Indoor ivy - an ampel plant belonging to the Araliaceae family. Evergreen liana-shaped bush, homeland - southwest Africa and the subtropics of Eurasia. The appearance of this flower can be found in the photo.
Description
It is one of the creeping bushes that cling to the walls and trees with their subordinate roots. The leaves have a dense skin and are of two types:
- on branches without flowers - angular lobed foliage, dark green in color;
- on flowering branches - leaves are long and whole, of a light green color.
Header flowers are quite small, grouped at the top of the branches. The bract is small or completely absent; the corolla consists of five petals. Fruits - small berries of black or yellow color. The seed has an elongated germ.
Views for the home
Allocate about fifteen species of ivy, but at room conditions it is possible to grow only the following of them:
- Canary. In a number of sources it is called Algerian. Distributed in northern Africa and Portugal. It has strong stems with saturated green leaves and yellow spots. The plant spreads and can cover the ground with a whole carpet. The most common variety is considered to be Gluard de Morengo.
- Colchis. Homeland - Iran, Transcaucasia. Evergreen creeping vine, aerial roots reaching a height of thirty meters. The leaves are large, in length can reach 25 centimeters, whole, have a nutmeg aroma. The flowers are small, create inflorescences in the form of umbrellas.
- Ivy Pastukhov. Widely distributed in the territory of Dagestan. The roots are airy, light brown, able to cling to any support. The leaves are whole and thin, in length can reach 10 centimeters, and in width - 6 centimeters. The upper part of the leaf has a bright green color, and the lower is lighter. Inflorescences have from 5 to 20 flowers.
- Ivy. Such types are distinguished: hedera helix mix, white wander, green ripple, graham. Habitats are considered southern and central Europe. Has bare and leathery leaves, which consist of 3-5-lobed leaves of dark green color with light veins. The flowers are small, of both sexes, collected in inflorescences in the form of umbrellas of a pale green color.
Home Care
Florists consider ivy ordinary rather unpretentious flower, but when caring for a loach at home, you have to face certain difficulties.
| Watering | Top dressing | Temperature and lighting | Pruning |
| It is required to maintain constant soil moisture, but water stagnation should not be allowed. The frequency of irrigation is directly related to the temperature of the content. In the summer, the plant needs to be watered two to three times a week. In winter - 1 time per week. | The plant requires frequent top dressing, the interval between them should be 15-20 days. Complex fertilizers containing a large amount of nitrogen and potassium are considered ideal. In the cold season, top dressing must be limited, but not stopped. | It grows better at a temperature of + 18-20 degrees. In winter, the temperature can be reduced to +12 degrees. Prefers moderate ambient light. | During intensive growth, the shoots are pruned to give the plant bushiness. In spring, major pruning is performed, all long stems are cut to 1/3. Cut branches can be used as cuttings. |
Ivy is very hardy, therefore, even without quality care, it can continue to multiply, but in this case it has a weakened appearance. You can use the plant as a decorative element only with proper care.
Pot, soil, transplant
For germination, it is better to choose tall pots with a support along which the plant will curl. The soil is needed light and loose. The ideal solution would be to take turf, sand and deciduous land in a ratio of 1: 1. If desired, vermiculite can be used instead of sand.
Transplantation into a separate pot is carried out after the start of active plant growth. Spend it every 2-3 years, each time increasing the size of the pot by several centimeters.
After the plant reaches maturity, the frequency of transplantation can be reduced. The topsoil needs to be changed every year.
Breeding
Ivy can be propagated in several ways:
- cuttings;
- shoots;
- layering.
Most often, cuttings are used for propagation, they are planted in pots with a diameter of at least 7 centimeters.
For propagation in the second way, you need to take an shoot with 8-10 leaves and place it in the sand so that the leaves are on the surface. On day 10, underground roots form from roots of an air type. The shoot is taken out of the sand and cut so that it has one leaf and root. Then the ivy is planted in the soil.
When propagating by layering, long shoots are dug up, incisions are made from below. Their fixation in the soil is performed by U-shaped brackets. After rooting the planted looms, they are carefully separated and transplanted.
Growing Mistakes
Improper care of the plant can provoke a number of unpleasant consequences.
| Signs | Cause |
| The tips of the leaves dry or blacken. | Excessively high temperature, lack of moisture, dry air. |
| Leaves turn yellow. | Excessive hydration, excessive amount of fertilizing. |
| The pattern characteristic of variegated varieties of loach disappears. | Bad light. |
If falling of the lower leaves is observed, then this is a variant of the norm, and not a sign of poor-quality care of the plant.
Diseases, pests
Despite the fact that some varieties of ivy are poisonous, the plant still suffers from the negative effects of diseases and pests.
| Disease | Pests |
| Indoor ivy is quite resistant to various diseases, with the exception of root rot, which forms when watering excessively. |
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Signs and superstitions, benefits and harms
There is a superstition that ivy survives other flowers from the house and creates an atmosphere unfavorable for men. But in fact, this sign is not justified by anything, and the plant, on the contrary, brings many benefits to the house, purifying the air and saturating it with oxygen.
It is especially useful to keep Helix in houses where pets live, because the plant destroys fecal bacteria.
The medicinal properties of the flower are widely known. Ivy is used in the fight against fungi and bacteria, improves the process of eliminating sputum, therefore, the plant is added to many cough medicines.
Softening gels, which are popular in the treatment of skin diseases and in the cosmetology sphere, are created from ivy leaves. Using a decoction prepared from the roots of the plant, compresses are made for the treatment of ulcers, boils and burns.
