Houseplant · Araliaceae
English Ivy
Hedera helix
Tough, shade-loving, and fast to fill a pot, English ivy trails or climbs wherever you point it.
Bright indirect
50–70°F · 10–21°C
USDA 4–13
20–79 ft · 6–24 m
Overview
You know that trailing evergreen vine spilling out of hanging baskets and creeping up brick walls? That's English ivy. It's part of the aralia family and it comes from Europe, where it's been draping woods and old buildings for centuries. Indoors it stays nice and manageable, sending out long, leafy stems that flop over a shelf or wind around a trellis.
What makes it so easy is that it barely asks for anything. It loves bright indirect light, but it'll get by just fine in low light and partial shade, and it grows fast enough to fill a pot in a season. Want to train it up a moss pole, clip it into a topiary, or just let it dangle? Go for it, because it takes a haircut without any drama.
Here's the catch though: all that get-up-and-go turns into trouble outdoors. English ivy is toxic to pets and an invasive weed across much of the US, where it smothers native plants and climbs into siding and gutters. But keep it as a houseplant, off the walls and out of reach, and it's a handsome, fuss-free plant to live with.
Care
The short version: bright indirect light though it's happy in shade, water only once the top half inch dries out, keep it cool with a bit of humidity, and prune whenever you like to keep it tidy.
Light
English ivy is at its best in bright, indirect light, which keeps the variegated types nice and colorful. That said, it also handles medium light, low light, and partial shade, so it'll work in spots where pickier plants throw a fit. Deep shade slows it down and fades the markings, but don't worry, it won't keel over.
Water
Give it a good drink, then hold off until the top half inch (about 3 cm) of soil feels dry before watering again. Ivy can't stand wet feet, so never leave the pot sitting in a saucer of water, or you'll rot the roots. When you're not sure, let it go a touch dry rather than soggy.
Soil
Go with a quality houseplant potting mix that's got excellent drainage, since soggy soil is really the one thing ivy won't put up with. Out in the garden? It's way less fussy and takes clay, loam, sand, and even rocky ground in stride.
Temperature
Ivy likes things on the cool side, 50°F to 70°F (10°C to 21°C), which is comfy for most homes. It has a rough time in hot, stuffy rooms, and that dry warmth also tends to bring on spider mites.
Humidity
Average household humidity suits ivy just fine. It does enjoy a bit more moisture in the air, and a little extra humidity helps keep spider mites away, so a pebble tray or the odd misting really pays off in those dry winter rooms.
Feeding
Feed it monthly with a foliage houseplant fertilizer while it's actively growing. Then ease off when growth slows down in summer heat or cold weather, because a resting plant just can't make use of the extra food.
Pruning
Prune as hard and as often as you want, since ivy bounces right back. Pinching and trimming keeps it nice and full and stops it going leggy, and you can pin the stems to a trellis or topiary frame to shape it however you like.
Repotting
Ivy's happy being a little snug, so only repot it when it goes top-heavy, fills the pot with roots, or dries out too fast after watering. And when you do bump it up, stick to no more than an inch in pot diameter, so the fresh soil doesn't stay wet and rot the roots.
Size & spacing
As a houseplant the trailing stems are easy to keep short, but let it loose outdoors and the vine reaches from 20 to 80 feet (6 to 24 m) and spreads 3 to 49 feet (90 cm to 15 m). That kind of reach is exactly why it climbs into trees and structures, and why you'll want to keep it contained.
Troubleshooting
English ivy's a tough cookie, so when it starts sulking, it's usually down to one of two things. Dry indoor air invites spider mites and browns the leaf edges, while harsh winter sun and wind scorch any plant left outside. Find what matches below and tweak the conditions before things get worse.
Speckled, bleached leaves with faint webbing
See that freckled, washed-out look with a bit of webbing? That's spider mites, the number-one pest on indoor ivy, and they love a warm, dry room. Tap a leaf over a sheet of white paper and you'll spot the tiny specks moving around. Give the plant a good blast of water, work some insecticidal soap into the leaf undersides, and cool things down with a bit more humidity.
Fix:
- Spray plants forcefully with water, including leaf undersides, to dislodge mites
- Treat with insecticidal soap, repeating as needed
- Dunk foliage upside-down in an insecticidal soap solution to wash pests off
Browning, dried-out, or scorched leaves
If this is happening outside, it's usually winter scorch, where cold sun and wind dry out those evergreen leaves quicker than the roots can keep up. Inside, it's more likely dry heated air and soil that's gone too dry, which leaves the edges brown. So move outdoor plants somewhere sheltered from that harsh winter sun and wind, and pop indoor ones on a wet pebble tray to bump up the humidity.
Fix:
- Site plants out of harsh winter sun and drying wind
- Raise humidity with a wet pebble tray and avoid letting soil dry out completely
Toxicity
Think of English ivy as a look-but-don't-eat kind of plant. Every part of it holds triterpenoid saponins, the berries being the most dangerous if swallowed, and the sap can irritate your skin on contact. It's toxic to cats, dogs, horses, and plenty of other animals, and no part is safe to eat, so keep it away from pets and kids and throw on some gloves when you prune.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Moderate
A cat that's been munching the leaves will usually drool, throw up, and get the runs, often with a sore tummy too. And here's the thing, the leaves actually carry more of the toxin than the berries do.
Dogs Moderate
Once a dog has had a go at the foliage, expect lots of drooling, vomiting, and a loose stomach pretty soon after. Curious puppies that yank off a trailing stem are the ones who tend to feel it worst.
Horses Moderate
Those saponins really upset a horse's gut, so you'll see drooling, colic-like pain, and loose droppings. Best to keep clippings and any climbing stems well away from the paddock.
Rabbits Toxic
The leaves and berries just aren't safe for rabbits, and either one can leave them drooling, off their food, and with an upset stomach. So don't hand them any part of it as a snack.
Livestock Toxic
Cattle, goats, and sheep that get into ivy can end up with digestive trouble and worse, all from those same saponins. Clear it out of pastures and fence lines before the grazers can reach it.
Birds Caution
Wild birds happily eat the ripe berries and spread ivy around with no problem, but the raw leaves? That's another matter. So go easy with pet birds and keep cuttings out of the cage.
People Caution
No part of ivy is food, and the berries are the real worry if anyone swallows them, since they bring on a burning mouth, vomiting, and cramps. The sap's a skin irritant too, so why not slip on gloves before you prune?
Wear gloves when pruning or removing ivy, as the cell sap can cause skin redness, itching and blisters.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Most ivy you'll find for the home is a named cultivar picked for its leaf shape or color, and a handful keep popping up wherever you shop.
'Gold Child'
Every leaf gets a cream-yellow to gold edge, and that's just the thing for a shady corner where plain green ivy would more or less disappear.
'Needlepoint'
With its narrow bird's-foot leaves, it's got a fine, delicate look that's made it a real favorite for trained topiary shapes.
'Glacier'
Its gray-green leaves come washed with silvery-white variegation, giving you that cool, frosted effect.
'Baltica'
It's a tough, cold-hardy one that gardeners often pop in outdoors to hold the soil and keep erosion in check on slopes.
How to propagate
English ivy practically makes more of itself, rooting from cuttings in a glass of water or layering wherever a stem touches damp soil.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Any time during active growth · Roots typically form in a few weeks
Want more ivy? It's about as easy as cloning gets. Snip a stem or tip cutting any time the plant's actively growing, stick it in a glass of water, and roots show up within a few weeks. Once a little cluster of roots has filled out, just pot the cutting up into fresh mix.
LayeringEasy
During the growing season · Several weeks to a few months
Trailing stems will root themselves wherever a node settles on damp soil, so why not let them? During the growing season, pin a stem down and walk away, and over the next several weeks to a few months it sets its own roots. Then cut the rooted bit free from the parent and move it wherever you fancy.
Myths
Only the berries are dangerous, so the leaves are safe to handle and have around pets.
Not quite, since the leaves and the berries both hold the same triterpenoid saponins, and the ASPCA actually calls the foliage the more toxic part for animals that chew it. Sure, the berries are the bigger risk if a person swallows them, but the bottom line is no part of the plant is harmless.
English ivy is just a harmless ornamental groundcover.
Far from it, it's a documented invasive species across much of the US and a listed noxious weed in Oregon. Leave it be and it'll smother native plants and climb right into siding and gutters, so it's worth a quick check of local rules before you plant any.