Common Ivy

How to grow Common Ivy

Written by the GardenDecoded editorial team · Last reviewed 21 July 2026 · Written for UK gardens · How we research our guidance

Planting

Plant in autumn or spring, laying the stems towards the wall or support and watering well through the first summer — dry shade at the base of a wall is the hardest part of establishment. Growth is slow for a year or two, then rapid. Variegated forms need more light to hold their colouring.

Pruning

Cut back with shears or a hedge trimmer in spring, before nesting begins in earnest, and again in summer if it is reaching gutters or windows. Trim it back off woodwork, roof tiles and painted surfaces each year rather than letting it get behind them.

Propagation

Very easy from semi-ripe cuttings in summer, or by pegging a trailing stem down until it roots. Cuttings taken from juvenile climbing growth continue to climb; cuttings from the mature flowering growth make a self-supporting bush.

Pests and diseases

Generally robust. Scale insects and red spider mite can occur on plants under glass or against hot dry walls, and leaf spot may appear in wet conditions without lasting damage.

Value to wildlife

One of the most valuable garden plants for wildlife: autumn flowers feed wasps, hoverflies and late bees when little else is out, and the black berries ripen in late winter for birds. Evergreen cover shelters roosting birds and hibernating insects.

Notes

Ivy does not feed on trees or damage sound masonry, but it does exploit failing mortar and adds weight and windage to a weak wall or a struggling tree. Judge the host first. The lobed juvenile leaves only give way to the plain adult form, which flowers and fruits, once the plant reaches the top of its support and gets full light.

This guidance was researched and written by GardenDecoded — see our editorial policy for how guides are checked and reviewed.

Other names for this plant

These names have all been used for Hedera helix but are no longer the accepted name. You may still meet them on old labels, in books, or in nursery catalogues.

Others in Hedera