sib5, Welcome to Garden Web! I thought you might like to know that there is no way to email you the way your preferences are set. I suggest you go to the bottom of any page here and click on 'Member Pages'. then Edit Preferences. Then using the drop down box, set it to show your email addy to Members only. then check the box to allow others to email you via the forms here at GW. That will place a link on your member page so folks can reach you. You might also want to (while you are there) fill in your State abbreviation behind your zone. I for one (and some others too)prefer to trade some things with members that are 100-400 miles away, as opposed to 1000-2000 or more. Often if I can't tell where someone is located, I just don't reply to threads started by traders. Some plants just cannot take a long journey during the hottest part of the summer. Happy gardening and trading! Sue

Most of the Ivy that you find at your Garden Centers will be hardy in Zone 7. Just be sure it is one of the Hedera helix cultivars and is one of the trailing types. Some cultivars form branches(side shoots at nodes), others are clumping types and grow more upright. If you want a variegated one, many have white or yellow spots, streaks, edges or centers in various patterns and leaf shapes. One of the hardiest, trailing, variegated cultivars, is 'Gold Heart'. I have seen it trailing down rock walls in mid-winter in central PA and was in good shape, although most Ivies have slightly different colors in Winter. The stems and often the foliage, will turn a pinkish, rosy hue due to freezing temperatures. Wait until last chance of frost has passed before planting new purchases outdoors, as they have been grown in greenhouses and haven't been acclimated to colder temperatures. After a growing season outdoors, they should be hardened off by first fall or winter freeze and survive the winter OK. If you want to encourage growth, use a water soluble fertilizer formulated for Tomatoes (20-20-18) or similar, at half the recommended strength. Can be applied periodically throughout the summer and early fall. Stop using when temperatures are above 90°F and after Sept., so that new growth can harden off before first frost. When grown outdoors, pests & diseases are usually not a problem on Ivy. Water regularly to prevent the soil from drying out completely. Have fun! Rb

It looks, to me, like you have an infestation of cutworms.

@Mentha Thank you for the suggestions! You mentioned a few things that I'm not entirely sure if I'm doing them right. - For pinching stems, it seems like you literally pinch the stem near where the vine starts growing a new leaf to break it off. I tried but the stems either just fell off because they were so dry, or it seemed I was breaking the vine, so I just kind of pulled lightly at the parts with dry leaves and let the plant do the work for me. Is that okay? - For feeding, do you mean fertilizer? I ended up using a MAXSEA seaweed fertilizer (http://www.maxsea-plant-food.com/products_all_purpose.html) that I had on hand. - For light, I don't really have a place where I can put it outside (I'm in an apartment), but since you mentioned more light would help it, I moved it from the east-facing kitchen window to the south-facing living room window. The temperature in here usually never ranges further than between 60 to 75 degrees. (I ended up moving it back to the kitchen after a couple days.) Here's a picture of it after removing the dried leaves and in its new location, plus an up-close one. I realize its chances are slim, but most living things want to live, so I'm hoping it will work with me if it sees I'm trying to help.