How to Grow Ivy

Growing the prolific ivy plant will convince you that you have a green thumb while adding fresh beauty around your house, indoors and outdoors.

Step 1: Select ivy plants Select ivy plants, choosing small-leaf varieties to grow ivy indoors and the English or Boston ivy for groundcovers or to grow outdoors on a brick wall or trellis.
TIP: Ivy may be propagated from cuttings by placing tip cuttings in a jar of water until roots appear, then planting.
Step 2: Fill container Fill a container with a little gravel, then add a rich potting soil to grow ivy indoors, placing your plant in a cool, sunny place and watering it regularly.
Step 3: Pick an outdoor location Pick an outdoor location to grow ivy where your plant will receive at least four hours of sun daily, and where it will have a trellis, fence or brick wall to climb.
TIP: Ivy clings to surfaces with suckers that attach to objects which allow them to climb.
Step 4: Prepare soil Prepare the soil, making sure it is rich and that it will provide your ivy adequate drainage.
Step 5: Plant Plant your ivy in the ground, covering the root ball with soil, and then pack down the soil around the plant.
TIP: Pinch back the ivy tips to grow bushier plants.
Step 6: Keep soil moist Keep the soil around your ivy moist for the first few weeks. Then wait and watch your plants take over, providing a green cover for walls, the ground or even ugly old pipes.
FACT: Boston Ivy is also known as Japanese Ivy and is native to Eastern Asia.