by the fallen spiny fruit (gum balls).

The trees and shrubs on your new home site are growing poorly, so you take samples to the Extension office and the agent suggests a soil test. Test results show that your soil has a pH of 4.5, which is rated as strongly acid. The agent suggests you either take corrective action to raise the pH or grow different plants.

Trees are valuable assets in commercial, private, and public landscapes. Trees add aesthetic beauty, modify and enhance the environment, serve architectural and engineering functions, and increase property and community economic values. These same trees that enhance landscapes, however, are a major challenge for utility companies. Most people have grown accustomed to reliable, uninterrupted electric, telephone and cable service in their homes and offices. Unfortunately, trees are one of the major causes of power outages in areas of overhead utility lines due to direct tree contact with lines, or to trees or tree limbs falling on the lines.

Concentrated sodium (Na), a component of salt, can damage plant tissue whether it contacts above or below ground parts. High salinity can reduce plant growth and may even cause plant death. Care should be taken to avoid excessive salt accumulation from any source on tree and shrub roots, leaves or stems. Sites with saline (salty) soils, and those that are exposed to coastal salt spray or paving de-icing materials, present challenges to landscapers and homeowners.

Parking lots and paved areas are essential urban features that tend to be unsightly in their basic form. Municipal ordinances often mandate specific amounts of parking for different types of commercial or residential land use, as well as landscaping for these parking areas. Landscaping in and around parking lots and pavement improves appearance, prevents soil erosion, and reduces carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. Planted areas also reduce storm water drainage problems, reduce the detrimental effects of wind and noise, and enhance human comfort by providing heat-reducing shade.

Conditions in urban environments place trees under numerous stresses including compacted soil, soil moisture extremes, and reduced soil fertility. Polluted air is another stress that contributes to the decline of urban trees. Air pollution may cause short-term (acute) damage, which is immediately visible, and long-term (chronic) damage, which can lead to gradual tree decline. Long-term damage may predispose trees to other disorders, making diagnosis difficult.

Using trees as living screens can easily enhance living and working spaces. Before selecting trees for screening, first determine the screen's purpose, whether functional or environmental. Screening can be used to define an area, modify or hide a view, create privacy, block wind, dust, salt and snow, control noise, filter light, and direct traffic flow.

Walnut is the common name given to twenty species of deciduous trees in the genus Juglans, of which six species are native to the United States. The black walnut, Juglans nigra, which is native to Virginia, grows from Maine west to southern Michigan and south to Texas and Georgia.

Hot landscape sites require special consideration before trees are planted. Trees can survive, and even thrive, in hot sites if the site is prepared correctly, if heat-tolerant species are selected, and if the trees are properly maintained. A variety of different locations and situations qualify as hot landscape sites.

Planting trees in aboveground containers and planters is becoming a common practice on sites that are not suited for inground planting. Containers differ from raised planters in that they are usually smaller in volume and moveable, whereas planters are generally larger, and often built as part of the permanent hardscape (paving, etc.). The greatest challenge in selecting trees for containers and planters is in choosing trees that can survive temperature extremes, and that can establish roots in a limited volume of substrate (potting soil). Consider several factors when selecting containers and trees including environmental influences, container and planter design, substrate type, and tree characteristics.

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf

Height: 90 feet

Spread: 50 feet

Shape: Upright oval

Tuliptree is a very tall, large tree with a straight trunk. It bears beautiful tulip-shaped flowers in May but generally go unnoticed since they high in the tree.

(Spiraea x vanhouttei)

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf Height: 10 feet

Spread: 12 feet Shape: Vase-shaped with arching branches

Vanhoutte spirea is a large shrub with graceful arching branches. Its main claim to fame is it abundant and showy display of white flowers in spring. This species is best used in a shrub border or in mass.

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf Height: 100 feet

Spread: 80 feet Shape: Broad-rounded

White oak is a magnificent large spreading tree. This species is somewhat slow growing but is well worth the wait. Do not plant this tree in an area that is apt to be subjected to soil compaction.

Summary:

Foliage: Deciduous broadleaf Height: 10 feet

Spread: 10 feet Shape: Upright oval

Winterberry is a large shrub and somewhat informal in character. There are cultivars that are shorter and have a more formal appearance. This native wetland species has very showy bright red fruit (on female plants) in early autumn that persist till February.

Summary:

Foliage: Evergreen broadleaf 

Height: 4 inches as a ground cover 20 feet as a vine

Shape: Spreading Wintercreeper euonymus is a low-growing evergreen ground cover that will climb when it encounters a vertical surface. There are several cultivars which vary in foliage color and height.

Summary:

Foliage: Evergreen broadleaf

Height: 5 to 20 feet (depending on cultivar)

Spread: 3 to 10 feet (depending on cultivar)

Shape: Compact mound

This and several other similar cultivars are used in landscapes as border plants or in mass. This species is very tolerant of most adverse landscape conditions. Some female cultivars have stems laden with very showy persistent red fruit. This species is suited to warmer areas of Virginia (zone 7 and higher).