Parthenocissus inserta(false Virginia creeper, "Amerikazuta")
Japanese name: アメリカヅタ Scientific name:Parthenocissus inserta
[Overview]
A deciduous woody climber.
Opposite the leaves are tendrils whose tips form suckers, by which the plant attaches to other objects.
When the trunk becomes thick, it produces many aerial roots.
The leaves are alternate and palmately compound with 5 leaflets; each leaflet is oblong, about 13 cm long and 7 cm wide, with coarse serrations on the upper half of the margin.
The leaf stalk is long.
The leaves turn red in autumn.
Cymes borne opposite the leaves carry small yellowish-green five-petaled flowers.
The fruit is a spherical fleshy berry that ripens bluish black and is covered with a white bloom.
When the fruit ripens, the fruit stalk turns red.
[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings.
It prefers fertile, well-drained soil in sun to partial shade.
With poor sunlight, the autumn color develops poorly.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient.
For potted plants, place slow-release fertilizer on the soil from spring to autumn.
There are no particular pests or diseases.
