Guest post from Jeri Lynn Repp
It is that time again! Time for me to share with you another treasured one time purchase that I have been able to use extensively and multiply for years. That is correct! Purchase once…Use over and over and over…It lasts for YEARS! This gem of a plant can help you miraculously add charm to your home’s decor without breaking your budget!
One of my original ivy over growing on a shelf my hubby made for me.
What is this gem that I use to stylishly “go green” while decorating in my home? Ivy! Ivy growing in pots here and there makes any house a little “homier.” There is just something about a thriving plant that adds life to any room of the house. I have tried many indoor house plants, and Ivy is by far the easiest plant to maintain. It effortlessly adds charm and cleans the air at the same time.
Two Ivy made from recent cuttings, now growing and adding interest on my entertainment center.
Over two years ago my family moved into a new home. Because indoor house plants can purify the air, I wanted to add some to my new home. I purchased 4 inch pots of two different ivy plants, one has small leaves and one has large leaves. I potted these and added a water globe to each. My ivy plants have thrived in spite of my neglect. I have been able to multiply these plants many times over.
Now it is time for my confession. Ivy is not the only houseplants I purchased for my new home on that day, but it is the only one still living. That is right, I killed all the other houseplants purchased at that time. Since then I have learned to read the labels BEFORE I take home a new plant. Plants are categorized as delicate, tolerant, resilient. I now go for resilient. I avoid delicate plants at all costs! Maybe if you have a green thumb dedicates will grow for you. I do not! I need simple!
Ivy is simple. It is grows easy in any well-lit room. One caution. Do not over water. An Ivy can survive for a while in dry soil but does not like wet roots. I simply fill my water globes once a week as part of my weekly cleaning routine. They grow and look nice! Twice a year I will buy plant fertilizing sticks and poke them right into the pots of Ivy. That is it!
These have grown roots and are ready for potting.
When Ivy begins to become overgrown or gets too big for its space, just make a new plant. To multiply your Ivy simply cut a piece 5-15 inches long. Remove all leaves from the lower half of the cutting, and place into water. Be careful not to let the leaves touch the water. In a couple of weeks you will see roots. Pot your new Ivy. Simple!
Ivy decorating my counter while growing roots.
Ivy in a candle holder with dark stones.
Changing the color of the stone can change the entire look to fit any decor. These small greenery can be used as a centerpiece on the dining table. They can be placed in the bathroom, on a bedside table, as part of a tablescape. Endless possibilities!
An Ivy pot filled with Hope!
Teacher appreciation coming up? Add an apple with “A+ teacher” in your pot of Ivy. Valentines Day? Add some hearts and a love note. Easter? Place your Ivy in a basket and add a bunny or a cross. Do you have a friend in need of encouragement? Add an uplifting scripture and bring them a pot filled with hope! My favorite occasion to gift an Ivy is a housewarming party.
Ivy trained to grow vertically is, in my opinion, the best of all. My husband made me some quick trellises from scrap cedar wood. My welcome Ivy grows on one that is about 30 inches high and 7 inches wide. That means all you need is two 30 inch pieces of wood and three 7 inch pieces of wood. Hubby nailed mine, but they can be tied together or even hot glued.
My Welcome Ivy is my all time favorite Ivy cutting. It now grows rapidly right near my back door. My mother in law gave me those colorful roses!
For smaller ivy’s as mini gifts or in mini pots, I have made trellises from wooden barbecue skewers. I use 2 whole skewers for the vertical sides and then snap one in half for the horizontal pieces. Once again the corners can be tied with rope, wire, or twine. A handy-dandy hot glue gun will work for the corners as well.
For vertical interest I have grown Ivy on a tower made of circled chicken wire, bamboo stakes, and even a yard stick. Which may be an interesting home school project. How fast does Ivy grow? It would be easy to record if it is growing up that yard stick.
In case you missed it, earlier in the week I shared about my cherished Chocolate Mint: Good for more than just tea! Come back soon to hear about another one of my treasured plants. This next one is good for cooking and adding some “mmm mmm” to your meals! Until then, I would love to hear your thoughts!
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I have done this same thing, however my original ivy was started with nothing but a clipping that the florist used in one of our wedding arrangements, so it was very sentimental to me. I draped and snipped plants from that original piece for ages until we moved from Canada to the United States and weren’t allowed to bring plants with us. It was a very sad day, letting my wedding ivy go.
Michelle, That sounds so special, using clippings from your wedding arrangement! Very creative 🙂 We do tend to get atttached to those sentimental things in our lives. Sometimes it is necessary to let go of the old in order to embrace the new. That being said, it is not always an easy task. Some things are just hard to let go.
Love the ideas for plant gifts! One question: where do you purchase your plants? I hope to begin some new plants soon – had quite a few plants in my home until it was destroyed by a tornado last month. Needless to say, plants are only a very small part of the things I’m missing!
Hi Carla, So sorry to hear about your loss. Hurricane Gustav affected us tremendously some years ago. Our home was damaged, but not destroyed. I did loose a lot of sentimental things. There was just enough damage to our home for us to decide to take the leap and build a new home. About my plants, I buy them anywhere I see healthy ones. My Ivy were purchased at Lowes. Since my hubby has a handyman business, I will tag along on trips to the hardware store. I usually brouse the garden center while he does his shopping, and so lots of my plants come from there. I also have a favorite local plant nursery. You will be in my prayers today…Praying that you will find a plant that also brings you renewed HOPE! I know it may be hard, but I will also pray that you find JOY even on your road to recovering from the disaster.
I also forgot to mention, that when my ivy gets going crazy and needs a major trim, I have my husband shape me a wire frame of some sort (usually a circle or a heart) from a coat hanger and then I start a “new” ivy topiary in a pot, wrapping the ivy around the structure. I continue to care for it until I find I am in need of a birthday, hostess, get-well, or new neighbour gift. The gift costs me next to nothing…just the cost of the soil and the pot (check garage sales!), but it looks like I spent so much more on it. Plants are almost always well received and ivy tends to not be fattening (like chocolates), allergenic (like flowers), and is always in style.
I like the way you think! I have been meaning to start an ivy topiary in a pot. I will pull out a wire hanger today and see if I am able to shape it into a heart!
I have one other tip for keeping down the cost of gifting this incredible plant. At the end of the planting season (usually the beginning of fall) pots can be bought at a fraction of the original cost. I stock up then. Thanks for sharing!
Great Job…. gonna add this to my plant list today.
Thanks Linda! I hope you find an Ivy that you come to cherish!
Hi Jeri,
I almost forgot to comment. I love the look of ivy but I always seem to kill them, when I saw you article I felt sure you had a secret. My ivy has always died in the first two weeks of buying, am I just buying a bad one. I have no problem with other plants, any advise for buying a healthy ivy or a species of ivy. Loved you article and you are right a good plant brings years of enjoyment and decorating.
Eileen, It is funny and a little ironic to me that you have had no problem with other plants, because I have had plenty! 🙂 It’s hard for me to know why your Ivy have not lived without seeing them. The only thing I can think of to cause your Ivy to begin to fade away that quickly is being root bound. Plants for sale are generally grown in small containers. If the roots are overgrown and wrapped tightly around the inside of the pot, the plant needs to be repotted into a larger container immediately. If the roots don’t have the room to spread out, they do not get the needed water and nutrients from the soil. At this point otherwise healthy plants will rapidly decline. I can not think of any other problem that would cause such a rapid decline.
When buying my Ivy, I do not look for a particular variety. I look for an attractive, vibrant, and strong leaf. I will not buy plants with browning, yellowing, or any discoloring on leaves. If there are holes in the leaf, I assume an insect lives there and avoid. I know that I am no plant doctor; so if a plant looks unhealthy, it stays at the store. Hope that helps!
Thanks for all the wonderful ideas for ivy! I was just researching “plants that clean the air” on the internet this morning when your article popped up in my inbox. I can’t wait to go find some ivy now. And I love plants that you can grow from clippings…I have four Gumbo Limbo trees that I recently started from clippings, now have leaves and are about ready to be planted in the yard! I get so much enjoyment from gardening and love the idea of spreading that joy by giving plants for gifts!
I am glad that you enjoyed the article, Christina. Sounds as if you enjoy multiplying plants too! I have never heard of a Gumbo Limbo tree….but I do have a pot of Gumbo cooking on the stove as I write! LOL! I will have to check out that tree. My husband picks on my plant multiplication, as I can be a little extreme! I tell him, I am obeying the command…Genesis 1:28, God said “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth!” I am just filling my little part. 🙂 Happy Gardening!
The Gumbo Limbo tree is a native tree here in South Florida. I assumed that they had them all over the southern states but maybe not?! My husband does the same and is in the process of building me a screen house in our yard because he doesn’t like the “jungle” that I’ve made on our back porch with all my plants. Thanks for the verse…I’ll have to use that one next time he complains. Lol. Happy Gardening to you too!
WOW Chrisitina, I do hope you know that you are one blessed gal. Your hubby is taking the time to build you a screen house!! 🙂 I hope you make sure to tell him how valuable he is!!! This week my hubby built me a new trellis for a trumpet vine my mom gave me (but it’s no screen house!). I am still on a quest to make sure HE KNOWS how I appreciate all those things he takes the time to do for me! I can so relate, my back patio looks like a plant store! (Now I want a screen house too! LOL) And I googled the Gumbo Limbo tree. It looks interesting, all those spawling limbs.
In high school, I took a horticulture class and we made multiple plant cuttings that I was allowed to take home at the end of the semester. My favorite was a Swedish Ivy. When we did the cuttings for it, the teacher said that they were harder plants to establish, but mine grew really well. I was super happy. Until my mom convinced me that her room had better light, so I should hang it in there. But then she never watered it, so it died.
Spider plants are also good, since you don’t even have to do a cutting in order to get a new plant. They actually throw off shoots that grow roots in the air, all ready to go for you.
That sounds like an interesting class Debra. I love water globes! They give a little extra water storage, just in case you do forget. I have never tried a spider plant. I will look for one next time I visit a plant store. Thanks for sharing 🙂