Vines at the FWG

American Bittersweet

Celastrus scandens

Bourreau-des-arbres

Family: Bittersweet (Celastraceae)
Native to: Eastern Ontario
Location at the FWG: Evergreen Woods
Backyard garden bed:
Flower colour: Yellowish-green
Blooming time: Spring
Height: Vine can grow longer than 10 m
Light requirements: Full sun
Moisture requirements: Average
Soil: Average
pH: Neutral

Natural habitat: Grows on rocky slopes, woodland areas and thickets, often it winds itself around trees.

Wildlife use: Berries attract many birds and critters.

Notes: Orange-red berries in fall. Berries are poisonous to humans. The vine will climb mature trees, but may damage smaller trees. Grows best along a fence or another support structure.

Propagation: The American bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) is a dioecious vine, bearing either male or female flowers. To produce flowers and fruits you must have a female and a male vine near each other for bees to pollinate the female.

Provenance: Seeds collected on Barryvale Road.

Virginia Clematis / Virgin’s Bower

Clematis virginiana

Clématite de Virginie

Family: Buttercup (Ranunculaceae)
Native to: Eastern Ontario
Location at the FWG: Backyard Garden
Backyard garden bed: FR RO
Flower colour: White
Blooming time: Summer
Height: Up to 6 m
Light requirements: Sun to part shade
Moisture requirements: Average
Soil: Average
pH: Neutral

Natural habitat: Stream banks, thickets, wood edges. Common in the Ottawa region.

Wildlife use: Used by small bees and wasps.

Notes: Flowers are much smaller than horticultural varieties of clematis, but occur in clusters. Self-seeds. In the wild it climbs over shrubs and trees. Can be tied to a trellis, but better allow it to grow over an arbor or fence.

Propagation: Easy to start from gathered wild seed; germination much higher after cold moist stratification for 4 months. Can also be propagated by “layering,” i.e., cover part of the vine with soil until it produces roots, then separate from parent plant.

Wild Cucumber

Echinocystis lobata

Concombre sauvage

Family: Gourd (Cucurbitaceae)
Native to: Eastern Ontario
Location at the FWG: East edge of Old Woodlot; slope on east side of Resource Centre
Backyard garden bed:
Flower colour: White
Blooming time: Late summer
Height:
Light requirements: Sun to part shade
Moisture requirements: Average
Soil: Average
pH: Neutral

Natural habitat: Stream banks, moist thickets, clearings. Common in the Ottawa region.

Wildlife use: Fruit is a soft-prickly oval sphere, with hard dry seeds inside. Seeds not edible and can cause burning reactions in some people.

Notes: This vine is an annual, but self seeds readily. Grows up and over shrubs; good choice to mask compost bins. Will grow on low fence. Susceptible to cold; wilts severely after first frost.

Propagation: Easy to grow from seeds. No special treatment needed. Seeds can be collected from spiny green fruit in early fall. Seeds are ripe when they are black with speckles – like large watermelon seeds – and fruit has split open at the bottom. As fruit dries, the seeds fall out, so collecting period is short.

Riverbank Grape

Vitis riparia

Vigne des rivages

Family: Grape (Vitaceae)
Native to: Eastern Ontario
Location at the FWG: Old Woodlot, Evergreen Woods
Backyard garden bed: FR
Flower colour: White
Blooming time: Summer
Height: undefinite
Light requirements: Full sun to part shade
Moisture requirements: Average to moist
Soil: Average
pH: Neutral

Natural habitat: River banks, thickets, forest edges. Common in the Ottawa region.

Wildlife use: Fruit is eaten by many birds and mammals in fall and winter: Red and Grey Squirrels, Northern Cardinals, Cedar and Bohemian Waxwings, American Robins, Grey Catbirds, and others. Also used by several species of moths found at the FWG, such as the Grape Leaffolder (Desmia funeralis).

Notes: Greenish white to cream-coloured flowers; tart dark blue-black berries.

Virginia Creeper

Parthenocissus quinquefolia

Vigne vierge vraie

Family: Grape (Vitaceae)
Native to: Eastern Ontario
Location at the FWG: throughout gardens
Backyard garden bed: EN
Flower colour: Greenish
Blooming time: Summer
Height: Not applicable
Light requirements: Full sun to part shade
Moisture requirements: Average
Soil: Average
pH: Neutral

Natural habitat: Clearings, forest edges, fence lines. Common in the Ottawa region.

Wildlife use: Dark blue berries are eaten by Cedar Waxwings, American Robins, other songbirds.

Notes: Climbing woody, perennial vine. Fast growing once it is established. Too heavy for a trellis, but can be trained to grow over a pergola. Established plants will send out shoots along the ground, then grow up over fences, shrubs, etc. Prune back severely. Unlike False Virginia Creeper branches of tendrils end in disks that can attach to supporting surfaces also branches are split into 5 to 12 leaves. The berries contain toxic amounts of oxalic acid and have been known to cause kidney damage and death to humans.

(Grape) Woodbine / False Virginia Creeper / Thicket Creeper

Parthenocissus inserta (syn. vitacea)

Vigne vierge

Family: Grape (Vitaceae)
Native to: Eastern Ontario
Location at the FWG: Backyard Garden; Hedgerow; thickets
Backyard garden bed: EN
Flower colour: Greenish
Blooming time: Fall
Height: Not applicable
Light requirements: Full sun to part shade
Moisture requirements: Average
Soil: Medium to wet, well-drained
pH: Neutral

Natural habitat: Clearings, forest and stream edges, fence lines. Common in the Ottawa region.

Wildlife use: Dark blue berries are eaten by Cedar Waxwings, America Robins, and other songbirds.

Notes: Climbing woody, perennial vine. Fast growing once it is established. Too heavy for a trellis, but can be trained to grow over a pergola. Established plants will send out shoots along the ground, then grow up over fences, shrubs, etc. Prune back severely. Unlike the Virginia Creeper, tendrils have no disks so they cannot climb a smooth wall. Branches split into 3 to 5 vs. 5 to 12 for Virginia Creeper. Berries contain oxalates and the plant may cause dermatitis.

Trumpet Honeysuckle / Coral Honeysuckle / Scarlet Honeysuckle

Lonicera sempervirens

Chèvrefeuille toujours vert

Family: Honeysuckle (Caprifoliaceae)
Native to: North America
Location at the FWG: Backyard Garden
Backyard garden bed: EN
Flower colour: Scarlet/orange with yellow inside
Blooming time: Summer
Height:
Light requirements: Full sun
Moisture requirements: Average
Soil: Average
pH: Neutral

Natural habitat: Prefers moist, loamy soils.

Wildlife use: Attracts hummingbirds, butterflies.

Notes: Tolerates shade, but number of flowers proportional to amount of sun. Adapts to a wide range of soils. Blooms primarily on previous year’s stems, so prune to shape after flowering.

Propagation: Not tried. Seeds seem to disappear soon after flowers die.

Pale Swallowwort / Dog-strangling Vine*

Vincetoxicum rossicum (= Cynanchum rossicum)

Dompte-venin de Russie

Family: Milkweed (Asclepiadaceae)
Native to: Ukraine, and southeast Russia
Location at the FWG: all environments
Backyard garden bed: invasive
Flower colour: pink, red-brown, or maroon
Blooming time: Spring
Height: Vine can grow longer than 3 m
Light requirements: Shade to full sun
Moisture requirements: Average
Soil: Average
pH: Neutral

Natural habitat: Grows on most soils, winds up trees, and other plants, including other DSV.

Wildlife use: None.

Notes: Seed pods are smaller than a milkweeds.

Propagation: DON’T.

(Canadian or Common) Moonseed

Menispermum canadense

Ménisperme du Canada ou Raisin de couleuvre

Family: Moonseed (Menispermaceae)
Native to: Eastern North America
Location at the FWG: Old Woodlot (south east near escarpment)
Backyard garden bed:
Flower colour: white
Blooming time: Spring
Height: Vine can grow to 6 m
Light requirements: Shade
Moisture requirements: Moist
Soil: Average
pH: Neutral

Natural habitat: Moist woods

Wildlife use: None.

Notes: All parts of this plant are known to be poisonous. Berry resembles grape but seed is crescent shaped.

Hedge Bindweed

Calystegia sepium

Liseron des haies

Family: Morning Glory (Convolvulaceae)
Native to: Northern Hemisphere
Location at the FWG: all environments
Backyard garden bed:
Flower colour: white
Blooming time: Spring
Height: Vine can grow longer to 4 m
Light requirements: Shade to full sun
Moisture requirements: Average
Soil: Average
pH: Neutral

Natural habitat:

Wildlife use:

Notes:

Field Bindweed*

Convolvulus arvensis

Liseron des champs

Family: Morning Glory (Convolvulaceae)
Native to: Europe and Asia
Location at the FWG: all environments
Backyard garden bed:
Flower colour: white with pink
Blooming time: Spring
Height: Vine can grow longer to 2 m
Light requirements: Shade to full sun
Moisture requirements: Average
Soil: Average
pH: Neutral

Natural habitat:

Wildlife use:

Notes:

Bittersweet (Nightshade) / Bitter Nightshade*

Solanum dulcamara

Douce-amère / Morelle douce-amère

Family: Nightshade (Solanaceae)
Native to: Europe and Asia
Location at the FWG: all environments
Backyard garden bed: introduced
Flower colour: purple with yellow stamens
Blooming time: Summer
Height: Vine can grow 1 to 2 m
Light requirements: Shade to full sun
Moisture requirements: Average
Soil: Average
pH: Neutral

Natural habitat: Grows on most soils, winds up trees, and other plants, including other DSV.

Wildlife use: None.

Notes: Fruit is a green then red berry that is poisonous to children and animals.

Allegheny Vine

Adlumia fungosa

Adlumie fongueuse

Family: Poppy (Papaveraceae)
Native to: Eastern Ontario
Location at the FWG: Backyard Garden
Backyard garden bed: EN
Flower colour: White to pale pink
Blooming time: Summer
Height:
Light requirements: Sun
Moisture requirements: Average
Soil: Average
pH: Neutral

Natural habitat: Wooded or rocky slopes. Uncommon in the Ottawa region.

Wildlife use: Unknown

Notes: Biennial vine. Delicate leaves and flowers. Related to bleeding heart and corydalis.

Propagation: Fairly easy to grow from seed.