Description of the ivy plant, how to properly plant and care for the hedera in the garden, recommendations for reproduction, diseases and pests that arise during cultivation, cognitive facts, species and varieties.
Ivy (Hedera) can also be found under the name Vilitsa. This representative of the flora belongs to the Araliaceae family. In nature, it prefers to grow in areas of the Northern Hemisphere with mild climatic conditions (warm and humid), and is also found on the Australian continent. On the territory of Russia (its European part), the plant is not uncommon in the western regions. If it grows in colder regions or in areas with a colder climate, then this indicates that in the distant past conditions here were distinguished by mildness and higher ambient temperatures.
Ivy forms quite huge thickets in the Transcaucasian and Caucasian regions. It prefers to grow in natural conditions in beech forests, on rocky soil of slopes, in shrub thickets, as well as in gullies and gorges. Today in the genus there are up to one and a half dozen varieties.
| Family name | Aralievs |
| Growing period | Perennials |
| Vegetation form | Shrub vine |
| Breeding method | Generative (seed) and vegetative (cuttings and layering) |
| Landing period in open ground | Spring |
| Landing rules | The distance between seedlings should not be less than 0.5 m |
| Priming | Any garden, but not clay |
| Soil acidity values, pH | 6, 5-7 (neutral) or slightly alkaline (7-8) |
| Lighting degree | Open and sunny place or light partial shade |
| Humidity parameters | Watered twice a week in summer |
| Special care rules | Fertilization in early spring and in the first half of summer |
| Shoot length values | Up to 30 meters |
| Inflorescence shape or type of flowers | Shield, capitate or racemose apical inflorescences |
| Flower color | Greenish |
| Flowering time | September October |
| Decorative period | Year-round |
| Fruit type | Berries are black or yellowish |
| The timing of fruit ripening | In the spring, the next year after flowering |
| Application in landscape design | For vertical gardening of any supports, fences, gazebos, like a ground cover |
| USDA zone | 5–8 |
The genus got its name thanks to the famous flora taxonomy Karl Linnaeus (1707-1778), who in turn borrowed the term "Hedera" from the ancient Roman language. This is associated with the Greek word "edein", which has a translation for "sit", since the shoots of the plant are tightly attached to any walls, supports, surfaces and soils. The Russian word "ivy" refers to the term "spit" or "spit" because of the very unpleasant taste of the juice. Among the people, you can hear how heder is called a serpentine, brechetan or shelen.
All varieties of ivy are represented by evergreen shrubs with creeping shoots, resembling vines. The length of the branches in some species can reach very large rates, such branches can rise along supports to a height of up to 30 meters. Adventitious root processes are formed along their entire length, which contribute to the fixation of the branches on any closely located support, even on very smooth surfaces, for example, on glass.
Curious
The plant, in fact, is a parasite, because, wrapping around its carrier (for example, a tall tree), begins to stick with its roots to the branches and trunk, and simply "strangles" it. Over time, the entire crown and branches will be entwined with such ivy-shaped shoots. At the same time, twisted and old heder branches can reach 2 meters in girth.
On the stems, leaf plates with a dense leathery surface that do not have stipules unfold. Leaves are classified into two types:
- On generative shoots (where flowers and fruits are formed), they are painted in a light green shade, with a solid edge, taking a lanceolate, oblong or ovoid shape.
- Non-flowering branches are characterized by foliage of a dark green color, which has an angular-lobed shape.
On the surface of the leaf plates, there is an ornament of radially diverging veins, while the color of the leaves is both monochromatic and with variegated inclusions. A leaf can measure 25 cm in length. Due to the long petiole, it is possible to create a real mosaic from leaf plates. If you rub a willow leaf in your hands, you will hear a characteristic smell, somewhat reminiscent of nutmeg.
When flowering, the hedera disclose small flowers, which at the tops of the shoots gather in inflorescences that take a corymbose, capitate or racemose shape. The flower may be devoid of a bract, but if it is present, then its size is very small. The calyx in the ivy flower is very underdeveloped, its outlines are whole or there are five denticles. The corolla consists of five petals, inside it has the same number of stamens. The pistil has a five-star ovary. Flowering occurs in the autumn period - September-October.
After the flowers are pollinated, the fruits will ripen, represented by a black or yellowish berry in the hedera. Three, four or five seeds develop inside. The seed has an elongated embryo shape. It is interesting that the ripening of the berries will take place in the spring of next year.
The wilitz plant looks very good in the garden and does not require special care, so even an inexperienced gardener can grow it.
Planting and caring for hedera outdoors
- Landing place it is recommended to pick up the coil on a hill, but with protection from wind gusts and drafts. The location for green ivy species can be sunny, this applies to varieties and forms with a variegated color of leaves, since in strong shading, the color of the foliage will simply turn green. It is best to choose an area with light partial shade and a certain amount (morning or evening) of sunlight per day. If the plant is variegated, then it should be cultivated as ampelous. However, such forms are quite difficult to endure in the winter, and then it is worth transferring the vines planted in garden containers to cool rooms, a winter garden or a home greenhouse.
- Ivy soil are selected, keeping in mind that all members of the genus prefer nutrient-rich formulations. Loam may also work here, but a completely clayey substrate cannot be used, since oxygen will not be able to freely flow to the plant's root system. At the same time, such soils accumulate a large amount of moisture, which threatens the occurrence of decay. If the soil on the site is too poor, then humus or compost should be mixed into it. When the acidity values are not within the pH range of 6, 5–8, it is recommended to liming the soil by adding dolomite flour or slaked lime (lime) to it. The best growth will be on a soil mixture with a slightly alkaline or neutral reaction. With a low-fertile substrate, some growers add nitrogen fertilizers when planting in it, so that the foliage is large and grows faster.
- Planting ivy. The best time for this manipulation is the spring period, so that before winter the seedlings have enough time for adaptation, rooting, growing branches and accumulating strength. When choosing heder seedlings, you should pay attention to the root system (it should not be lethargic), the leaves (they should have a shiny surface), the presence of a large number of strong branches. For planting, you should prepare a soil mixture. You can use either a ready-made commercial universal soil, or compose a substrate yourself from equal parts of river sand, peat, sod and leafy soil. A planting hole is dug slightly larger than the root length of the ivy seedling. A drainage layer of crushed stone or broken brick is placed at the bottom of the planting hole. A small layer of the prepared substrate is poured onto such a drainage and a seedling is installed. The pit is then filled up to the top with soil mixture and abundant moistening is performed.
- Watering when caring for the chedera, it is carried out twice a week in the summer months, especially if the weather is hot and dry. But here it is important to maintain the golden mean, since although the coil is moisture-loving, it does not tolerate an excess of moisture in the soil and root decay may begin. Moisturizing generally should be moderate and regular.
- Fertilizers must be applied when caring for ivy to ensure the good development of its liana-like shoots and foliage. Preparations such as urea and ammonium sulfate will promote the growth of both new shoots and deciduous mass. It is recommended to deposit these funds in the first half of the summer season. In order for the branches to become stronger and more powerful, you need to use fertilizing with potassium and phosphorus when feeding, for example, potassium magnesium with the addition of superphosphate or nitroammophos (but it contains nitrogen).
- Ivy pruning necessary due to the overgrowth of its liana-like branches. This will also help to give the plant the desired shape. Dried and weakened shoots are subject to removal, as they greatly spoil the decorative appearance of the heder. Pruning should be done not in spring, when the snow has just melted, like many garden plants, but at the beginning of summer, when the movement of juices begins to slow down at the coil. It is at this time that pruning is most easily carried over by the wheel. After cutting off large branches, all places must be carefully covered with garden var.
- Removing ivy from the site. Although the plant is an ornamental culture, it has an aggressive growth and in some cases acts as a malicious weed. If you do not restrict its distribution, then the header can easily fill the entire location of the garden or plot. In order to get rid of this vine, you should cut off its shoots at the base, and then completely remove the root system from the soil. If the fight against ivy is being carried out, then it is necessary to remove the remnants of the roots from the substrate with special care, since they can easily take root again.
- General tips for ivy care. When a plant is just planted, it needs a lot of air and moisture to grow. Therefore, after each watering or rain, it is necessary to carefully loosen the soil. To prevent the soil from drying out too quickly, it is mulched with some porous organic material (peat chips, sawdust, etc.). Such a layer should not be very thick, it is poured gradually over several times. It is important not to touch the sheet plates that are close to the ground. By the autumn months, you should begin to build up the thickness of the mulch so that it will protect the root system from frost. But at the same time, do not forget about the insulation and shelter of the coil.
- Wintering heders will not be a problem if the vine is grown in a warm climate, its branches should not even be removed from the supports. But when the area is characterized by colder winters, it is recommended to release the shoots from the support and twist them in the root zone. After that, they are covered with dried fallen leaves, spruce branches or non-woven agrofibre (for example, lutrosil or spunbond). Some gardeners higher up throw snow on the bushes.
- The use of ivy in the garden landscape. Since the serpentine plant is evergreen, it can be used to decorate any backyard structure, support, or form all kinds of design ideas. For example, due to the fact that heder branches are able to climb even on glass with their roots-suckers, it is possible to decorate the walls of the building and its facades. Such elongated ivy shoots are used for landscaping arches and columns, arbors and pergolas. Often, phytowalls are formed through such plants, which can serve as a hedge. If the serpentine is grown as a ground cover, then it is possible to fill the gaps between stones in rockeries or stone gardens. Rose bushes will be a good neighborhood for ivy, so the willow foliage serves as a dark green backdrop for gorgeous open flowers. For vertical gardening, the heder is planted next to the morning glory, but the plant can also look great as a tapeworm. With the help of branches, it is possible to create highly decorative phyto-figures - animals or statues. Often, ivy plantings are used for economic purposes, to apply foliage on shoots and the stems themselves as animal feed or an ingredient in medicines. Variegative forms are most effective, since their leaf plates are decorated with various yellow shades, and with the arrival of autumn, you can see orange and red tones.
See also tips for growing Acanthopanax outdoors.
Recommendations for breeding ivy at home
To obtain a new liana-like plant, it is recommended to use both generative (seed) and vegetative methods. In the latter case, rooting of cuttings and layering is carried out.
Ivy propagation by cuttings
Many varieties of heders are characterized by the formation of aerial or adventitious root processes, which easily allows the rooting of blanks cut for grafting. The best time for this operation is spring or all summer months. It is recommended to cut branches from semi-lignified shoots with well-distinguishable root buds or already real adventitious roots.
Important
You can, of course, cut a stalk from a very young branch, this year's growth, but then the rooting will stretch for a longer period. Under unfavorable conditions (for example, at low temperatures) or a violation of the technique of this process, such cuttings simply rot.
Blanks for grafting should be cut from the tops of the shoots, but if there is no such opportunity or if you want to grow a large number of ivy seedlings, then the branch is cut into pieces, the length of which will not be less than 10 cm, ideally 15–20 cm. Also, the cutting should have at least one single healthy node. With a normal length, 3-4 sheets of the lower part must be removed from the workpiece.
Rooting is done in a greenhouse on the street, while planting is carried out in a loose and light soil mixture. You can mix garden soil or peat chips with river sand. To speed up rooting, it is recommended to dip the lower cut of the cutting into a solution to stimulate root formation, for example, Kornevin or heteroauxinic acid. Planting should be carried out so that the branch is buried in the ground by a third of its length. Rooting of the cuttings usually takes a month and a half. After that, the seedlings are planted in a prepared planting site in the garden.
You can also put the blanks in a container with water so that a larger number of root shoots are formed and only then plant them in the soil. Between the seedlings of the coil, when planted in open ground, there should not be less than 0.5 meters, due to the fact that plants tend to grow strongly when grown as a ground cover.
Ivy propagation by layering
This method is also considered to be quite fast, since there are already a large number of root shoots on each shoot. In order to root the cuttings, almost the entire growing season (spring-summer months) is suitable. To do this, you need to bend the selected healthy shoot to the surface of the soil, where shallow grooves have already been dug. Their depth should be such that the shoot fits completely. At the point of contact of the soil with the branch, the latter is pinned using hard wires or wooden slingshots.
While the growing season lasts, it will be necessary to care for the cuttings in the same way as for the mother heder vine. Watering should be carried out regularly, and it is also required to water the layers for successful rooting a couple of times with a prepared solution of ammonium nitrate. When autumn comes, you can deal with the separation of the rooted shoot from the parent plant. Some gardeners are postponing this operation until next spring, so that there is a guarantee of one hundred percent engraftment of a young specimen of a coil in a new place.
Ivy propagation using seeds
Usually this method is not widespread and is used only in those cases when the planting of wilitsa is needed for economic purposes - the foliage and stems are suitable for livestock feed. After collection, the seeds are separated from the berries and sown immediately on the prepared bed. During the spring-summer period, they will hatch and give rise to a new coil bush. But it should be remembered that with this method maternal signs may be lost.
Diseases and pests arising from ivy growing
The pests that cause the greatest harm to the heder are considered to be:
- Aphids - green bugs, sucking nutrients from the foliage, which turns yellow and flies around. Insects secrete a sticky substance - pad (product of the pest's vital activity), which will become a breeding ground for the sooty fungus. In this case, there is the likelihood of spreading viral diseases that cannot be treated.
- Shield, well distinguishable due to the appearance on the foliage on the reverse side of small plaques with a glossy and brownish surface. The appearance of a honeydew also occurs. Ivy leaves, under the influence of the pest, are deformed, turn yellow and fly around.
- Thrips, contributing to the deformation of especially young leaves, but the old foliage also turns yellow, becomes twisted and falls off, the buds will not fly around without opening, the fruit will not be tied, all surfaces of the plant are covered with a pad.
- Whitefly, contributing to the wilting not only of the leaves, but also of the vines intact. Reproduction of the pest is rapid, and if white specks (insect eggs) were found on the back side on the leaves, then after a couple of days a whole swarm of whitish midges will already hover over the bush.
- Spider ivy which is the most serious pest for ivy. All because of the sticky whitish cobweb secreted by the insect, which pretty quickly begins to envelop all the stems, which will lead to yellowing of the leaves and the death of the entire plant.
Usually, when detecting harmful insects, it is recommended to use insecticidal preparations of a wide spectrum of action, such as, for example, Karbofos, Aktara or Aktellik. Processing will need to be carried out several more times with a week break in order to completely get rid of not only adults, but also of newly emerging and their eggs.
Among the diseases that can affect this unassuming plant, one can distinguish those arising from high humidity and cool ambient temperatures. Powdery mildew (ash) or gray rot can act as such diseases. Both diseases are manifested by a bloom of gray or whitish hue on the leaf plates. The foliage and stems on which such a coating has appeared are torn off, and the entire liana is treated with fungicidal agents - Fundazol or Topaz-M.
If ivy has begun to lose its decorative effect, you should pay attention to the following factors when growing it:
- if the planting site is in shade, then the leaves of variegated forms can completely change their color to green;
- with low air humidity, insufficient watering or high temperatures, the ends of the leaf plates begin to dry out;
- at low temperatures and abundant watering, the leaves acquire a yellow color, the same occurs from an excess of fertilizers.
Cognitive facts about the ivy plant
This plant has been known since the time of Ancient Greece, so the Greeks used the foliage of the heders as a symbol of fun and love. All due to the fact that ivy was under the auspices of the god of wine and winemaking Bacchus. When feasts were arranged, the poets, according to custom, put wreaths woven from ivy shoots on their heads.
For a long time, folk healers also knew about the medicinal properties of Vilitsa. Since the plant has active substances with properties such as anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial. Alcohol preparations based on the coil helped to lower blood pressure, cleansed the skin of warts, as well as dermatitis and rashes, promoted such a solution to healing wounds and treating furunculosis. The ability of an emetic, astringent and laxative character is also well known. Ivy can be used to treat tuberculosis and rickets, helps to get rid of gastrointestinal and liver diseases.
Important
Ivy is a poisonous representative of the flora, therefore, it should be taken only after consultation with the attending physician and under his supervision.
But today ivy and foliage extract is also used in the pharmacopoeia, introducing into the composition of such cough preparations as Prospan, Pektolvan and Gedileks. For children, similar medicines based on heders such as Bronchipret and Gedelix have been made.
Contraindications for the use of ivy-based products are individual plant intolerance. It is important not to violate the prescribed dosage, since there is a possibility of getting severe poisoning.
Types and varieties of ivy
Let us dwell on those species of the genus that can be grown in the Russian area, since the plants must have some cold resistance:
Garden ivy (Hedera helix)
also bears the name Ivy. Most commonly grown variety. It is characterized by glossy foliage that unfolds on liana-like branches. The foliage is medium-sized, with a 3-5-finger division. The color of the leaf plate is dark green, but the veins are shaded with a whitish color scheme. Root shoots are formed along the entire shoot, with micro-suction cups allowing to cling to any nearby support. In length, shoots can reach 30 m, so the species is applicable in vertical gardening or as a ground cover.
The growth rate is slow. Due to its melliferous properties, it can be considered a honey plant; its honey has a white color and a mint aroma. Berries, on the other hand, are poisonous, but birds such as pigeons and blackbirds feed on them. There are many varieties today, but of particular interest are:
- Eva and Mona Lisa characterized by a yellow tint of foliage;
- Sagitifolia (Sagittaefolia) holder of sheet plates with star contours.
Colchis ivy (Hedera colchica)
is still often found under the name Caucasian ivy. Liana is distinguished by powerful and strong shoots, which, by means of a support, can rise to a height of 30 m. The diameter of the stems can reach 20 cm in adult specimens. It differs in large sizes of leaf plates, measuring 20-25 cm in length and about 17-20 cm in width. leaves are often characterized by integrity and three-lobed shape. The foliage is painted green, but varieties with spotted colors have been bred. It is curious that as the outlines of the leaf plates grow, they change.
The growth rate is slightly higher than that of common ivy, but the frost resistance is lower. Prefers a semi-shady location and a fertile substrate. The most common forms are: toothed (leaves with teeth on the edge), tree-like (with powerful woody shoots) and purple (the color of the foliage is crimson), variable (there is a yellowish color of the leaves).
Crimean ivy (Hedera taurica)
characterized by special unpretentiousness, frost resistance and endurance to dry periods. Does not tolerate waterlogged soil and too strong shading. The shoots of this evergreen vine are distinguished by their power, while the trunk is about 1 m in diameter. The shoots can be up to 30 meters long. The color of the foliage is dark green, the surface is shiny, the shape can change from five-lobed, resembling the outline of a stele to solid.
This honey plant blooms from the first days of autumn to October. Inflorescences are characterized by spherical umbellate outlines. When the buds open, you hear such a sweet aroma around that some people find it sugary. By the winter months, fruits begin to ripen in the form of berries, which remain on the branches until the next summer period.
If the growing conditions are comfortable, then this unpretentious vine takes on powerful outlines. In the warping of the trunks, lignification occurs, which contributes to their fusion with the trunks of trees, which serve as a support for them.
Pastukhov's ivy (Hedera pastuchovii)
Natural growth occurs in the lands of the Caucasus and the Middle East. The species is included in the Red Book of Russia and in a number of reserves in the Caucasus is in a protected status. It prefers fertile soils and is located in deciduous forests growing in low-mountain and floodplain areas. Liana is characterized by evergreen foliage. Shoots can be up to 10 m in length. Three-year lashes in length are measured in 1, 2 m. The growing season is 157 days. No flowers are formed. Partial freezing is possible during the winter months. Can be grown in the Moscow region.
Ivy boston
also represented by a tree-like liana, characterized by the splendor and density of shoots and foliage. The height of the branches varies in the range of 20-30 meters. However, this species is usually attributed to the Vitaceae family and is often found under the name of the Tri-pointed Divich grape (Parthenocissus tricuspidata).
Video about growing ivy in a personal plot:
