Photo: Jamesjhawkins — CC0 · source
Survives zone 5 through 9
Harvest calendar
Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.
Crimson glory vine is grown almost entirely as an ornamental foliage plant rather than for its fruit — prized in Japanese and Korean gardens and an RHS Award of Garden Merit holder for its huge, heart-shaped leaves that turn spectacular scarlet-crimson in autumn — while its small, sour berries are edible but rarely eaten fresh.
- Hardiness
- Zone 5–9
- Habit
- Vine
- Edible part
- Fruit
- Ripens
- Sept–Oct
- Mature size
- Vine 15–25 m — among the most vigorous here, and huge-leaved with it
- Light
- Full sun to partial
- Soil pH
- 6.0–7.0
- Environment
- Temperate
- Native range
- Temperate East Asia — mountainous Japan, Korea and Sakhalin in the Russian Far East.
- Status
- Both wild and cultivated
- Years to fruit
- 2–3 yrs
- Growth speed
- Very fast and vigorous — among the most rampant ornamental vines in the genus.
- Spacing
- 400 cm (157 in) apart — about 16 m² (172 sq ft) per plant
- Leaf shape
- Enormous, slightly lobed, heart-shaped leaves 20–30 cm across, dark green with a thick brown felted underside in summer, turning brilliant orange, scarlet and crimson-purple in autumn — the species' signature ornamental feature.
- Root system
- Vigorous climbing-vine root system; rarely needs a resistant rootstock itself thanks to its innate vigor, though it can be grafted onto phylloxera-resistant Vitis rootstocks where needed.
- Fruit description
- Small, dark purple-black grapes in loose clusters, sour/tart and seedy; edible but grown for its foliage rather than fruit quality.
- Propagation
- Cuttings are difficult to root, so layering is the recommended method; when cuttings are attempted, mature wood is taken in December-January as 15–30 cm lengths or single-bud sections.
- Pollination
- ⚠ DIOECIOUS — needs male + female (a vigorous fruitless wild vine is usually a lone male)
The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.
Growing guide
Fertilizing. Prefers deep, fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil; benefits from a position with some sun exposure, which also intensifies the autumn leaf color, but otherwise needs little special feeding once established.
How it spreads. An extremely vigorous tendril-climber reaching 15–20 m or more, capable of swamping small structures — best given a large wall, pergola, shed or mature tree to cover rather than a small trellis.
Growing tips. Hardy to about -25°C when fully dormant, though young spring growth can be damaged by late frosts; its vigor is usually strong enough that grafting onto rootstock is unnecessary, though in phylloxera-prone regions it can be budded onto resistant Vitis rootstocks like V. riparia. Needs only winter pruning to avoid heavy bleeding, and full sun for the best autumn color.
Grow journal
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