Saturday, April 26, 2008

Ivy Issues

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Oh, how lovely is this evergreen, especially this time of year when the new leaves are bright green and overshadow the old ones that have succumbed to mildew over the winter. The leaves on ours are up to 6 inches across.

It was S who brought in the Algerian ivy,  Hedera algeriensis, and we planted it in a border by the deck. She has managed to keep up with it with a few exceptions where it took off runners under the deck and just has to be pulled out until it breaks off , only to branch off and send out new runners to continue the cycle.

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But it was B (ever the recycler) who decided to pot up the removed runners and set them in the shade to grow. As can be expected, they did not remain in their pots but made a run for it and now we have what S considers an ivy problem and what B considers….well, not a problem.

This week S was approached about groundcovers for shady areas and made an offer to the woman: Algerian ivy. YES, S did warn her it has to be kept up with.

S has just pulled out a leaf bag and a kitchen bag full of ivy and no dent was made in the backyard vines, though the deck border looks like it is supposed to now and some of the path is now walkable.

 

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The saying goes about ivy:

The first year, it sleeps.

The second year, it creeps.

But the third year, it LEAPS!

It's true.

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