Hotter temperature I believe.

Ok. Never knew the leaves were so heat-sensitive, since they sat outside at a Lowe's in full sun before I bought them, but maybe 78-80 degrees is all they can handle?

IDK about that. There's a patch with no shade at all in my Mom's yard. We're near the FL border, 78-80 deg is closer to the temp at night. It's 8:40 AM, 84 deg. Summer days are 90-100 for about 5-6 months.

Maybe the struggling one has spider mites, ivy almost always gets those inside. Is anything else different about the 2 spots besides the direction of the window?

There are other plants that are much less likely to have problems like SM's that can trail all over the place. If you're interested, I'd be happy to list some & I'm sure others would have great suggestions too!

The only thing I can think of is that the light gets dappled at one point from a nearby tree, but I thought the ivy got at least got a good 3 hours. This window also sits higher than the east facing one, which means the sun might not hit at the most direct angle. Whenever I water, I spray the leaves really good to remove any mites, but maybe that's not enough.

I did read an article from a topiary site that said that indoor ivy ideally should spend a week or two outside a month in order to remain healthy. Hmm.

I would love to hear your suggestions. I have pothos and philodendron, but for a trailing plant ideally, I would prefer a lighter plant, because the hooks can only hold so much weight.

Not much else to offer for your ivy, sorry, but happy to babble about trailing type plants that don't have massive root systems, don't need big pots... If they get heavy from getting too big, (well grown & congratulations!) you can cut chunks off. Those can be handy for trading with others, to get more plants that you don't have yet, or start in a new pot to give as a gift to someone. The type of soil can be a factor too. Adding a significant amount of perlite can help decrease weight, as well as reduce the risk of accidental overwatering (root rot.)

If you have trouble finding info about these, let me know.
arrowhead vine (Syngonium)
Swedish ivy/Cuban oregano (Plectranthus, several species to consider)
Begonia 'Medora'

WJ (Tradescantia spathacea)
plain green WJ (T. fluminensis)
inchplant (Callisia repens)
rosary vine (Ceropegia woodii)

Thank you so much! I will image-search these and check them out.

Happy to help enable!

"morning sun is cooler than afternoon sun". see this article:
http://www.guide-to-houseplants.com/light.html

The majority of my windows are west facing, with little in the way to block light. I have really good luck just using a sheer curtain to filter the light some. Hope this helps!

I might try upping the plant food. Ivies need nitrogen, and this formula I have (the blue grains in a can) is not as high in nitrogen. Next watering will be done with liquid fertilizer. Thanks to everyone!

Maybe the west side just needs more water since it gets more heat/sun. Maybe?

English Ivy is a hard plant for me, winter is where it gets into decline. The dratted spider mites love them too. The plant like it cool in the winter, maybe even chilly. Matter of fact I have one now that is doing very poorly. It may loose its spot on the plant shelf. I'm not sure I can perk it up at this point.

They are hardy in many places, but keep it in a pot and away from anywhere it can escape. It's invasive in some (all? None?) Places. But keep it outside in winter lol.

I would never grow this as a houseplant, spider mites are quite inevitable :(

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I actually saw English ivy on several "easy to grow houseplant" lists. I feel as though I made a bad decision now, with all its potential problems. If it doesn't survive, lesson learned, I guess. :( I don't see any evidence of spider mites yet but will try to keep them away! And no, I will not put it outside, promise. :)

and yet I have a friend who is not much of a houseplant person and she is a wizard with English Ivy! Go figure, LOL!

That is too funny, Sans. I knew somehow one of the few house plants I adore would be the very one I can't grow. So much for those life sized animal topiaries I was gonna make! Just kidding.

Have you done anything different to see if you can get the two plants where they need to be?

Hi Laticauda, I still have it in the same window, and there is a reason I didn't bother to move it. I noticed now that the East facing ivy has pretty much stopped growing, too, so all I can attribute it to is temperature. They aren't dying, just sort of not doing anything. Every now and then I'll see a small leaf growing in, but that's it.

There is something about being outside that I think these plants just prefer, and I am assuming it is light levels. I did read on some blog that the shade outside is way more intense than regular indoor lighting, even in seemingly bright windows, so those outdoor "shade" plants, can end up doing very poorly inside if moved indoors. Maybe ivies are one of these types. There are more than a few on this forum who have issues with ivy, so I guess I'll add myself to the mix!

Still going to watch it to see if it does any better in the cooler fall temps, around September or October (I am down South, so September and October aren't that cool, but anyway). If it does anything at all, then mystery solved.