General: The virginia creeper is native to eastern North America. As a fast-growing climbing plant, it forms tendrils with adhesive discs and, in nature, covers entire trees or, as a garden plant, sometimes entire houses. Its deciduous, five-fold leaves are dark green in summer and turn from yellow to an intense red in autumn.
Care as a bonsai: For a bonsai, the leaves of the virginia creeper are of course very large and the habit of a tree can hardly be achieved. Nevertheless, the plant lignifies and forms a very native trunk. Even at a young age you can set up the creeper very nicely with the long branches on a high cascade table. The drooping shoots then look like long hair and are very nice to look at, especially in autumn. These shoots are then taken back down to the shortest new shoot piece at the latest in winter. In old age, this branch is actually only a short thickening of the wood on which a leaf or a bud sits. As a result, the shoots of old plants resemble a string of pearls and indicate their old age. The autumn color is spectacular and beautiful fruit clusters with dark berries remain in winter. In spring, the virginia creeper impresses with the pink buds that break out of the seemingly dead wood. The virginia creeper should be as light as possible in summer, sufficiently watered and protected over the winter. Due to the dense roots, regular repotting is necessary and waterlogging should be avoided.
