Ivy Care
Valuable Tips on Ivy Care
Ivy is one of the most popular and lovely hanging houseplants, and with just a minimal amount of ivy care and maintenance, can thrive in conditions where other houseplants fail.
There are many people who think they are failures with houseplants, and that they will kill any plant they bring into the house. These are usually people who love plants and truly cannot understand why they cannot survive in their care. The answer is most likely that they are simply choosing the wrong type of plant for the conditions that exist in their household. The ideal plant for them is the ivy; care and maintenance free for the most part while giving a displaying a lovely cascading habit of healthy looking foliage.
Several varieties of ivy make great houseplants, with popular ones being the English ivy, Algerian ivy, Persian ivy and Irish ivy. Each variety has its own appearance, characteristics and personality; providing a perfect plant for practically anyone. There are large leafed versions such as the Algerian ivy or plants with tiny foliage like the Itsy Bitsy. Solid green leaves or variegated ones; smooth textured to crinkly textures; the choices are many. The best feature of all types of ivy? Care is almost nonexistent, and they grow anywhere.
Potted Ivy should be planted in equal amounts of potting soil, peat moss and sand. Watering it once each week can be planned along with another weekly activity so that it becomes a ritual; Sunday morning breakfast, Saturday night game night, anything that fits into your schedule. While ivy care requires the plant be fertilized once each month, there are convenient time release fertilizers and fertilizer sticks that can take care of that task for you.
Homes with little sunlight provide a great home for the ivy. Although the plant requires bright light, it cannot survive in direct sunlight, so placing it in a room that receives the most light will be perfect. Ivy does equally well in homes that receive a large amount of sunlight, especially when placed out of direct sun but still in a bright area. When choosing a spot for your ivy, care should be taken to pick a cooler room. Ivy plants prefer daytime temperatures between 68° and 72° and sleep best at night with temperatures around 53°.
In the event your ivy care slips from time to time, your plant will tell you what it needs. If the leaves of the ivy aren’t quite as bright green as they were in the beginning, your plant is telling you it needs a bit more light. If you notice leaves are falling off the plant, it may be telling you it needs more water or less water, or maybe more fertilizer.
Because ivy care is so minimal for a plant that grows so well, there is no wonder the ivy plant is such a popular one to grow as a houseplant. Even if you have had poor luck in the past with other plants, you should give it one more try with the ivy.