Indoor ivy, ivy as a houseplant, Hedera helix

The Hedera helix, common ivy or botanically also known as Hedera helix can often be seen in gardens and parks. The plant, which belongs to the Aralia family, can just as easily be kept as a houseplant. Precisely because the common ivy beautifies the room all year round with its evergreen leaves, we want to introduce you to indoor ivy as a climbing or hanging plant.

care

Perhaps it is thanks to its unpretentious character that ivy can be kept both outdoors and indoors. Among the around 400 varieties, there are some that feel very comfortable indoors. Interestingly, even a room ivy can live up to 100 years. So it is worth taking a closer look at these decorative houseplants and giving them good care.

Location

Location and substrate

As a plant lover, you can give the Hedera helix a somewhat cooler location. He doesn't like it very warm. Therefore, the sunny windowsill with heating is not the right place for him. Nevertheless, he loves the light, which is why he finds a good place in a bright room with indirect sun. It can develop splendidly even in a partially shaded location. A room temperature of approx. 18 ° C with relatively high humidity. The bathroom is ideal for this, in other rooms it is sprayed every now and then instead.

Tip: Indoor ivy with variegated leaves needs a lighter location than those varieties with monochrome, dark green leaves.

Substrate

As an undemanding plant, normal potting soil is sufficient for indoor ivy. To strengthen the plants, some horn shavings can be added as a long-term fertilizer. It is important that the soil is loose and does not allow waterlogging.

Sowing and growing

Indoor ivy is bought as a plant or propagated with cuttings. Therefore, please read on in the chapter on propagation.

Planting and repotting

On the one hand, the individual ivy plant grows well, but the pot gets the desired bushy look if several plants are used. In this case, we speak of traffic lights. It is possible to cultivate the Hedera helix hanging down or as a climbing plant. This consideration should also be made in advance. A somewhat larger plant pot should therefore be selected as a climbing plant, in which there is space for two to five ivy and the additional climbing aid.

Therefore:

• choose a sufficiently large plant pot and planter
• Buy a finished climbing aid in stores or shape it yourself from wire

Fill the pot with fresh potting soil and mix in some horn shavings. Then the plants are planted and filled again with soil. It is up to you how many plants you plant. With five plants, the plant pot should be sufficiently large in any case. You can now use the climbing aid as you wish. If the ivy is long enough, it is carefully wrapped around the trellis. After planting in the pot, water well and keep moist regularly.

Planting time

The ideal season for repotting is spring, or alternatively autumn. The plant feels far more pleasant if the appointment is before the heating season. Spring, on the other hand, brings better conditions, especially when the plants are already very large and the roots are already sticking out of the pot. The new planter should be approx. two finger widths larger than the previous one.

to water

Watering and fertilizing

Like many other plants, indoor ivy does not like waterlogging. Make sure it is kept moist regularly, but the soil is not too wet. If you don't have a lot of experience with proper watering and often drown your plants, you can put some sand or pebbles in the soil. They promote the drainage of the water. Expanded clay is also ideal here, as it absorbs excess water, which the plants can then absorb in the event of drought. Expanded clay thus serves as a water reservoir for the room ivy.

With the finger test, you can quickly feel whether it has to be poured or not. If the surface is dry, the room ivy needs water. The conditions here change with the seasons and the humidity in the room.

• do not use fresh tap water
• Use soft rainwater or stale tap water for watering
• remove excess water from the saucer
• In the winter phase, pour less often, it is better to spray with water from time to time

Fertilize

So that the room ivy can develop splendidly, it makes sense to fertilize it every now and then. Since the soil, unlike outdoors, no longer supplies nutrients after a while, it should be fertilized a little. Here, too, it shows once again how undemanding room ivy is.

However, if you want vigorously growing plants, you can either fertilize between March and September every 14 days with a liquid fertilizer or use a slow release fertilizer that is worked into the soil is. Decorative foliage plants prefer a nitrogen-stressed fertilizer, which is added to the irrigation water in a very diluted concentration.

Tip: Never put fertilizer in dry substrate. It is better to moisten the soil beforehand and then fertilize it.

From September onwards there will be no more fertilization. The plants are now slowly going into hibernation.

Cut

Ivy as a houseplant is very easy on pruning. Thanks to the good growth, the green plant can therefore be cut as desired. This is how you keep the long tendrils or the growth on the climbing aids in the fence and keep your houseplant in the desired size.

Properly cut the room ivy like this:

• The ideal time for pruning is spring
• First thin out weak and dry branches
• Then make the cut above the outward-facing leaf nodes

Small adjustments to the pattern are also possible within the year. Always cut with good, sharp scissors to minimize the risk of disease. If you want to achieve bushy growth in young plants, cut off the young shoot tips again and again.

Tip: Work with gloves when cutting, because room ivy also contains toxins!

Therefore, do not dispose of clippings in places that are accessible to animals.

Multiply

Propagation by cuttings

When pruning, there are a lot of cuttings that can be used for propagation. To do this, you need shoots with a length of approx. six to eight centimeters. Now several cuttings are placed in a pot with pre-swollen peat. The shoots are lightly sprayed, and then covered with a plastic bag. Here, a high level of humidity is the key to reproduction.

You will recognize the success by the growing roots and fresh shoots. The ideal times are between February and October. Alternatively, you can initially put the shoots in a glass of water for a few days and then put them in a pot with potting soil after the roots have driven out.

Overwinter

The wintering of the room ivy goes without any problems as long as the pot is not near the heater. He clearly feels at home at temperatures between 10 and 18 ° C. Make sure that the humidity is sufficient. Therefore, regularly spraying the leaves is almost more important than the already reduced watering with lime-free water. The earth remains only moderately moist.

Pests

Pests and diseases

Spider mites rarely get lost on indoor ivy. Light spots appear on the upper side of the sheet, the sheet gradually turns brown and then dries up. Numerous tiny mites can be seen on the underside. If the room ivy is near the heater, it needs to be relocated immediately. For the time being, the tendrils can be showered or completely immersed. The underside of the leaves must be completely moistened in order to remove the mites. If this does not help, a commercially available product must be used.

Aphids are also unpopular visitors. The pests appearing in yellow, green, brown or black like to attach themselves to the young shoots. The only thing that helps here is collecting or dipping the plant in a light soapy water. If there are still lice on the leaves, they can be wiped off with soapy water or slightly alcoholic lye.

The same applies to scale insects, which can possibly cause the plant to die. Here too, lukewarm water and the removal of the pests from the leaves apply for the time being. If this is not enough, commercially available remedies against aphids must be used.

Diseases

Thanks to its robustness, there are no known diseases in indoor ivy.

sorts

Varieties and types:

Curly variegated, curly Hedera helix

An insider tip among plant lovers is the Curly Variegated, the curly Hedera helix. It fascinates with wavy leaf margins and therefore gives the room ivy a completely new look. The foliage is cream-green and very divergent to classic ivy. The Curly Variegated can be up to 300 centimeters long and does not tolerate frost.

Goldefeu or Hedera helix Goldheart

Another eye-catcher is the Goldefeu or Hedera helix Goldheart. This variety has golden yellow decorated leaves and loves sunny locations, but without intense midday sun.

Glacier, Hedera helix Glacier

Leaves drawn in white and green, shimmering with silver - this is how Glacier, Hedera helix Glacier appears. This strain is the ideal houseplant, especially if you are looking for a long ivy that has little branching.

Harlekijn, Hedera helix Harlekijn

Harlekijn grows with brightly spotted leaves on a dark green base. This new breed forms various branches and is approx. 250 - 350 cm long.

Chicago Hedera helix Chicago

The Chicago variety is the classic among the indoor ivy varieties. It dates from the 1960s and has not lost its popularity to this day. Lush green leaves with slightly pink stems in a decorative heart shape add variety to the room. A subspecies, the Variegata, also has white edged foliage. The room ivy Chicago is very suitable for shady and partially shaded locations.