Growing guide
How to grow ivy indoors
Ivy is easy to grow as a houseplant, coping well with low light and a certain amount of neglect. Producing long stems clad in evergreen leaves, it looks great cascading from a high shelf or from a hanging planter, and it can even improve indoor air quality.
Quick facts
- Easy and tolerant houseplant with evergreen leaves
- Grow as a trailing plant or train over a wire hoop or frame
- Affordable, long lived and copes in low light
- Many cultivars to choose from, with different leaf shapes and variegation
All you need to know
Why grow ivy as a houseplant?
Ivy (Hedera helix) works well as a houseplant, being robust and tolerant of low light levels. It keeps its leaves all year round, and has an attractive trailing habit, making it ideal for hanging planters or for cascading from a shelf or mantelpiece. It can also be grown vertically up a support or over a wire loop. Ivy is usually inexpensive and widely available, and there are many attractive cultivars to choose from.
Although particularly popular as a festive houseplant, ivy is not just for Christmas – it is long lived and a valuable addition to indoor greenery. It can even help to improve air quality, by removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Ivy is also widely grown by UK nurseries, so has a lower carbon footprint than imported tropical houseplants.
Houseplants for cleaner air
Houseplants for different locations
Houseplants: to support human health
Choosing ivy cultivars
There are many cultivars to choose from, with different leaf shapes in various shades of green, often variegated with white or yellow.
For growing as a houseplant, choose a small-leaved and/or slow-growing cultivar, such as:
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‘Duckfoot’ AGM – small, duck’s-foot-shaped leaves
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‘Glacier’ AGM – white variegated leaf margins
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‘Goldchild’ AGM – golden variegated foliage
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‘Ovata’ – all-green, heart-shaped leaves
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‘Pedata’ – all-green, narrowly lobed leaves
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‘White Knight’ AGM – mottled white and grey-green leaves
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‘Wonder’ – all-green, rounded leaves
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‘White Wonder’ – like the above, but with white variegated leaf margins
Buying ivy
Ivy is widely available from most houseplant suppliers, as well as from outdoor plant retailers.
Plants sold for growing outdoors are just as suitable for growing indoors, especially smaller-leaved or slower-growing cultivars. These are often sold for containers and hanging baskets, especially in the run-up to Christmas. And as they’re usually in small pots, they tend to be very affordable.
Some ivy houseplants are sold pre-trained over a wire loop or other support, for instant impact, although if you buy an untrained plant with plenty of long stems, it’s easy to do this yourself (see Pruning and training, below).
Choose a plant that looks healthy, bushy and well-shaped, with unblemished leaves and several long shoots.
Buying: garden centre plants
Buying: mail order plants
After a couple of years, ivy should be moved into a slightly larger pot, to keep it growing well. Use peat-free multi-purpose or loam-based compost, and a pot that is only a few centimetres larger than the current one, to avoid problems with overpotting.
See our guides on repotting houseplants:
Houseplant 101: Episode Seven
How to repot a plant
Peat-free compost choices
TOP TIP
If your ivy plant gets too big, you can simply transplant it into the garden, as it will cope perfectly well outside – see our guide to growing ivy outdoors.
Location
Position ivy in indirect or low light, such as near an east-, west- or north-facing window. If placing in a south-facing room, ensure it’s not in direct sunlight, as this may scorch the leaves.
Variegated forms may turn more green if they don’t get enough light – so if you notice the variegation is being lost, move the plant to a brighter spot.
Ivy works well as a hanging plant, for example in a macramé holder, or trailing down from a shelf. Alternatively, it can be trained upwards over wire hoops or a shaped frame to create an architectural form that resembles topiary.
Watering
How often you need to water will depend on room temperature (warmer rooms mean the compost will dry out faster). As a general rule, allow the top few centimetres of compost to dry out before watering, but avoid letting it dry out completely. Ideally use rainwater, although tap water is also fine if this isn’t available.After watering, discard any excess water that collects in the outer pot or saucer. If left to stand in water, the roots are likely to rot.
Houseplant 101: Episode Four
Houseplants: holiday care
Water: using softened and other types
Feeding
Ivy isn’t a particularly hungry plant, so doesn’t generally need feeding, unless it shows signs of nutrient deficiency. If the leaves turn yellow between the veins, this could be a sign that it needs a feed – in which case, use a general-purpose liquid fertiliser when watering and follow the dilution instructions on the label.If your plant is becoming straggly, trim back any overly long shoots to encourage bushy growth.
Prune out any reversion – variegated ivy may occasionally produce vigorous all-green shoots, and cultivars with specifically shaped leaves may sometimes produce a shoot with normal ‘ivy-shaped’ leaves – remove these ‘reverted’ shoots at the base.
Training ivy vertically to clothe a wire hoop or frame is relatively straightforward. For good coverage, it’s usually best to plant several ivies in one container. As the stems lengthen, tie them to the support until they cover and hide it. Maintain the shape by trimming away excess or wayward shoots and continue to tie in new ones, aiming to fill any gaps.
Ivy is easy to propagate by the following methods:
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semi-ripe cuttings in late summer. Insert sections of stem with at least two leaves into a pot of free-draining, peat-free compost. Water well then cover with a plastic bag (or place in a propagator) to maintain moisture levels. Keep in a bright place that’s out of direct sun and remove the covering once new growth is visible
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layering the stems – pin trailing shoots onto the surface of moist compost. Once well-rooted, sever the stems from the parent plant
Ivy is a robust and tolerant plant that is generally unaffected by insects or diseases. However, occasional problems to watch out for indoors include:
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Aphids on soft new growth. These can be removed by hand, or you could use a biological control or spray based on organic compounds
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Red-spider mites can thrive in warm, dry conditions. Spray the plant regularly with water to disperse and discourage them. Or raise the humidity by standing the pot on a gravel-filled shallow tray. Biological controls are also effective
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Leaf spots (caused by bacterial or fungal infections) – although unattractive, they have little effect on plant vigour. Control by removing infected shoots and avoid wetting the foliage when watering
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Loss of variegation – if variegated ivy doesn’t get enough light, the new leaves may become more green, losing their vibrant patterning. So move the plant to a brighter location, to re-establish good colouring. Also, variegated ivy can sometimes ‘revert’, meaning it produces a shoot with all-green leaves – if so, remove the whole shoot at the base, to keep the plant’s original colouring
How to help a poorly houseplant
Leaf damage on houseplants
Get involved
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