English Ivy
Hedera helix
Through the year 🗓️
☀️ Summer now
Prefers cooler rooms; mist regularly to deter spider mites.
🍂 Fall
Happiest in crisp temperatures; slow the watering.
❄️ Winter
One of the few that likes a cool winter room; keep the mites in check.
🌱 Spring
Cut it back hard. It regrows denser, and the trimmings root easily.
The details
Light & placement
- Light
- Bright indirect (variegated types need more); tolerates medium light; no hot direct sun
- Ideal PPFD
- 150–350 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹
- Grow-light distance
- 16–24 in below LED
Water & feed
- Watering method
- Water when the top 1 in is dry; drain well. Prefers slightly moist but hates soggy roots.
- Fertilizer
- Balanced feed at ½ strength, monthly in spring–summer.
Home & habit
- Soil
- Well-draining houseplant mix; pH 6.0–7.8
- Humidity
- Average–high (40–60%); dry air invites spider mites
- Temperature
- 50–75 °F; likes it cooler than most
- Mature size
- Trailing/climbing 3–8+ ft
- Repotting
- Every 1–2 yrs
- Propagation
- Stem cuttings root fast in water or soil, almost too easily.
When something looks wrong
- Overwatering signs
- Yellowing leaves, soft stems, root rot
- Underwatering signs
- Brown, crispy, dry leaves; leggy bare stems
- Common pests
- Spider mites (the classic ivy pest), aphids, scale, mealybugs
Common problems 🩺
The usual suspects when English Ivy looks unhappy. Most houseplant trouble is watering or light, not disease — see all plant problems if you are not sure which plant is the culprit.
Fine webbing and speckled leaves
Likely cause
Spider mites. Ivy is one of the most mite-prone houseplants there is.
What to do
Rinse it hard in the shower, raise humidity, and treat weekly with neem until clear.
Dry, crispy leaves
Likely cause
Dry indoor air or underwatering.
What to do
Keep the soil lightly moist and move it somewhere cooler and more humid.
Variegated ivy turning green
Likely cause
Too little light.
What to do
Move it to brighter indirect light to keep the markings.
More like this 🌿
Have an english ivy?
Track it in DueDrop, with watering every 9 days, feeding every 28 days, prefilled for you.
Start tracking free