Virginia Creeper (also known as Boston Ivy or Woodbine) is an absolute rockstar when it comes to covering house walls, pergolas, or adding some lush privacy to your balcony. If you’ve fallen in love with those vibrant green leaves and want more of them, you’re in luck! Propagating your own Virginia Creeper is actually pretty easy. There are a few different ways to get the job done.
The Different Ways to Propagate Virginia Creeper
When it comes to making more baby vines, you’ve got a few options to choose from:
- Propagation via cuttings
- Propagation via layering or runners
- Propagation from seeds
Propagation via Cuttings
Using cuttings is by far the most popular way to grow new vines. The best time to do this is in late summer or early fall. Look for healthy shoots that are about 8 inches long and snip them off with a sharp pair of garden shears or a knife. If you’re already planning on pruning your plant anyway, that’s the perfect time to grab your cuttings! Here’s what to do next:
- Keep only the top pair of leaves on the cutting; strip off all the other leaves and any side shoots.
- Stick the cutting into a starter pot filled with seed-starting mix or a DIY blend of compost and sand.
- Keep the pot in a bright, warm spot. An indoor windowsill is usually the perfect “nursery.”
- Keep the soil consistently moist, but be careful not to overwater—you want to avoid mold growth.
Once the little guy has developed a strong root system and starts showing new growth, it’s ready to be planted out on its own.
Propagation via Layering
Layering is another great “set it and forget it” method. Find a long, flexible shoot that can reach the ground near the mother plant. Make a tiny nick in the stem, bend it down, and bury that section in the soil, leaving just the tip of the shoot poking out. If the vine keeps trying to pop back up, just weigh it down with a few stones, some garden twine, or even a tent stake.
Keep that patch of soil watered regularly. After a while, the buried section will grow its own roots. Once the new vine is well-established, you can snip it away from the mother plant with a sharp knife and move it to its permanent home.
Propagation from Seeds
You can also grow Virginia Creeper from seeds, but I’ll be honest with you: this way is a bit of a project. It takes a long time and is much more finicky than the other methods. But if you’re up for the challenge, you can buy seeds at a garden center or harvest them yourself from the berries on your vine.
No Grafting Required!
People often compare Virginia Creeper to “real” grapevines because they look so similar. However, unlike wine grapes, you don’t need to worry about grafting. This is mainly because Virginia Creeper berries aren’t for snacking—they’re actually slightly toxic to humans—so we’re growing them for their gorgeous looks, not for a harvest!
