Yellow leaves on ivy: causes & treatment

Yellow discoloration of ivy leaves often indicates improper care. Here's how to prevent and treat yellow ivy leaves.

Were the leaves of ivy (Hedera helix) just green, they suddenly turn yellow. And worse, they even fall off. All the alarm bells will immediately ring for the plant lover, because in such a case quick action is required. But the first thing to do is to find out the cause. Even the hardiest plant will eventually reach its tolerance limit. With ivy, this is the case when the leaves turn yellow. Fortunately, the cause is usually quickly identified and can often be combated easily.

Yellow leaves on ivy: causes

It is normal for leaves to turn yellow and die again and again. Regularly in late spring, the ivy exchanges its three to four-year-old leaves for young, fresh specimens. As a result, the old leaves turn yellow, then brown, and finally fall off. However, if leaves are falling off in large numbers, then you should investigate more closely where the problem lies.

• Shading: Since climbing ivy keeps growing new shoots, the young shoots will sooner or later shade the old ones. Since the leaves of these shoots then no longer get enough light, they are thrown off the plant.
• Waterlogging: What the ivy does not tolerate at all is waterlogging. This can become a problem, especially in loamy soil or with excessive watering.
• Drought: Not only waterlogging damages the plant, drought can also lead to yellow leaves. Older plants in particular develop a large root system around themselves. However, if too much of the adjacent area is sealed, this can become a problem, as rainwater cannot penetrate the soil and the roots remain dry. Extremely dry summers or sandy soils further exacerbate this problem.
• Pests: Although ivy is not very susceptible to pests, room ivy in particular is occasionally attacked by them. They are common here spider mites (Tetranychidae). You can recognize an infestation with the tiny animals by the webs on the plant. Small light or silvery dots on the leaves also indicate spider mites. The cause of such an infestation is usually insufficient humidity.

Avoid and treat yellow leaves on ivy

If the ivy gets yellow leaves, then you should urgently do something to prevent worse. The first thing to do, of course, is to find out the cause in order to combat it. Even if the death of lower-lying shoots and the leaves on them is not dramatic or alarming, it can be detrimental to the aesthetics. The only way to prevent this is to regularly keep the plant in shape pruning their ivy.

Avoid and fight yellow leaves on ivy: waterlogging

Waterlogging is a common problem. This is where your horticultural skills come into play. In the garden you should try to put a bed of gravel or something similar in the soil under the ivy to drain the soil. Is the excess water due to the ivy growing in a low spot where the water collects? collects, then you should try to divert the water or make a small wall around the ivy erect. Houseplants should be watered less if they show signs of waterlogging, especially in winter. Again, to be on the safe side, you can put a piece of pottery or a few pebbles in the bottom of the pot as drainage to prevent waterlogging. It also helps to add some sand to the soil to increase water permeability. As a direct help in the event of waterlogging, you should repot the plant immediately.

Avoiding and combating yellow leaves on ivy: drought

Drought is a different problem altogether. The only thing that helps here is to water the plant more often. For specimens planted out, you should investigate whether soil sealing can be a reason for the drought. In this case, it might be worth considering whether grass pavers or gravel could be a good alternative to a tarred or concrete surface.

Avoid and combat yellow leaves on ivy: spider mites

Last but not least, the tiresome topic of pests. Luckily, the spider mites that occur quite frequently in room ivy are easy to combat. Prevention naturally plays a central role here. Since dry heating air is a favorable factor for spider mites, you should remedy this. Place a small bowl of water on the heater to increase the humidity in the room. It also helps not to place the plant directly above or next to the heater. If it is still too dry, you should regularly spray the plant with low-lime water.

Is your plant already infected? Then, as a first step, remove all healthy plants from the area. As an immediate measure, it helps to rinse off the ivy in the shower. In this way, many of the spider mites are disposed of immediately. However, since there are always a few left, you should now increase the humidity in a targeted manner over a period of two weeks so that the remaining spider mites die off. To do this, use a transparent plastic bag that you put over the plant.

As Caring for ivy properly and how to avoid yellow leaves, you can find out here.