The Times - UK - 04.12.2021

the times Saturday December 4 2021

18 Outside

9 great gifts for gardeners

U LSA International

canopy self-watering

planter, £36, heals.com

W Unisex muckmaster

short boots, £120,

muckbootcompany.co.uk

V Spear & Jackson

bypass secateurs, £15,

argos.co.uk

X Zara Home ceramic flowerpot,

16x19cm, £29.99, zarahome.com

X Gardening tools

½ pint mug, £19.95,

emmabridgewater.co.uk

V RHS Burgon and Ball

meadow gloves, £14.99,

crocus.co.uk

W Personalised copper

trowel, £21,

notonthehighstreet.com

W Watering can with

extended spout,

£15.96,

connox.co.uk

rpot,

com

£15. 96

con

U Jambi garden chair,

£120, habitat.co.uk

The expert’s

guide to

growing ivy

From pruning tips to the hardiest varieties,

Stephen Anderton gives his advice

C

onfession time: although

some people hate ivy, I love

it. Evergreen climbers are

so rare, and if they are self-

clinging too (by aerial roots)

then that’s invaluable. Ivy

grows anywhere — sun

or deep shade, in any soil, even indoors.

What more could you ask for from a low-

maintenance climber?

Admittedly, it can be rampant. But if you

want ivy in a garden you just have to plant

an attractive, biddable variety and keep

it under control — manage it and make it

work for you.

Planting and pruning

Wherever you are growing ivy it is good to

be able to get to its base and see that shoots

are not heading off into the grass, or over

the soil and into other shrubs or the

next climber along. You can plant pretty

much any time, although the dead of

winter is unkind.

If the ivy is a pretty variegated variety

growing on a house wall then you need

to regularly — ruthlessly — prune it so

that it doesn’t get into gutters, just as

you would a climbing rose. Don’t let it

become too established outside its official

territory or the marks of roots will show

when you peel them off. Ivy clings and

doesn’t fall away like a rose, and it will get

out of control if it’s not cut back.

Over the years, as you corral it to a

restricted piece of wall, it will thicken

and bulge, and begin to produce that

chunkier flowering growth — wonderful

for insects in October and then providing

black berries to follow. Still, gradually it

will become a mass of fly-ridden dead

leaves and old birds’ nests that, every few

years, you can shear back to the face of

the wall, leafless, in February. It will leaf

up again in spring, with splendid outsize

foliage showing off that variety’s charac-

teristics to their best.

Trellis, of course, was made for ivy.

There is no better way to

quickly produce a “thin

hedge” or garden divider

that you can regularly

shear back, removing

those long trails of

growth or tucking

them in until the

empty spaces are

filled. But it needs

to be strongly

supported, because

the weight of leaf

and stem will become

quite heavy.

Ivy does no harm to

trees while it is climbing. It is

only the huge weight up top of

cloud-like, mature flowering growth

(especially when wet or under snow) that

can damage a tree. Such growth may need

to be reduced every few years.

What to buy

The variety I like best is Hedera helix, our

native common ivy and its varieties —

mostly tough as old boots, many rampant

but some dwarf, and all capable of creep-

ing away from you. Others are more finely

stemmed, trailing and disinclined to make

climbing growth. Leaves can vary from

tiny to huge, green to grey, silver and gold.

As with all plants, pale and variegated foli-

age will grow in shade but look anaemic.

Best common

ivy varieties

‘Buttercup’ Pale

limey yellow; 2.5m

‘Glacier’ Grey-

green with a

thin white rim

and veins; 3m

‘Glymii’ Black green

leaves taking on red-purple

winter tints; 3m

‘Green Ripple’ Long-lobed vigorous

green variety, trailing or good ground

cover; 3m

‘Ivalace’ Green, dense, small crinkly

leaves; 2m

‘Luzii’ Pale foliage, wholly marbled

and blotched; 3m

‘Midas Touch’ Green, generously

marbled in gold, cream and lime; 2m

‘Parsley Crested’ Rounded with a

crimped edge, pale green, coppery

in winter; 3m

‘Gold Heart’ (‘Oro di Bogliasco’)

Green with startling yellow centre,

upright; 3m

Q I have a 20-year-old,

6ft-high ceanothus that

leans out over the lawn

edge. I want to cut it

back and also make it

more stable. How far can

I cut back into the old

wood? A Feely

A Ceanothus tends not

to sprout from bare

stumps so you should

never cut behind the last

green shoot, which

usually means cutting

into only this year’s (or

perhaps last year’s)

growth. Secateurs should

be enough for the job.

However, 20 years is a

good life for a ceanothus.

If it is wobbly on its roots

I’d have it out and get

another one in.

Q I have four bamboos,

each in its own large

pot, and thinned them

last spring. Should I

thin them again now

or wait till the spring?

Mrs L Cohen

A It is an aesthetic

decision, not an

obligation. If you are

happy with the weight

and texture of the plants

now, leave them alone

for a couple of years.

Canes that are dead are

always better removed.

Thinning of live canes

— cutting out a small

percentage to let in light

— slightly reduces the

demand for water, which

is useful in an old potted

bamboo that can be very

thirsty. If you thin too

hard it weakens the plant

and it will need feeding

in spring.

Send your questions

to stephen.anderton@

thetimes.co.uk

‘Sagittifolia’ Light green, narrow,

arrow-head-like leaves; 3m

‘Spetchley’ A tiny-leaved dwarf; 60cm

Best alternative varieties

There are other, looser-growing ivies with

much larger leaves — different species

altogether, but wonderful, more structural

garden plants.

Hedera algeriensis

‘Gloire de Marengo’ Dark green,

grey and cream, slightly tender; 3m

H. colchica ‘Dentata Variegata’

Green with a yellow edge; 3m

H. colchica ‘Sulphur Heart’

(‘Paddy’s pride’) Green, with

a lime-and-yellow heart; 5m

H. pastuchovii ‘Ann Ala’

Long, dark, veiny leaf; 3m

Best ivy suppliers

fibrex.co.uk/collections/hederas

primrose.co.uk

jacksonsnurseries.co.uk

crocus.co.uk

Hedera helix

Question

time

r way to

“thin

ider

ly

g

f

me

m to

bing. It is

ght up top of

flowering growth

B

iv

‘B

lim

‘Gl

gree

thin w

and vein

‘‘‘Glymii’Bla

llleaves taking on

winter tints; 3m

Hedera helix

‘Midas Touch’

ALAMY