Girl’s grapes in landscaping

A deciduous liana called parthenocissus has been widely used in landscape design since the XNUMXth century. She is considered a real lifesaver in decorating unsightly buildings and decorating unkempt gardens.

Features, pros and cons

Scientists have not been able to establish for certain the time and place of the appearance of wild grapes. Presumably, China or North America became its homeland, and from there it spread to other countries and continents. The only reliable fact is that in the XNUMXth century the liana became widespread as an ornamental culture, at the same time its biological description was created.

So, what is a wild grape? This is a deciduous liana, the official name is parthenocissus. Under natural conditions, it grows up to 20-25 m, climbing along vertical supports is carried out due to antennae with suction cups. The leaves are palmately complex in shape, the shade of the leaf plates is rich emerald. The inflorescences are rather inconspicuous and carry no aesthetic value.

With the advent of autumn bad weather, the leaves change their color to crimson-scarlet and burgundy. In the same period, colorful brushes of blue-black berries begin to ripen.

They contain oxalic acid, so people do not eat them, but feathered friends will not refuse to eat them on cold winter days.

Wild grapes among landscape designers have gained fame as a very viable culture. Its advantages include the following features.

  • Resistant to sub-zero temperatures. Liana easily tolerates both cold winters and return spring frosts, does not require shelter even in cold regions.
  • High growth rate. In one season, the area occupied by this vine increases two, and sometimes even three times. A couple of years is enough to completely braid a garden object. At the same time, wild grapes do not require any support – in this capacity, it is quite satisfied with the wall of the house, a gazebo or a chain-link fence.
  • Practicality and utility. The crown of wild grapes is dense. Thanks to this, it protects the material of the walls from direct ultraviolet rays and thus helps to maintain a favorable microclimate in the room during the hot summer months. Also, the plant has the ability to dry the soil near the foundation. In addition, it is often used to mask inconspicuous outbuildings.
  • Unpretentiousness. The plant does not impose special requirements on the quality and structure of the soil. It is resistant to most pests and diseases, it does not need special care and regular feeding. Wild grapes will grow successfully even if a person does not take care of the grapes at all.

Girl's grapes in landscaping

The disadvantages include the ability to fill the entire nearby space in the shortest possible time, while displacing neighboring cultivated plants. The most active shoots can even damage the integrity of the roof and cause leaks. There are cases when young shoots of girlish grapes filled the gutter and caused clogging of drains.

When using a vine to mask buildings, you need to remember that the stems and leaf mass are rather heavy. Such a load is enough for a flimsy building or an unfortified fence to collapse.

To get a lush, uniform and at the same time safe cover, you will have to cut off excess shoots from time to time, thus adjusting the direction of growth.

Ways to use

Wild grapes are distinguished by carved leaves, due to which the braided surface is both dense and embossed at the same time. Throughout the summer months, the liana delights with its elegantly shaped foliage, and in autumn, the advantage is created by a bright and colorful color effect. The plant is ubiquitous in garden plots. Its use is based on one of the following ideas.

Girl's grapes in landscaping

Girl's grapes in landscaping

Hedge

Parthenocissus is considered one of the easiest and cheapest ways to decorate an unsightly fence. Liana is used to create a decorative hedge in the local area or planted from the outside.

The result is a stylish fence – in both cases it is very important to take care of sufficient strength and strength of the supporting structure.

Girl's grapes in landscaping

Girl's grapes in landscaping

Vertical decoration of buildings

The classic use of girlish grapes is to mask the unsightly walls of a residential building, garden kitchen, or any other building on the site. Its only inconvenience is associated with the rapid growth of the vine, it must be kept under constant control.

If you do not pay enough attention to this issue, then the shoots will drown out the flower beds in a matter of weeks and turn the house adjoining area into a real impassable jungle.

Girl's grapes in landscaping

Girl's grapes in landscaping

Decoration of balconies and terraces

Girlish grapes are grown not only in gardens, but also on balconies and terraces. Its branches wrap around partitions and thus create a living wall. This improves the aesthetics of the extra space and also makes the living space cooler and darker. This vine is very hardy, so it can be grown in ordinary containers.

The only thing you have to do in this case is to make nutritious top dressing from time to time.

Girl's grapes in landscaping

Girl's grapes in landscaping

Horizontal gardening

Traditionally, parthenocissus is used for decorative vertical gardening. However, it can also be used in the horizontal plane. Such landscape design is not widely used, but it gives a rather unusual effect.

Due to its exceptional survival, unpretentiousness and rapid growth, the vine is often planted along highways. There, it easily withstands car exhaust and absorbs harmful carbon dioxide. Wild grapes as a ground cover can be planted near a rocky slope. It will grow over its surface and thus form a decorative carved carpet.

Girl's grapes in landscaping

Care

Wild grapes are one of the most unpretentious plants. It doesn’t take long to take care of it. Basically, it comes down to formative pruning of excess shoots and their fixation in the required direction. Once a season, usually in April-May, sanitary pruning is carried out, all dry shoots are removed and nitrogen-containing fertilizers are applied to the soil. In the summer, as the soil compacts, loosening and weeding can be carried out.

As for watering, the liana is enough of the water that the plant receives in the form of precipitation. If the summer is dry, then it is better to make 3-4 irrigations.

On the territory of Russia, predominantly frost-resistant varieties of girlish grapes (triostring and five-leaf) have become widespread – they do not require additional shelter for the winter. And even if the vine freezes in severe frosts, it will quickly recover due to sleeping buds.

Beautiful examples

You can decorate with grapes in your local area absolutely everything that you have. If your garden has an unsightly barn, you can make it look a lot more aesthetically pleasing. Surely many people are familiar with the situation when a wreck is located in the middle of the site and spoils the whole decor with its appearance. Demolishing it and building a new structure is not an option, but the situation can be corrected. Just plant wild grapes around, and in a couple of years the building will look truly luxurious.

Girl's grapes in landscaping

Girl's grapes in landscaping

In the Middle Ages, grapes wrapped around Gothic castles. Creating an analogue of such a decor in our time is not difficult – for this you only need to plant a few grape bushes under the walls of your house. No additional supports need to be made, due to the antennae with suction cups, he will crawl himself.

Tip: If there are cracks in the walls, then the grapes will definitely climb into them – this beauty can be very destructive. To prevent damage to the building, throw a net on the wall before growing grapes, so you will secure your residential building.

In such a simple way, you will create a real gothic atmosphere on your site. And if at the same time you build a resemblance of columns on the walls and an elevation above the roof from reinforcement, then you can create a fabulous castle from the era of King Arthur with the help of a vine with a minimum of expenses.

Girl's grapes in landscaping

The idea of ​​​​creating a grape ball is considered very original. Such decoration of landscape design will delight passers-by and the envy of neighbors. Be sure – soon more than one such ball will appear on your street. Make it very easy. To work, you only need a plastic drain pipe of large diameter, several metal-plastic pipes, fasteners for them, as well as wire.

First you need to bend the metal-plastic pipes and give them the shape of a circle. The ends are fixed with special fasteners or soldering. Usually two pieces of pipe are enough to form the four sides of the ball. When creating a ball of impressive size, you will need a construction of three pieces of pipe.

Next, you need to wrap the scarf a little with thick wire. It is enough for you to create only approximate outlines, the design will acquire a clearer rounded shape when forming the vine. Then dig a pipe into the ground next to the ball and plant four grape bushes under it, one on each side.

Very soon, young shoots will sprout outward through the pipe and begin to wrap around your structure. All you need to do is just shape as you grow. You should get a very spectacular and beautiful ball.

Girl's grapes in landscaping

If you need a place where you can retire in coolness and shade in the summer, make a canopy braided with wild grapes. To do this, first form a structure from rebar, wood, mesh, or any other material. Plant a vine near it, and in a year you will get a cozy shady area.

As a frame for wild grapes, you can use a trellis – it can be metal or wooden. Keep in mind that wooden structures in garden areas will require special impregnation to protect the structure from water and rot.

Girl's grapes in landscaping

Girl's grapes in landscaping

An arch wrapped in liana looks very impressive in the country house, it can be installed above the garden path or placed as an independent decorative element. For the successful implementation of this plan, the strength of the structure is of fundamental importance. To maintain its decorative appearance, it is necessary to carry out formative pruning from time to time.

Girl's grapes in landscaping

Wild grapes are often used for arranging pergolas – gazebos with a mesh roof. Curly liana forms a living roof on a wooden or vinyl crate. In order to transform the design into a cozy gazebo, 3-4 years are enough.

Girl's grapes in landscaping

Liana in garden design is often combined with other decorative crops. So, the composition of girlish grapes and clematis with its large flowers of bright saturated colors comes out very picturesque.

However, when choosing such landscaping, it must be borne in mind that clematis loves illuminated areas.

Girl's grapes in landscaping

Anna Evans

Author-editor

View all posts by Anna Evans →
Exit mobile version