Wildlife: The
fruits persist on the plant into winter and are a valuable source of fall
and winter food for many wildlife species. Songbirds that enjoy the fruits
include mockingbirds, bluebirds, robins, piliated woodpeckers and thrushes.
Rabbits, foxes and skunks also eat the berries. The Virginia creeper is
the most important food plant of our 3 most common sphinx moths.
Horticulture: Birds freely disperse the seeds and this species can become a weed in certain areas. If used properly, however, it is a valuable cover for trellises, tree stumps, walls and rock piles. It is planted on many campuses to enhance the appearance of older buildings. The adhesive disks may mark walls with a residue that is almost impossible to remove. The variety "engelmannii" has smaller leaflets and the variety "saint-paulii" is similar, but clings better. A similar species, P. vitaceae, more common in northwestern Iowa, differs from the Virginia creeper in having larger leaves which stand erect (to 1 foot tall) from stems that creep along the forest floor, seldom climbing vegetation. Other native species include the thicket creeper (P. inserta), with 5 leaflets, but without disks; and Boston ivy (P. tricuspidata), with 3-lobed leaves, adhesive disks and purple berries.
