A changed perspective on Ivy

Hedera helix Ivalace

Today was the last inside meeting of my garden club until October.  We had a talk on ivy.  Well I have to say I wasn’t convinced that this was going to be the most interesting of talks – an hour on ivy!!  I was pleasantly surprised.  The speaker brought with her a range of samples of various ivies and seeing them all lined out on the table at the beginning of the talk quickly demonstrated the variety that is available.

She started by telling us that Ivy is one of the 6 evergreen plants native to the UK and when archaeologists look at soil samples from the Neolithic times there is a very high percentage of Ivy pollen in the soil which has led them to conclude that ivy was used as a fodder for animals.  She quickly dispelled myths that it was poisonous and a parasite.  The reason it kills trees is being an evergreen plant means that it inevitably becomes stronger than the host tree.  She also told us that apart from Poison Ivy, which is not at all related, Ivy was not indigenous in the States.  So although they have Ivy League Colleges they don’t actually have Ivy growing up them but something else very similar which I missed the name of.

The Ivy above is Hedera helix Ivalace.  This is recommended as being very good for ground cover particularly in dense shade.  I bought a bit of this home with me to see if I can root it.  Another tip was that if you want an Ivy to grow up a fence, wall etc then you should plant it a little way away and allow it to make its way along the ground until it reaches the wall when it will go upwards.  The plant puts down roots as it moves along but when it hit something and starts to go vertical the roots turn into suckers.  So, don’t do what I did a while ago, and plant an Ivy up against a fence and wonder why it doesn’t stick straight away!!

Another Ivy recommended for ground cover is Hedera colchica Dentata Variegata (see below)- the speaker has this growing over a border and she says it looks wonderful with the Crocuses growing through it. The the summer plants grow through it and it act as a weed suppressor but when the summer plants finish it comes back into its own as winter interest.

I think it works on a large scale as in the photo above but I think it would be too overpowering in my garden which is why I am going to try Ivalace. 

For growing up walls Hedera colchica Sulphur Heart was recommended (below). However this Ivy needs to be in the sun or you will lose the colouring.

I didn’t like this one particularly, preferring instead Hedera helix GoldChild (below) which has a smaller leaf and will keep its variegation in shade as well. Although the one the speaker had had a more yellow tinge to it than the one below.

These were just a few of the varieties she brought with her which were only a few of the 100s available. 

Another idea was to grow Ivy up fruit trees but only to the point were the truck splits into branches.  The speaker had done this in her orchard and I had the impression that each different type of tree had a different type of Ivy growing up it. I can imagine it would look lovely – each tree with its Ivy jumper on.

The other thing which was very interesting is that Ivies have two distinct stages of growth.  The first is when they travelling along the ground and up walls and have distinctive lobed leaves and rootlets or suckers.  Once they are happy and establish then the plants goes into its second stage when they produce “aerial bushes” which larger more ovate leaves and sometimes flower heads followed by berries. I have to say that I prefer the juvenile stage as I think the leaves are much prettier.  The speaker told us that you could take cuttings from both stages but it was harder to root cuttings from the adult stage.  Her husband had done with in the past and the resultant plant was more like a shrub and is what is known as an Ivy Tree.  Well you live and learn.

I have to say that I came away with a different take on Ivy as a group and will try some in areas where I struggle with ground cover.