paghat wrote:

In article ,
c (TOM KAN PA) wrote:

My Ivy thrives, or I should say, survives the winter. But in the spring,
there's more brown leaves than green. And after cleaning up the bank,
there's a
lot of bare spots. Like I said, it's September until it looks good again.

In HOT climates ivy NEEDS shade or will do poorly, but winter per se
oughtn't be such a problem. I have dwarf English ivies growing in cracks
of a stone wall with very little soil under firs where it is dry & dark &
what soil there is is very compacted, & even weeds won't grow there, plus
it's exposed to high winter winds that rip up & down the hillside. The ivy
does great in this harsh condition. The stuff is fully evergreen
year-round, never dies back even a little. I got rid of all the fullsized
ivy that was rampant & weedy, & now have only comparatively restrained
dwarf ivys & lacey ones & yellow ones, but they're all English ivy
cultivars, & hardy little devils shiny & handsome any time. When I planted
them I thought the conditions were so lousy only a couple of the tiny
starts would "take" (I could only use tiny starts because they had to fit
into narrow cracks between rocks). But every single tiny pot took hold &
though they grew slow for a long time, they now require periodic trimming
back.

Our lowest temperatures aren't terribly low, however, given Puget Sound's
London-like microclimate, & perhaps your cold months are minus-something
which my plants never experience. Your experience with the ivy makes me
curious, though, & it sounds awful that it would take the whole of spring
to autumn to bounce back from winter damage. I've just always had the
impression that this was eternal stuff that made no demands & simply
always looks really good. Is there a chance you have something like
Algerian or Persian ivy that don't like to get cold? Or are you actually
in a hot zone & have them overly sunned? Inland & in the southwest, direct
sun can be too much for ivy even where not hot. Here in the northwest
sunlight comes in at such a slant ivy will take even direct sun without
suffering, but even here likes shady spots best.

-paghat the ratgirl


I think phagat has hit got it about right,.. here in its native habitat
ivy would be covered by a muclh of leaves and orgnic debris about now
which will protect roots and stems.. A quick look on the web reveals
hardiness to -10 to 20 degrees C.

Some cultivars will be more tender.. Breeding in plants 'tends' to
increase some weakness in exchange for other characteristics when
compared to species parents.

Like phatgat I now am into the cultivars which seem to be doing well..
Ordered here from our National collection which can be found at:
http://www.fibrex.co.uk/

Good stuff, and very tough once established (and thats the important
bit.. ) Note also the cultivation notes at the above address, they
recommend planting with lime chips.. (crumbled lime morter or old
concrete would probably do as well)
//
Jim
North London, England, UK