I've not seen ivy old enough to have woody sections, but I would imagine it's like rooting any other woody cutting, just make sure it's humdity is high enough and it doesn't hurt to wound the cutting in the area that is supposed to take root.

I ususally don't let my ivies dry out too much. The one I have right now probably gets watered twice each week - although caution: the soil in this pot does not hold a ton of moisture, and I'm repotting as soon as it warms up a bit. Yours might not need to be watered that much - best way to check on that is to keep checking the soil and water when the top of the pot starts to feel dry. When I water, I let the water flow out the bottom instead of giving it little sips of water. Also, I put the whole plant into the kitchen sink, and spray it's leaves too. Ivies that are too dry are very susceptible to spider mites. It's a tricky balance between too wet and too dry. Good luck.

an unglazed clay pot ... is an indoor nightmare.. in my experience ... i gave up on them decades ago .... they are for greenhouses.. even outside ,... they are a PIA ... find a plastic pot of exactly the same size ... and repot it ... meaing.. slip it out.. and right back in ... the pot is wicking water.. out its sides .... so your media is drying in a weird way .... causing the plant to struggle ... it should not need too much water in winter.. indoors ... i water my ivy [whatever type it is] about once a week ... and its bone dry by the time i water again ... one hour in a north window.. will NEVER be defined as too much sun ... you are probably also not thinking about how the window panes themselves.. cut the effectiveness of the light ... and IMHO.. an ivy does not need more light ... i highly doubt a winter window is 70 night and day .... but in your z7 ... its not really an issue... i got up this morning in MI to NINE DEGREES .... you could feel the cold within a foot of the window ... but again ... it shouldnt matter in z7 ... its just not an issue .... since you are new.. i am just ruling out.. some of the things you listed .... the furnace/air movement.. is complicating the wicking on the pot ... though i doubt your furnace.. in z7 ... runs enough to affect the plant all that much .... up in my MI .... the furnace runs so much in winter.. maintaining humidity can make for leathery leaves on this kind of plant ... but the house humidifier deals with that ... if you buy the right size palstic pot ... you can slide the plastic pot into the clay.. if you like the look ... a glazed ceramic pot would not wick due to the glaze ... but i still have problems with those ... and part of it.. is how cold they can get at night.. as mentioned above... if the roots mass gets cold.. and it cant recover/warm during a real cold day .... the plants can go into SLLLOOOWWWW motion ... which a lot of them do in winter anyway .... [its also because the sun is so low in the sky.. light levels have fallen] and of course.. cold wet media... can lead to root rots ... etc ... but then.. i tend toward really dry plants ... so i avoid such.. along with the critters [fungus gnats] one of the best greenhouse growers near me.. lets all his plants wilt.. before watering them ... says it forces them to thrive thru growing a solid root mass ... but he is a professional ... his things WILL be watered... the evening of the day of wilting .. but then.. he has perfect humidity.. and all other variables ... point being.. a little wilt.. is not much to worry about .... as to your book comment... 10 years from now.. you will probably go back and read them.. and realize its all there ... if you only knew then.. what you know by the time you reread it .... anyway.. to my reading.. everything you are doing is spot on.. except for that clay pot ... good luck .... try to enjoy the process ... and not worry.. nor love your plant...

Hi, I don't think many plants compete well with the ivy. Someone here can probably comment more on that. The plants you've chosen have a rather large variety of growing requirements... V. bluebells generally take a rich woodsy soil with a fair amount of shade. V. creeper is a ground cover that I don't think will do well in pots. Elderberries get very big, sucker and like quite a bit of water and at least part sun. Green coneflowers get very big. I have huge clumps of them growing by the creek. I am not positive of their growing requirements, but they are growing wild in my yard in part sun and above average moisture. Great blue lobelia requires at least part sun and above average moisture. That might do OK in a pot. Some types of milkweed have a large taproot, so I'm not sure they will do well in pots. I'm not sure if they all have taproots, though. Blue wood aster may do OK in pots. Most types of JPW get very large. They like above average water and at least part sun, preferably full. While I think there are many natives that would do well in pots, I am not sure all those you have in mind would work well. I hope I'm not discouraging you from trying natives in pots. You may want to do a little more research on what you chose to try. Hopefully others here can offer their thoughts. I'm by no means an expert. As far as IDs, the only one I know from your pics is the one in the pink pot--a hosta. Blue Ridge Mountain Girl