Adding ivy to the outdoor landscape

Every gardener and landscaper knows it is important to find the right plant to fit the creative plans for their "canvas" or outdoor area.

One plant, known generically as ivy, may fit the needs of the landscape designer.

There are more than 25 different species of ivy grown in the United States.

According to R.W. Hinley and R.J. Black, horticulturalists with the University of Florida Extension, English ivy is the most popular ivy grown in the United States.

The cultivators of English ivy include a range of leaves with a variety of sizes, shapes, color, plant growth and growth rate.

Common, young English ivy is vine-like, usually with lobed leaves, and without flowers.

Old specimens of English ivy trained on walls, trees or other upright supports will often convert to the mature form which has thickened-erect stems, nonlobed leaves and flowers.

Hinley and Black said juvenile ivy cuttings root relatively easily compared to cuttings taken from mature ivy plants. Plants propagated by cuttings from mature plants retain mature plant characteristics.

The pair suggests using ivy as ground cover. The ivy can also be trained to cover walls, fences, posts and trellises.

Ivies can also be used in window boxes, urns and other elevated planters where the vine cascades from the containers.

Properly used in the landscape, ivy adds line, texture, and color to visually soften structural elements and add pattern to a landscape design.

If using containers, they suggest gardeners use pots, which are approximately three to seven gallons in depth. This ensures there is enough room for drainage and enough potting soil to supply moisture to the plant.

Containers can be used on shaded patios, under trees, in beds of ground cover, along steps or other locations.

Another method, according to Hinley and Black, involves using a frame of wire mesh and sphagnum moss for a topiary.

Secure a layer of moss to the frame. Install the plants through the sphagnum layer into the peat-like medium inside the frame.

The men say preformed topiary is more difficult to manage over the long term since the peat-like medium and the sphagnum moss will break down after approximately two years to the extent they lack the original water-holding capacity and physical support for the plants.

Caring for ivy

Ivies grow the best where the soil is well aerated and drains freely. If the soil remains wet for extended periods, oxygen becomes limited and root rot frequently destroys the root system.

During periods of high temperature and heavy rainfall, many cultivars are prone to infection with one or more bacterial and fungal pathogens, which attack the foliage.

English ivy is not forgiving to extreme drought. According to the men, the vines extend out from the initial point of planting, sections of the vine can be bent down and covered with soil to encourage additional root development.

A healthy plant can be trained into formal shapes on trellises and made into topiary figures.

Those who are interested in acquiring some ivy cultivars not available from local retailers should consult the Ivy Journal of The American Ivy Society. It carries advertisements from several ivy specialists who sell a large selection of small plants on a mail order basis.