BOTANICAL NAME H EDERA HELIX
PRONUNCIATION HEAD - er - ah HE - licks
COMMON NAME English Ivy
FAMILY Araliaceae
Life Cycle Evergreen Perennial
Growth Habit Evergreen Vine Spreading
ARRANGEMENT Alternate
LEAF Ovate, often with lobes Length 4” Width 3”
MARGIN Lobed when juvenile Entire on reproductive growth
VEINS Palmate
COMPOSITION Simple
FLOWER Insignificant
FRUIT Black drupe
EXPOSURE Part shade
GROWTH Rapid
USE Ground cover As a foliage for floral work
DESCRIPTION Most leaves are lobed Over 50 cultivars; ‘Curly Locks’, ‘Needlepoint’
DESCRIPTION On older stems leaves may be entire and oval in outline quite different from new growth, particularly true of hanging stems
CULTURAL PRACTICES Propagate by stem cuttings
PROBLEMS Can be invasive once established Difficult to establish
ZONES 5 - 9
NATIVE OF: Europe
REFERENCES Wyman’s Gardening Encyclopedia Landscape Plants; Their Identification, Culture, and Use