Friday, July 13, 2012

Questions about English Ivy in south Florida

Q. I want to cover about 150' long concrete  wall about 10' high on the side of my property with English ivy. I live in West Palm Beach, Florida.Will it thrive in our climate? Will this cling to the concrete wall? If so how many plants do you suggest? Also is it evergreen? 

A. I think it will thrive in your area. English ivy is known to do well into USDA climate zone 9b. West Palm Beach used to be in 9b, but with the recent changes to the USDA climate zone map, your area is now in 10a. I saw this morning that someone reported it doing well in Haverhill, FL, to the west of you.

It will cling to the concrete wall.

English ivy is evergreen. Here is an article I wrote for my blog about English ivy.
http://gogardennow.blogspot.com/2008/07/wild-and-lovely-ivy.html

Here is an article about planting distance that I wrote for my blog. It was a question from a shopper about English ivy. I hope it helps.

http://gogardennow.blogspot.com/2011/06/faq-how-many-plants-will-i-need.html

You might also consider Ficus pumila (creeping fig) for your wall.

http://www.gogardennow.com/vines/ficus.html

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1 comment:

Jess said...

In 9a, where I live it grows fine, though it is not nearly as invasive a grower as in slightly cooler climes. Humidity and tropical heat do slow it down considerably. And this is a good thing. And yes, if you don't mind it scabbing up your concrete, it will definitely grow tendrils into it.