The evergreen ivy (bot. Epipremnum aureum), also known in the trade as the golden ivy or gold tendril because of its pretty leaf markings, is one of the most popular houseplants. The very easy-care and undemanding plant thrives in almost all locations, and even people without a “green thumb” or with little experience in plant care can quickly experience success with this plant.
How do I properly care for an ivy plant?
The ivy (Epipremnum aureum) is an undemanding and popular houseplant that thrives in both shady and bright locations. It filters pollutants from the air, but its leaves are poisonous. For optimal care, regular watering, moderate fertilization and occasional cutting are recommended.
Origin and distribution
Like so many popular houseplants, the ivy belongs to the arum family (Araceae). There are around 15 different species of the Ivy plant genus, of which Epipremnum aureum and its cultivated forms are primarily cultivated as houseplants. The plant, also known as the gold vine, originally comes from the small, South Pacific island of Moorea, but has now spread from there to numerous other subtropical and tropical regions of Asia - especially in Southeast Asia - as well as in Australia and on the Pacific islands.
It is a climbing plant that often thrives on and on the huge jungle trees in the tropical rainforest under partial to shady lighting conditions and spreads extremely quickly. The undemanding plants can also be found in inhospitable environments and colonize mossy stones, for example.
Ivy plants owe their name to their external similarity to common ivy (Hedera helix). However, neither the species nor the genera are botanically related to each other; ivy plants also belong to the Araliaceae family.
Usage
The ivy is a popular houseplant because of its simplicity and pretty leaves. Since it is a tropical plant and therefore requires warmth, cultivation in the garden is not possible in our climatic conditions. In addition to being kept privately in living rooms at home, the gold vine is also often used as an ornamental plant in public environments - for example in authorities, companies or doctor's offices.
This fact is based on the fact that the attractive plant does not need much care, can also cope with shady locations and is also considered to purify the air. Their leaves filter pollutants such as formaldehyde, benzene and others from the surrounding air. In many tropical countries, the golden ivy can also be found as an ornamental plant in parks and gardens, where it has a strong tendency to go wild.
Ivy plants can be used in a variety of ways to decorate rooms: Very distinctive (and if there is enough space in the apartment), the tendrils, which are up to ten meters long, can be used for indoor greenery on walls, room dividers, shelves and cupboards and even stair railings. In this way you practically create your own little jungle within your four walls.
Appearance and growth
The golden ivy is an evergreen, herbaceous climbing plant that can grow up to 20 meters high with the help of aerial roots and develop shoot axes up to four centimeters thick. With appropriate care, the plant can grow huge even when grown in pots, as demonstrated by some specimens cultivated in the tropical houses of botanical gardens. However, in the living room at home, the ivy usually only reaches a height of two to three meters.
In addition to the gold tendril, there is another similar type of ivy that is also suitable for indoor cultivation: the spotted ivy (Epipremnum pictum 'Argyraeum') has silvery, white-dotted foliage. However, the two species are very similar in terms of their location and care requirements.
Does the ivy need a climbing aid?
In stores you can often get the ivy climbing on a moss stick, but you can also guide the long shoots of the climbing plant along furniture or stair railings. Furthermore, the plant is also very suitable for hanging basket planting, where its shoots climb downwards in an attractive and lush manner. Of course, trellises are not necessary for hanging culture in a hanging basket. However, if the ivy is to grow upright, it needs support - its soft shoots cannot stand on their own and then simply grow towards the ground.
leaves
Ivy plants have heart-shaped, leathery and shiny leaves that become larger and more irregular in shape with age. The leaves of young plants are usually smaller than 20 centimeters, while the foliage of specimens that are many decades old can be up to 45 centimeters wide and 100 centimeters long. However, these so-called age leaves only occur very rarely in an apartment culture.
The alternately arranged leaves of the ivy plant can be plain green, but there is also a large selection of varieties with white-green, yellow-green or cream-green striped or spotted leaves with also different green base colors.
Flowers
In their natural environment, ivy plants develop the bulb-like and rather inconspicuous flowers typical of an arum plant. However, the plant blooms extremely rarely when grown indoors, because the spadix flowers only appear when the ivy plant has developed the perforated and up to one meter large old leaves - and this usually does not happen when kept in a pot.
Toxicity
Like so many members of the arum family, the ivy is also poisonous. Its leaves contain, among other things, calcium oxalate crystals, which can severely irritate the skin or mucous membranes or trigger allergies when they come into contact with them. That's why you should always wear gloves when caring for the plant, especially when cutting the plant - the escaping plant sap can cause damage. If children or pets consume leaves or other parts of the plant, serious symptoms of poisoning can be expected: from dizziness, palpitations and headaches to nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, depending on the amount consumed. To prevent such poisoning, place the ivy plant out of the reach of children, cats or dogs - for example in a hanging basket hanging from the ceiling.
Which location is suitable?
Ivy plants need a lot of warmth: A constant temperature of around 20 °C all year round is ideal for the climbing plant, but it shouldn't get cooler than 16 °C even during the winter months. Due to their need for warmth, the plants are not suitable for garden cultivation and can only enjoy fresh air on the balcony or terrace in the warm summer.
In its natural location, the ivy grows in the light partial shade of large jungle trees, which is why it cannot cope with direct sunlight. Even when grown indoors, it needs a bright, semi-shady place where a few rays of sunlight hit the large leaves in the morning and/or evening. The plant also doesn't like drafts, which is why a place in front of a frequently open window is not necessarily the best choice.
However, the light requirements of the different varieties are very different: the darker green the leaves of the ivy plant are, the more shady it can be. These variants also thrive in north-facing rooms where other houseplants have no chance due to the lack of light. However, this does not apply to the variegated varieties, which need significantly more light and should therefore be placed in the immediate vicinity of a window. If the location is too dark, the variegation disappears and the leaves simply turn green. The ivy feels most comfortable in the bathroom anyway, as the humidity there is high all year round.read more
Substrate
Commercially available, high-quality compost-based potting soil or green plant soil is best suited as a substrate. When buying, pay close attention to the composition of the soil, as cheap peat is often used for poor-quality mixtures.
Hydroculture
The undemanding ivy adapts excellently to a substrate-free culture in expanded clay or vermiculite granules and is therefore the perfect candidate for hydroponics. By the way, the ivy is an insider tip of experienced freshwater aquarists who use it to keep the water in the aquarium clean. You can also use the ivy plant for this purpose – but without soil! – cultivate directly in the aquarium, with only the roots in the water if possible.hang. Alternatively, plant the ivy plants in a pot with several holes in the bottom and filled with expanded clay and hang it in the basin so that only the bottom of the pot is in the water.read more
Planting and repotting
Planting and repotting the ivy is completely uncomplicated. The plant always needs a new pot and fresh substrate when the roots threaten to grow out of the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot. However, the new container should be only slightly larger than the old one, about two to three centimeters. When planting, you can cut back dried or rotten roots and limit the growth of large plants by cutting back both the roots and the above-ground parts of the plant. As a rule, repotting should be done every two to three years.
Watering the money plant
When it comes to water requirements, the ivy is quite frugal: they have no problem with temporary drought, which is why they thrive even if you occasionally forget to water. Always keep the plant slightly moist, not wet, as it cannot tolerate waterlogging! Immediately pour off any standing water, for example from the planter or saucer. Instead of keeping the substrate permanently moist, you can water less and instead spray the plant regularly or rinse it in the bathtub with lukewarm water. This increases the air humidity - which the ivy plant needs anyway as a rainforest plant - and prevents infestation with spider mites.
The ivy is dripping, what's that about?
Sometimes ivy plants form drops that are reminiscent of dew or raindrops - and that without it raining or you having just sprayed the plant? If this phenomenon occurs, you have watered the plant too much and it is now trying to get rid of the excess through the leaves. Carefully wipe off the drops with a cloth and then throw it away: the water that escapes is toxic and should not be touched!
Fertilize money plant properly
The ivy is also undemanding when it comes to the supply of nutrients: If you forget to fertilize at times, it won't harm it. However, the houseplant thrives best if you give it a liquid fertilizer for ornamental foliage plants along with the irrigation water every two to four weeks between April and October. This is also sold under the name “green plant fertilizer” or “leaf plant fertilizer” in gardening or hardware stores. In winter, stop fertilizing and water the ivy less.read more
Cutting the money plant correctly
In order to limit the size of the very fast-growing plant, you can cut off excessively long shoots to the desired length at any time. However, you should wear gloves because of the poisonous plant sap. Pruning also has the advantage that the plant then branches better and grows denser.read more
Propagate money plant
Ivy plants can be easily propagated using head cuttings or stem cuttings as well as by cuttings. Simply place the cuttings resulting from cutting back overly long shoots in a glass of water for rooting. There should always be a node directly in the water, because the roots of the ivy plant develop from this. As soon as the roots are about two centimeters long, you can place the plant in a pot with soil. To ensure that the plant is nice and dense and bushy, it is best to plant several cuttings in a planter - after all, ivy plants do not develop side shoots. Alternatively, you can also grow lowering plants, which are only separated from the mother plant after root formation has taken place. However, you should place shoots with aerial roots straight away in a pot with soil, as this will cause rooting to take place more quickly.read more
Diseases and pests
In general, the ivy is a very robust houseplant that is not susceptible to pathogens or pest infestation. However, problems can sometimes arise, but these are usually due to care errors. As soon as these are corrected and eliminated, the signs of illness also disappear.
- Evy plant drops leaves: location either too dark or substrate too wet, change location and repot plant in fresh substrate
- Root rot, moldy soil in the pot: plant is too wet, move the plant to fresh substrate and a new pot and water less
- wilted or spotty leaves: location is too drafty, move plant to another place
- Evy plant gets yellow / yellow-spotted leaves: often a sign of spider mite infestation, rinse the plant in the shower and increase the humidity at the location
Tip
Since the ivy filters out many harmful substances from the air, the plant improves the indoor air. However, it also stores these pollutants in its leaves, which is why you should never throw cuttings or whole plants into the compost. Always dispose of all plant parts with household waste.
Species and varieties
It's not without reason that the ivy bears its nickname "golden tendril": its beautifully apple-green, heart-shaped leaves have a yellowish to golden variegation, which can vary greatly from person to person and depends greatly on the lighting conditions at the location. 'Golden Queen' develops a wonderfully large, golden-yellow variegation, while the variety 'Marble Queen' has attractive white-green variegated leaves. 'N-Joy' also has leaves with a high proportion of white. 'Wilcoxii', on the other hand, has a distinctive yellow leaf pattern.
But be careful: the expression of the different colors varies greatly, even on the same plant, depending on how bright it is where it is located. If the ivy is too dark, the leaves lose their color and turn green. They stay that way even if you move the plant to a brighter place.
