Pesky English Ivy
red82
12 years ago
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red82
12 years agoRelated Discussions
My English Ivy is dying and I don't know why
Comments (7)As others have mentioned, spider mites are an ongoing challenge with English ivy. I have managed to keep about 7 ivy plants alive indoors. Though I have found spider mites on a few leaves, and there are probably a few plants that have some mites right now, I think the most important thing is early intervention. I don't think you should obsess over eradicating mites from these plants entirely, as they tend to come back quickly, but the goal should be to keep them under control in the first place. That being said: 1. Remove any infested leaves with a mottled appearance immediately. I see you have some relatively healthy leaves left, and you could keep those in tact and perhaps save part of your plant, but cut off the others. 2. Every time you water the plant (because I have a chunky soil, it's about once a week), gently spray the leaves with a shower or sink spray attachment. Turn them over as you spray them, feel the texture of the leaves over your fingers, examine them, and remove anything that looks discolored. 3. Some here recommend an insecticide, and I think that's fine, but in my experience, you just have to be diligent in observing the plant more than anything, before things get out of control. 4. Avoid transferring indoor plants outside in the summer. This is just a personal preference, as I don't want to have to deal with a bug issue once I bring them back inside or infest my other plants. 5. Ivy likes medium-high light, but also likes cool evenings, but also likes humidity so their leaves don't dry out. Can you say, "Goldilocks plant?" It's a challenge with most home environments as we tend to regulate temperature more moderately. Ivy is beautiful, and it can be fussy, and I am by no means an ivy expert, and I have lost a few. However, having learned over time, I think the extra work is certainly worth it! Don't give up!...See MoreEnglish ivy turning brown
Comments (4)They do best outdoors where they can become invasive given enough time and the right conditions. Here was my last one that I tried keeping indoors and finally left it outside in the original pot inside a much larger pot. It did a lot better here than indoors for winter. Some start reverting though. Dug up this hosta last year and along came some ivy Not sure who will win here - the ivy or the Asian Jasmine. One I put out 3 years ago is getting a nice spread. They become addictive though. Don't know what is happening to the middle shoot. two different types from a friend plus the hardy begonias (this was in April). All those plants are in an aluminum pan and been sitting there for 3 years now. Same pan July 1st. Anyway, move your pot outdoors, trim off the dead and damaged leaves and keep it watered as needed. You will get lots of growth....See MoreGetting rid of English ivy
Comments (12)I have a lot of ivy on my property, particularly in the front, which is a steep slope to the street and a bit shady. I did remove quite a bit of it up where my front lawn starts to level out near my from porch. It had grown way beyond the slope! . It was certainly a challenge to remove. And I'm still dealing with tendrils that come out from under my porch. But! Once it was all cleared, I had (and continued to have) a HUGE constant battle with weeds :( a couple years after my initial ivy removal, the weeds (esp thistle) had started taking over the entire front area, includimg down into the slope (growing among the ivy). I hired someone to clear the weeds and they pulled out half of the ivy too! It was actually a big problem. The slope had nothing to stop it from degrading, and the weeds now had full reign! I've now spent the past two years working to encourage ivy back into the bare part of my slope, along with other ground cover - esp vinca vine. I'd much rather occasionally trim ivy back vs deal with intense weed cover. If you remove your ivy, I HIGHLY recommend you immediately replace with another hardy ground cover to avoid my weedy nightmare. Mulch and even weed cloth is not sufficient! I do recommend vinca vine. Snow on the mountain is also very nice....See MoreWill a 10 yard English Ivy trellis work here?
Comments (11)Lattice is better than wire, but any support structure you can think of is going to have to be strong enough to support the full weight of the ivy (plus snow) otherwise your wall of ivy is going to fall down. Once you start building a structure that strong, you are building a fence. If the point is to avoid that expense, than you are going to have to go with shrubbery. Rampant ivy in the back 40 will pile itself up and might bury a chain link fence with time, but it is not going to readily climb a wire fence as you imagine. You have ample rooms for shrubs. I don't even think they have to be evergreen to give you more privacy. A row of forsythia would make the neighbors disappear fast. Deciduous shrubs often grow faster than evergreen ones. Depending on what direction the tree line faces there may be enough sun for many other choices. The space saving benefit of ivy also seems rather pointless in this setting....See Morered82
12 years agoKimmsr
12 years agohortster
12 years agored82
12 years agomorz8 - Washington Coast
12 years agoLuciano
8 years ago
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