Ivy plant (photo) - care varieties and species
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Common ivy and Colchis ivy - varieties and species
If you want to decorate your site with picturesque vines, choose ivy. A lot of decorative forms allows you to use the plant in gardens, parks, and at home!
The scientific name of the plant comes from the Greek edein (sit) and is given for the ability of the plant to fasten on special air roots to the trunks of trees, rocks, walls. Some researchers believe that the name of the ivy is due to the Celtic hedea (cord).
Ivy is known to people from ancient times, it is mentioned in mythology and folk legends. In ancient Greece ivy was one of the symbols of the god of wine and winemaking of Dionysus (Bacchus). Mother of Dionysus, Semel, daughter of King Cadmus, became Zeus' lover.
Genus Ivy (Hedera) belongs to the Araliaceae family and includes about 15 species distributed in Central Europe, the Mediterranean and Asia. Taking into account the healing properties of ivy, one should not forget that the plant contains poisonous alkaloids. Its leaves and pollen can cause allergies, and berries can cause poisoning, but because they have a bitter taste, people rarely eat them. Birds, on the contrary, eat themselves without any harm.
Hera, the wife of the Thunderer, suffering from jealousy, inspired the young woman to ask the beloved to appear to her in all his glory. Zeus appeared flashing with lightning. A mortal woman could not endure the spectacle of divine greatness and died, having produced Dionysus. The infant would be killed in the flames of the fire, if not for the shoots of ivy, which saved the newborn god, wrapped in a green cloak.
Holiday garlands
In England, winter-green ivy along with a holly and mistletoe became a symbol of Christmas. Celebratory wreaths and garlands are made of its shoots and holly branches, and the hard, spiny holly symbolizes the male principle, and the soft ivy, which needs * support, is female.
Together, these two plants are called upon to bring harmony and peace to the family hearth. It is also believed that amulets of ivy can attract good luck to women.
Reference by topic: We decorate the cottage - landscaping with garden ivy
Healing, useful properties of ivy
Ivy has long been used in folk medicine. From its leaves and stems, preparations were prepared for the treatment of inflammation of the mucous membranes, tuberculosis, rickets.
Fresh leaves were applied to the damaged areas of the skin for burns, purulent wounds. Fresh leaves and berries were eaten by coughing and bronchitis, and festering and tired eyes washed out the decoction of the leaves.
In countries with mild winters (in England and Ireland, for example) ivy gives people the opportunity to admire the green foliage all year round. It thickly covers not only the fences and walls of buildings, but also many deciduous trees, rising to the tops of the crowns. As a result, when the leaves of a maple, oak, or ash fall, the tree still remains in green.
Ivy
The most widespread in ornamental floriculture was ivy common (Nedera helix). In nature, it occurs in most parts of Europe and in Western Asia.
Common ivy is an evergreen climbing bush, the stems of which can reach a length of 30 m. Ivy can spread along the ground, but more often climbs through tree trunks and rocks to a great height. It is strengthened on the supports, not entwining them, but growing with the help of thick, short, dense aerial roots that cover the part of the shoot facing the support.
Ivy of Colchis
Ivy Colchis (Nedera colchica) in nature is found in Transcaucasia, Asia Minor, Iran. It is a powerful climbing evergreen shrub whose shoots reach 30 m in length. Leaves on flowering and ordinary shoots differ in shape, as in ordinary shoots. It should be noted that the leaves of the colchian ivy are much larger than the leaves of its relative, and the whole plant produces a much more powerful impression. When rubbing the leaves emit a characteristic muscat smell. The Colchian ivy is growing faster than the common ivy.
Ivy cultivation
Ivy ordinary is more wintery. Both species are resistant to air pollution, so they can be successfully grown in cities. Location prefer shady or semi-shaded, in the bright sun the leaves grow shallow.
Soils are required to be nutritious, moist, but without stagnation of water. In weeding only young planting is needed. As soon as ivy takes over and grows, the dense canopy of its leaves will muffle any weeds.
In irrigation, as a rule, does not need even in droughty periods. Positively responds to falling asleep under the roots in autumn and spring nutritious compost, fertilizing at the same time complex mineral fertilizer.
When spreading out of the allotted area, it requires pruning.
See also: Creeping and climbing plants and shrubs - part of 2
Green ivy figures
Of ivy, you can create a semblance of topiary sculpture. For this, shoots are allowed to braid the wire frame of the desired shape (baskets, vases, geometric figures, animal figures, etc.). Such pseudotopariums are quick to create and cheap. True, it is not recommended to leave them in the garden for the winter, they need to be moved to rooms or greenhouses.
Reproduction of ivy
Ivy can be propagated by seeds, but in decorative horticulture, a simpler vegetative method is usually used. It is all the more convenient that, unlike the seed, it allows to completely preserve the properties of the decorative form or variety.
Upper cuttings
Ivy cuttings are cut from the tops of shoots and from the middle, they can be harvested throughout the year (in winter - from indoor specimens). They are easily rooted in a moist substrate (clean sand, or sand mixed with peat). For quick rooting, landing containers are covered with glass, they monitor soil moisture (watering) and maintain high air humidity (spraying). Regular airing of landings is useful. Rooting can be accelerated by placing containers with cuttings in a warm place.
The cuttings, which have already formed aerial roots, will be rooted most quickly. After rooting, young plants are planted in pots with an earth mixture of turf and leaf land, humus, peat and sand (1: 1: 1: 1: 1). At this time, it is useful to pinch them to stimulate branching.
In the central part of Russia, plowing as a ground culture can only be used as soil cover plants. In this case, they successfully hibernate under snow.
Forms of ivy ordinary
Ivy ordinary is used not only in gardens and parks, but also as a houseplant. There is a large number of decorative forms, which differ in color and form of leaves, according to the color of the fruit.
f. arborescens (tree-like) - plants form a low erect bush, there is a species with white-colored leaves;
f. baltica (Baltic) - small-leaved, frost-resistant plants;
f.chrisocarpa (yellow-fruited);
f. digitata (palmate) - plants with palmate-lobed leaves;
f. gracilis (graceful) - plants with small leaves dissected into narrow lobes;
f. hibernica (winter, or Irish) - plants with large, wide, light leaves;
f. leucocarpa (whitefruit);
f. marginata (bordered) - plants with a yellow-white border along the edge of the leaf, which with the onset of cold weather turns pink or red;
f. marmorata (marble) - plants with large leaves and yellowish-white spots;
f. minima (miniature) - plants with small three-lobed leaves;
f. taurica (tauric) - plants with narrow leaves, whose middle lobe is elongated. Colchis ivy forms
Ivy Colchis love fertile soils and penumbra.
Used for vertical landscaping and as ground cover.
There are the following decorative forms of Colchian ivy:
f. dentata (dentate);
f. arborescens (tree-like);
f. purpurea (purple) - with reddish leaves.
There are selective varieties of Kolkhida ivy with variegated leaves.
Reference by topic: Creeping plants shrubs: care garter and cultivation
It's important to know
- Ivy ordinary and its forms have one feature: with the onset of cold weather, reddish tones appear in the color of the leaves.
- In countries where there is no snowy winter, they remain in frosty weather, with warming the normal green color returns, the leaves remain intact.
- It should be remembered that natural types of ivy are more unpretentious and winter hardy than most decorative forms.
- Cultivated as a ground-covering ivy does not bloom.
- With observance of agrotechnics, ivy in the open ground is very resistant to pests and diseases, especially when grown in regions that are far from the natural range.
In the photo above the ivy variety:
1 - common ivy “Cavendishii”, 2 - common ivy “Fredrick”, 3 - common ivy “Ivalace”, 4 - ivy colchic “Sulfur Heart”, 5 - common ivy “Lightfinger”, 6 - common ivy “Buttercup”
In the middle:
1 - Colchic ivy “Sulfur Heart” 2 - Algerian ivy “Margino Maculata” 3 - fruits of Colchis ivy
At the bottom:
1 - Flat ordinary “Digitate”. 2 - Ivy ordinary "Midas Touch". 3 - Ivy ordinary "Cockleshell"
© Author Marina Novoselova
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MODEST Ivy
Why do I call him a modest one? He is invisible in the house in spring and summer, when flowering plants come to the fore, and autumn and winter are his time. Ivy, inconspicuous in the warm season, is building up a chic "head of hair" and is now ready to show itself in all its glory. In caring for him from November to February, it is important to prevent stagnation of moisture in the flowerpot and overdrying of the earthen coma. Otherwise, the plant may die. If I notice that the flower has begun to look bad, I cut the apical cuttings and put them in the water. As soon as the roots appear (for a long time in winter), I plant the branches in fresh, loose soil.
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What is the best and faster way to propagate ivy for growing in the garden?
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- Usually ivy is propagated by cuttings. This can be done from spring to the end of July. The plant will take root even later, but it will not be able to overwinter, since the roots are still not sufficiently developed.
The stems of the plant are cut into cuttings with 3-5 buds and 2-3 leaves. They can be rooted in sand, vermiculite, perlite, or immediately planted in a permanent place. If cut in summer, shoots with root buds at the leaf nodes can be selected. Indoors (in a greenhouse), cuttings take root within 10-14 days, in an open field - the same process will take about 1 month. Ivy will form roots in a container of water.
Care in the garden
Young ivy after planting is periodically watered, especially in hot dry weather. An adult creeper has a powerful root system, and the plant completely dispenses with additional moisture, no additional feeding is required - that is, it does not need care in the garden.
But fragile seedlings, which are in poor soil, can be supported 2-3 times per season with a special complex fertilizer for decorative leafy crops. Ivy growing on the street practically does not affect diseases and pests.
Alexander IVANOVICH, Ph.D. Agricultural Sciences, Gorky
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Ivy has grown a lot in my garden. I would like to drastically reduce its planting, setting aside a small patch for this plant. How to do it?
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The rapid growth of ivy really does not always please gardeners. Sometimes the plant uncontrollably braids nearby trees and bushes, interfering with their development. To calm the liana, you need to cut off the stem at the very root, then dig up the roots completely. And be sure to check if the cut shoots are left on the ground. If this is not done, then a twig with adventitious roots left on the surface can grow into a long vine.
It is possible to limit the growth of ivy in a new place by enclosing its roots in a container buried in the ground with sides 1 × 1 m, built of slate.
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When buying ivy, they said that it is a cascade, so no support is needed. Six months have passed, but he still has only one sprout developing. What does it take to make new ones appear?
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Cut off the apical cutting and several intermediate ones (7-10 cm each). Root them in the greenhouse soil. If the plant is healthy, in optimal conditions, then cuttings from it root easily and quickly. Then plant them together for a fluffy bush. The mother plant, after pruning, may produce several lateral shoots and become thicker.
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Wax ivy I like for the pleasant aroma of flowers and a drop of thick nectar, like a diamond sparkling in the sun.
Grows handsome at a temperature of about + 18 degrees. He does not tolerate excess or lack of moisture. In winter I water it with warm melt water, in the summer - with rain water.
In order to "wake up" the plant in spring, I lower the pot to the brim for an hour or two in a warm (30 degrees) water. After such a "bath" the soil warms up, and the ivy begins to develop magnificently.
I feed in the spring and summer: a small amount of bird droppings I dissolve in the rainwater and add a pinch of peat.
I propagate the plant in spring: cuttings with 2-3 leaves root in moist sand. Through 3-4 weeks begin the beginnings of shoots. Rooted cuttings are planted in separate pots in a substrate of leaf and humus earth (1: 1) with an admixture of large river sand. At the bottom of the tanks I lay drainage from shards and charcoal.
Young copies are transplanted annually, adults - through 2 years.
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In the pictures I often see beautiful pergolas, twined with ivy. But ivy does not grow in us, rather grows, but does not hibernate. On the experience was convinced! I replaced it with the Dahurian lunoon-seedling: its leaves look like ivy leaves.
They open quite late, in mid-May, and in the fall they are painted in lemon yellow. And the fruits of the plant are beautiful - clusters with black berries. This plant is good to decorate low garden buildings and supports.