Growing Ivy: Tips at a Glance
Ivy: A Field Guide. Ivy looks beautiful, covering a wall with a velvety green blanket. But the vines can cause damage to the buildings they scale.
- Type Vine
- Lifespan Perennial
- USDA Zones 4-9
- Light Partial to full sun
- Soil Moist, well drained
- Growth Fast, reaching 100 feet
- Design Tip Ivy-covered walls
- Other Uses Topiaries
- Peak Season Evergreen
Ivy: A Field Guide
Ivy looks beautiful covering a wall with a velvety green blanket. But the vines are not always on good terms with the buildings they scale.
About a dozen ivies make up the Hedera genus, including the evergreen H. helix or English ivy, and in their native environments—they hail from Asia, Europe, or Africa—they behave well. But transplants can be invasive pests in North America and Australia where there are fewer ecological checks to keep them in balance. Beware: Ivy’s enthusiastic aerial roots can penetrate the cracks in mortar and gradually pry apart stones and bricks.
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