Common Green Ivy Plants

Hedera Helix Vine Plants

Common Green Ivy, Hedera helix, is a native climbing plant that will grow almost anywhere. It is ideal for very shady sites with poor soil and can be used as ground cover or as screening. It can grow up trees and walls to about 15-20 metres, although old plants in sunny, fertile sites can go even higher. Green Ivy plants are only delivered pot-grown, year round as are all our ivy plants.

View our selection of groundcover plants or see our full range of hedging options.

Ivy as Ground Cover: Plant at 18" / 45cm spacing to get a thick blanket of Ivy quickly.

Making an Ivy Hedge:

Old ivy plants become very woody and can support themselves almost as well as any shrub. All you need to make an ivy hedge is a temporary fence made of the cheapest wood you can find for the Ivy to grow over. By the time the fence has begun to rot, the ivy will have formed a woody cage over it that is self-supporting. This is usually done to make quite low, decorative borders. It will still work for taller projects, but the end result will not be hugely strong: if a heavy person tried to climb over it, it would probably collapse.

General description of Hedera helix plants:

A very useful ground cover plant that will grow in dry soil and deep shade. Ivy is a powerful climber. Contrary to some rumours, it will not damage modern brickwork, only very old and crumbly mortar or loose woodwork, although it will clog a gutter pretty quickly. It will also not directly damage trees that it grows up, but it might compete with them for light and soil nutrients enough to weaken the trees if they are young or just not very big.
Ivy flowers and fruits in the winter months, attracting wildlife to your garden and giving bees a lifeline when they are active on warm winter days.

Notes on planting Ivy:
Ivy will grow on any soil apart from very waterlogged sites, although it will tolerate quite damp places.
Clear weeds off the ground and water your Ivy well until there are signs of new growth. This means that the roots have established and your plants will take care of themselves.

Prepare your site before planting:
It is good to dig over the area where you intend to plant several months in advance. Destroy the weeds first: nettles, brambles and ground elder are tough. Then dig the soil over; remove rocks, roots and other rubbish. Mix in well rotted compost or manure down to the depth of about 2 spades.
If you have a heavy clay soil, it might be too difficult to dig over for most of the year. Heavy clay is fertile soil, so you don't really need to improve it; killing the weeds is still necessary.

Remember to water establishing plants during dry weather for at least a year after planting.

Planting accessories:
Prepare your site for planting by killing the weeds and grass.
If your soil quality is poor, we recommend using mycorrhizal "friendly fungi" on the roots of new trees and shrubs.
You can also improve your soil with bonemeal organic fertiliser.