Gardening with Gary




Gardening Advice from an Expert

Ivy

Q. Do ivy plants need direct or indirect sunlight? How much and when should I be watering them?

A. Ivy are rather touchy and rules are not set in stone. So much depends upon your light, room temperature, soil mix and size of plant. First, they do not like much in the way of direct sunlight, They can take a couple hours of early AM sun, before 10AM, but from then on, keep protected from the rays, with taller plants, sheer curtains or blinds. They love light though, so do not attempt to grow in the shade.

Watering should be done only when the top inch of the soil feels dry to your fingers. Water well, allowing excess to drain out the bottom holes into a saucer. Empty the saucer after 1/2 hour, or keep some pebbles or sand in it and have the pot sit on top of the water, but not down in it, or the roots will rot. Excess water in any manner will destroy ivy.

The soil mix should be light, well-drained and organic. Do not use garden soil. Buy a fresh bag of potting mix when moving your plant up an inch in pot diameter. This should be done no less than yearly. An inch of gravel or charcoal at the inside bottom of pot helps keep the roots fresh and not waterlogged.

Feed your ivy and all other house plants regularly. Give them a good indoor plant food, as Miracle-Gro, Peters, Optimara, SpoonIt or Hyponex, monthly. Keep a wary eye out for insects and any damage that suddenly appears.

Q. I am confused! Can ivy grow in full sun or does it need total shade?

A. Ivies are reported to be able to be grown in anything from full sun to full shade. The ones you have in 1/2 sun now will grow in your new spot, but they may suffer for several months until the new growth can adapt to the new bright environments I see the large-leafed English ivy, Hedera helix, growing in yards here and in the suburbs where it gets quite hot, and they are thick as can be in full sun. But, they may have been there for years though. I would realize that you will lose some of the cuttings out there but wait for the others to grown and fill in. I would not grow a large area of them as it may take a year before they look very good while the other ground covers do much better. But do not rule out a portion of them though.

Ivies adapt to a wide range of conditions, of light, heat, soil, food and water. Regular pruning is needed for bushiness and climbing a wall or stump to fill in.

Shop for:
canariensis, Canary Island, Algerian Ivy
Ravensholst and Variegata colchica, Persian Ivy
Dentata and Dentata Variegata, Sulphur Heart helix, common or English Ivy
Atropurpurea, Baltica, Buttercup, Glacier, Goldheart, Ivalace, Pedata,
Pittsburgh, Silver Queen

Here is a fine guide for gardeners looking for ground covers for their shady
garden beds.

MADE FOR THE SHADE:

Algerian ivy (Hedera canariensis) 8"-10" rapid CS, TS
larger leaves than English ivy; more open in habit; will climb

Asian star jasmine (Trachelospermum asiaticum) 10"-14" rapid CS, LS, TS
tough, easy to grow; will climb

common periwinkle (Vinca minor) 3"-6" moderate to rapid LS, MS, US
attractive blue, purple, or white spring flowers

English ivy (Hedera helix) 6"-10" rapid once established CS, LS, MS, US
will climb; susceptible to leaf spot if kept too wet

Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis) 6"-12" slow LS, MS, US
needs rich, moist, acidic, well-drained soil

liriope (Liriope sp.) 12"-24" moderate AS tough, easy to grow;
blue, purple, or white summer flowers

mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus) 3"-10" moderate CS, LS, MS, TS
carefree; looks like dark green grass; fine texture

wedelia (Wedelia trilobata) 12"-15" rapid CS, TS
yellow, daisylike blooms in warm weather

Key: AS=All South, CS=Coastal South, LS=Lower South, MS=Middle South, TS=Tropical South, US=Upper South From: Southern Living

Q. I've sprayed my ivy with the only chemical I could find that said it was for scale. It was Green Light something or other with a chemical that starts with an "m". The instructions were very sketchy - as usual, they talked more about how to keep yourself safe (and how to keep the manufacturer from being sued!) than about how to apply the product. But I mixed it according to instruction, then sprayed tops and bottoms of the leaves. After that, I am to "apply as needed". Well, what is "as needed"? Once every day? Once a week? Wait a month and see if it's still dying and then spray again?

First, I would sure like two things:

The exact name of the active ingredients in this spray.
Whether it states anywhere that it is a systemic insecticide.

If it is the latter, then you can really overdo it with spraying. It is like an inoculation, where you get a flue shot, but if you take one a day for two weeks, you may not be around to sue anybody!

Systemics go right into the plant tissues and stay there. That is why they are so effective. An insect's egg hatches and the baby munches on the plant and dies. Other sprays are called contact sprays, in that they kill only what they hit at a certain stage in the critter's life cycle. Eggs and some larvae are unaffected many times, so you must return every 7 days and reapply.

Systemics are reapplied every month. I would not follow that advice to use as needed...it may be too late by then. Keep hitting the scale or you will never rid your plant of it.

Kathi writes~ I would like some ideas on how to get rid of ground cover ivy or at least thin it as it is taking over all of my shrubs. Any information would be helpful.

A. Ivy can behave just like a weed if it gets the chance. In your case, it is nearing bushes which will lose moisture and nutrients if left unchecked. Take a sharp, clean pair of shears and prune back the ivy from at least 1 1/2 feet from the shrub trunk.

I suggest that you install metal garden edging in a circle around the shrub at that distance. Place it with one inch above ground and the rest below once you have pruned and pulled up the root systems as well as you can. When a new ivy sprig appears, tug it out and remove as much of the underground roots and stem growth.

Once you embark on this project, the ivy will be easily controlled throughout the summer with diligent removal. Thinning will only keep the ivy in partial check and the roots will still interfere with the growth of the desired shrubbery.

Julles writes~
I want to start some ivies in a rectangular planter with two heart-shaped wire topiaries. Do you think I could pull up from another pot some of the ivies which have stuck little roots into the ground where they touched the soil? Can I take those and put them in the new planter?

A. Those are called runners and are used by the plant to sneakily spread all over the place. Hence, plants like that are hard to be rid of and are commonly called pests or weeds.

Yes, of course you can dig them up. That is the easiest method of reproducing ivy. What more could you ask for? A stem with good roots, fresh young and new leaves and vigorous.

Allow the pot to dry a bit on top so that the ball is not really wet. Then, take a small trowel and spade down to where the stem has rooted. Carefully lift it up and get a good root ball. Once you have secured the growing stem and the rootball, using shears clip the stem off from where it came, usually the main thick growing plant. Do not tug in any of this action since you risk damaging the remaining stems and roots.

Plant it into a small pot, maybe 3" in diameter, using good fresh potting mix. Water well, keep shaded and cool, and do not over water. You need the cutting to get more roots to support itself and further growth. Give it a little fertilizer after about one month and gradually increase its light as it becomes established.

Liz writes~ My Ivy plants were thick and pretty. Now they are getting long and thin. I've been cutting them back, but they are still thin. What do they need?

A. What has been your fertilizer program? They need a good houseplant food about once every two weeks, in dilute form. Remove excess water from bottom saucer after about 1/2 hour. Also, is the light sufficient? Ivy cannot stand strong direct sunlight but needs good indirect filtered light, as through a sheer curtain, toward a recessed area, or with a slatted window treatment. If not, growth will be spindly and poor. Water will sit around the root ball and lead to rot. Pinch back ends of the long stems to spur new side shoots. Take cuttings, root in water or propagation mix, and plant back into the pot for added fullness. Try increasing food and light and give it a couple months to respond.