| Light: | MEDIUM LIGHT | | Plant Care: | | | In the home, a low fertilization rate of a balance fertilizer once a month is sufficient. It is usually accepted to use half the recommended rate since ivies are more sensitive to root burn than most foliage plants. The burn actually happens when salt levels outside the root is higher than inside so water actually leaves the root causing dehydration.
Pythium is the most common root disease although bacterial leaf spot caused by Xanthomonas is also common. Spider mites and broad mites are the most common insects, although mealy bugs, aphids and scale are also common. Spider mites are more common in the hotter months and broad mites in the cooler months.
Variegated varieties will prefer a higher light location than solid green varieties. Ivies can be cut back, meaning trimming the tips or growing points to increase branching to produce a tighter and fuller specimen or simply let grow to achieve long, trailing vines.
It is best if Ivies are watered over a sink in order to allow some water to leach out old fertilizer so as not to burn the roots. Never let ivy sit in saucer full of water as this will cause an anaerobic environment in the soil and bring on Pythium.
Ivies grow best where they get four or more hours a day of direct sunlight, but will grow fairly well in bright indirect light, such as that reflected from light walls; if only artificial light is available, provide at least 800 foot-candles.
Night temperatures of 50 to 55 degrees and day temperatures of 68 to 72 degrees are ideal, but English ivies tolerate night temperatures as low as 35 degrees without injury, even when actively growing. Keep the soil barely moist.
Newly purchased or potted plants should not be fed for three to four months; established plants should be fed every three or four months. Repot overcrowded plants at any season with a packaged general-purpose potting soil. To induce bushiness, pinch off stem tips at any season; they will root easily. Watch for spider mites, mealybugs and white flies. | | Facts: | | | The varieties of Ivy that have been developed can hardly be counted. Most Ivy varieties are hybrid forms of Hedera helix ssp. canariensis and Hedera colchica. All have the typical ivy leaf with three to five lobes, but still show differences in color for each variety. Sometimes the leaves have white, sometimes cream, sometimes yellow markings, or are simply green. All varieties are excellent hanging plants. Hedera helix is commonly referred to as English ivy because English settlers brought it to America. Most species are native to Northern and Southern Europe and Northern Africa.
Ivies are climbing vines that cling to upright surfaces by their roots, which sprout from the stems and work into any available crevice. Given the support of a thin stake, a single stem can be trained to grow upward and then branch out to make a little "ivy tree." The vines can also be trained to cover fanciful shapes formed of wires stuffed with sphagnum moss. Usually, the trailing stems are allowed to cascade over the sides of pots or hanging containers.
The basic English Ivy has 2 to 4 inch-long three- or five-lobed dark green leaves, but its varieties exhibit some of the oddest-shaped foliage known. There are round or heart-shaped leaves with no lobes at all, as well as others with three, four, five or seven lobes as small as 1/2 inch and as big as 6 inches across; still others are wavy, curled, crested, cupped or ruffled. In color they combine green with white, cream, yellow or pink. |
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