Re: fancy ivy
- To: s*@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
- Subject: Re: [SG] fancy ivy
- From: C* P*
- Date: Fri, 5 Jan 2001 20:07:24 EST
In a message dated 1/5/01 2:41:59 PM Eastern Standard Time,
voltaire@ISLANDNET.COM writes:
<< I buy ivy from houseplant departments. You can usually get them in
tiny pots for less than a dollar. For that price, the wholesalers
don't bother keeping the names but they are usually distinctive
enough that you can identify them from a book. >>
Diane writes above that many ivies are sold in chain stores. To that I would
add that you will get a pot full of rooted and growing cuttings. If ordering
a fancy variety from most catalogs, you will receive one rooted cutting.
Some of the variegated sorts do not prosper staying same size in pots for
years.
'Calico' is one of the most desired and the slowest grower I ever tried. Not
all fancy ivies will grow well. A neat trick is to put three or four kinds
into a 10 inch pot and let them scramble together for a tapestry effect.
Someone from the South or Westcoast always write in and tells horror stories
about ivy turned loose becoming a pest. In the North, that does not happen
and certainly does happen with the variegated and fancy leaf cv's. In my
zone 4, I have a Hedera helix of some unknown variety growing outdoors in an
inside L shaped corner of my house. It is against a warm foundation wall
with some winterkill from time to time. It is an accident that it is in the
garden. It fell off a deck railing and was not picked up in the fall.
It would seem that an ivy that can establish some deep roots in a protected
place will survive outdoors in cold zones. I can hear the grumping now from
the gardeners who are chopping ivy from their trees.
Claire Peplowski
East Nassau, NY z4
