Hi everyone,

I recently looked after a young ivy plant for a friend. Over the course of a fortnight or so, this ivy quickly went from full foliage to practically bare, with severe leaf drop. I tried to isolate this plant as soon as I noticed and have now discarded it, but my own more established ivy is now showing similar signs.

The symptoms are that healthy leaves begin to lose colour from the outside edges in, and then drop off. I have removed most of the leaves which show these symptoms in case that helps slow the spread for now, but attach below an example of a leaf half way through discolouration (apologies for quality). I have inspected closely, and there are no signs of any pests.



Can it be rescued?

well you don't say where you at? My pure guess is that it is not liking a change in humidity from your friends house to yours. Or temp changes. Houseplants like temps and humidity to be steady and balk when they change. If you are in a colder area and are using wood heat (?) that would dry the air out.

Hi Bifftwelve, to All Things Plants!

I've never had luck growing English Ivy (Hedera helix) as a house plant so I can't offer any advice but the American Ivy Society has some good information here: http://www.ivy.org/about_bv8.h...

Hello bifftwelve!

Just some questions:
How often were the plants watered,?
Where are the plants positioned indoors -orientation of light north, south, west, east?
What is the temperature inside the house and do you know your humidity levels?
Were these plants recently repotted?

Thanks everyone, for the quick replies and for the welcome!

To answer a few points, I've had this ivy for 4 years now, and it has been in the same place that whole time - and flourished to the point of taking over half a fireplace (don't worry, the fireplace is not in use!). The fact that it has done so well over the years is part of the reason that I'm so keen to save it.



- Watering: around once a week, though I will start easing off now as we head into winter
- Orientation: nearest window faces North-West, although given that it has done so well over the years, presumably that isn't a problem.
- Temperature: I'm not home much during the week, so the house is unheated. Outdoor temperature is around 13/14 C right now (in Scotland)
- Humidity: I don't have a measure, but I do have a few tropical plants which I mist - not sure if that will impact things?
- Repotting: around 5 months ago, and it has flourished since then

My concern is that this ivy is showing the initial signs of something passed on by the friend's ivy (fungal infection?). My hope is that I'm just noticing signs of mistreatment on mine (temperature? over watering?) because I'm watching it more closely after the death of the young plant, and that it won't come to much.

Thanks for the photo and added info bifftwelve

That is really interesting, either it is reacting to change in seasonal light levels or needs better air circulation. Other than that, all I can say is observe it a bit more, maybe it is also just natural leaf aging.

After keeping a close eye for a few weeks, I've worked out the source of the problem - spider mites!

After doing a bit of reading, I've removed all visibly affected leaves and given it a good rinse in the shower, and plan to mist with soapy water for the next wee while. Any other tips?

iffftwelve. The link provided by Plantladylin, mentioned the possibility I was going to suggest that you check out. The last and only time I tried to grow ivy in my home, it became infested with spider mites almost immediately due to the dry air. Last year, I was able to overwinter a couple of potted ivy plants successfully in my garage, which is unheated. Your decision to remove the affected leaves, shows that you're moving in the right direction. Be sure to rinse the leaves carefully after you spray with soapy water. You don't want to cause additional problems from soap residue. Your plant should recover and grow new leaves soon. for the link Lin. It was very informative.

Hello I'm trying to save my 30+ year old Ivy. I first got it when it was just in a 4" pot. I had it getting Western exposure but filtered with a curtain and it did wonderful. I had to move it due to redecorating and put it my sun room which gets Southern exposure but was at least 4' away from the window. It did well for yrs then started dropping leaves and leaves looked dried up. I moved the plant out of the room into a bright room and still no good. I put it outside in the shade over the summer ( live on Long Island NY ) and it flourished. Brought it back in and placed it back in its original spot , Western exposure and its doing poorly. Had changed its soil before placing it outside and put it into a different pot. Any help in this matter would be deeply appreciate. Thanks. Diane

I think that's a different kind of ivy than the one that started the thread-
Cissus rhombifolia or grape ivy.
Since you've kept it for 30 years, I'll assume you need no advice about watering or soil. I'd look carefully for insects.

@Maf538 - Whenever a plant's environment is changed, it requires adjustments on the part of the plant and the caretaker. Environmental changes include repotting, changing location, and changes in temperature and air circulation. All of those factors affect the water requirements. Changes in light require the leaves to adapt. and that usually means dropping off older leaves and replacing them with new leaves that are adapted to the new light intensity.

Given the many changes that your Ivy has experienced it is hard to know just what has happened.

In general, the less often plants are relocated, the easier they are to maintain.

On second thought, double check your watering, due to the changes