How to grow ivy? A detailed guide to the latest cultivation methods
Ivy has beautiful leaf shapes and stays evergreen all year round. In various parts of the south it is often used for vertical greening, mostly planted beside rockeries and at the foot of walls, letting it naturally cling and grow vertically or as ground cover, achieving the effect of decorating and beautifying the environment. For potted cultivation, small and medium pots are mainly used, and it can be trained into many shapes for indoor display. Now let us take a look at how to grow ivy!
The role of ivy
1. Greening role: Ivy is an important material for indoor hanging cultivation, combination cultivation, green sculpture cultivation and outdoor greening applications. It is a woody evergreen vine that climbs by means of well-developed adhesive aerial roots. Its stems can reach 30 m in length, with dense branches and leaves, evergreen in all four seasons, and tolerant of pruning, making it suitable for shaping.
2. Medicinal role: Ivy has the effects of dispelling wind and dampness, promoting blood circulation and reducing swelling, calming the liver and detoxifying. It is mainly used for rheumatism and joint pain, low back pain, traumatic injuries, hepatitis, dizziness, facial paralysis, nosebleeds, eye opacity, acute conjunctivitis, nephritic edema, amenorrhea, carbuncles and swollen toxins, urticaria, eczema and other conditions.
3. Ecological role: In a room of about 10 sq m, it can eliminate 70% of benzene, 50% of formaldehyde and 24% of trichloroethylene. Because harmful gases such as formaldehyde in newly renovated houses are continuously released, after renovation keep ventilation and grow a few pots of green plants such as ivy. Generally, after a new house is left vacant for three to six months, it can basically meet the standard for moving in.
How to propagate ivy
1. Seed propagation: Collect the fruit when ripe, pile it up for after-ripening, soak in water and rub, wash clean and dry in the shade, then sow. It can also be stored in damp sand. Sow in spring the following year. After sowing, cover with 1 cm of soil, cover with grass to retain moisture, and build a shade frame when the seedlings emerge. In the spring of the second year, transplant or thin the seedlings and then grow larger plants.
2. Layering propagation: Carry out in spring and autumn, using the wavy layering method. After ring-barking the part buried in soil, it roots very easily. This is a relatively simple propagation method.
3. Cutting propagation: Ivy cutting propagation is generally best done in spring from April to May and in autumn from August to September. When taking cuttings, use loose, well-aerated, well-drained sandy soil as the substrate. For hardwood cuttings in spring, cut vigorous woody branches from the ivy into strong cuttings 15-20 cm long, leaving 2-3 leaves at the upper end. After cutting, keep the soil moist and place under side-shade conditions, and they will root quickly. For softwood cuttings in autumn, use semi-woody young shoots and cut them into cuttings 15-20 cm long with 3-4 nodes and aerial roots. After cutting, provide shade and keep the soil moist regularly. Generally, they can root and survive 20-30 days after cutting.
How to grow ivy
1. Suitable temperature: Ivy prefers warmth, with an optimum growth temperature of 20°C-25°C. It fears heat and is not cold-tolerant. Therefore, when keeping it indoors, pay attention to ventilation and cooling in summer. In winter, the room temperature should preferably stay above 10°C, and must not be lower than 5°C.
2. Moderate light: Ivy likes light and is also fairly shade-tolerant. When grown under semi-light conditions, the internodes are shorter, the leaf shape is consistent and the leaf color is vivid, so it is best placed in a bright spot indoors. If in spring and autumn you can each choose a period to place it outdoors in a shaded spot so that it receives more sunlight in the morning and evening, it will grow vigorously and the leaves will be green and bright. However, be careful to prevent direct strong light, otherwise it is prone to sunscald.
3. Appropriate watering: During the growing season, water according to the principle of watering when dry and stopping when wet. Do not let the potting soil become overly moist, otherwise it easily causes root rot and leaf drop. In winter, when room temperature is low, especially control watering and just keep the potting soil slightly moist. In northern winters, the climate is dry, so it is best to spray and wash the leaves once a week with clean water close to room temperature to maintain air humidity. Then the plant will look more lively, and the leaves will be tender green and glossy.
4. Reasonable fertilization: For home cultivation of ivy, the potting soil should preferably be a culture soil mixed from leaf mold or peat soil plus 1/4 river sand and a small amount of bone meal. During the growing season, apply a dilute cake fertilizer solution once every 2-3 weeks. Generally, do not fertilize in summer and winter. When fertilizing, never apply too much nitrogen fertilizer alone, otherwise the patterns and patches on the leaves of variegated varieties will fade to green. The ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium is preferably 1:1:1. In the peak growing season, you can also spray the leaves 1-2 times with a 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution, which will make the leaf color even more beautiful. But note that when applying liquid fertilizer, avoid contaminating the leaves, so as not to cause leaf scorch.