The Right Type of Ivy to Plant Near a Wall

May 27th, 2010

Boston ivy

There is one mistake you really, and I mean really, don’t want to make in your landscape. You absolutely do not want to plant the wrong type of ivy for the wrong reason. Very bad things can happen.

First a word on vines…

Vines climb through a variety of methods, and it is important for you to know what they are and how they work.

1. Mechanically This is where a vine twists or turns around some support or framework naturally. Through a natural process the vine senses a nearby structure, and wraps around it. Examples of this type of vine include kiwi and clematis.

2. Tendrils Some vines grip mechanically, but through special growths called tendrils that grow out of the vines. They reach out seeking supports and then wrap around them. Examples of this type include grapes and cucumbers.

3. Suckers Some vines grip surfaces with suction cup like devices that adhere, even to flat surfaces. This category includes boston ivy.

4. Roots Some vines have roots that dig into surfaces to secure them, most ground cover vines work this way. Examples include english ivy, sweet potatoes.

So, about ivy

The two main types of ivy people grow are boston ivy and english ivy. If you allow english ivy to grow up a wall it will do so, and it will use roots, and the roots will dig into your wood, masonry, stone, or concrete, and tear it apart eventually like water expanding in a crack or a tree’s roots lifting a sidewalk. It can destroy the side of your building, a very costly mistake. English ivy is a ground cover, a great ground cover, but do not let it climb on things you want to preserve. If it you let it climb a tree it’ll also tear off the bark and kill the tree. It is evergreen though, which is why people may be drawn to it.

Boston ivy on the other hand looks great climbing up walls, my wall in the picture has a yellowish cultivar climbing up it, which I chose to be different and because it was shady I thought it would brighten up the wall to use a lighter colored plant. Because boston ivy uses suckers it doesn’t really damage what it climbs on, though it can hurt painted surfaces. Boston ivy is not evergreen, it will turn pretty colors and drop leaves in the fall, the trade off of having it not destroy your walls.

When you’re at the garden center and looking at ivy they’re not labeled as such, and many people have made the mistake of training english ivy up a wall, including yours truly many years ago, don’t make the same mistake.

Posted in: Gardening » 

21 Responses to “The Right Type of Ivy to Plant Near a Wall”

  1. Joseph Tychonievich  Says:
    May 27th, 2010 at 9:01 am

    Good points! I’m growing a stunning variegated boston ivy up my fence, and just love. I want to cover my whole house in it as well!

  2. Emma Watson  Says:
    May 27th, 2010 at 11:28 pm

    Thanks a lot for those tips. We have just bought a small old weekend house and I am planning to cover at least one wall with ivy.

  3. Amy @ As Seen on TV  Says:
    May 30th, 2010 at 2:10 pm

    This was very helpful. I just purchased a new home and wanted to grow some ivy by my front entrance. Definitely not buying English ivy.

  4. Garden People  Says:
    June 18th, 2010 at 2:54 am

    I have lots of walls to cover. I did start out with Clematis but it does not provide as much cover as ivy. Great article thanks 🙂

  5. Scentsy Wickless Candles  Says:
    June 22nd, 2010 at 10:06 pm

    I think it is also important to recognize another vine that I mistakenly purchased thinking it would have the same appearance as the beautiful Boston Ivy. It is the Virginia Creeper, which should be avoided at all costs. Although it is a rapid grower and covers an area quickly it can get very invasive.

  6. Al Braun  Says:
    June 28th, 2010 at 8:34 am

    If you’ve planted the wrong climber, then what? I’ve been trying to get rid of some vinca that just won’t go away.

  7. Marta Ratajszczak  Says:
    August 21st, 2010 at 3:19 pm

    “Because boston ivy uses suckers it doesn’t really damage what it climbs on, though it can hurt painted surfaces. ”

    A well-preserved wall shouldn’t be in trouble because of this. However, once you want to get rid of the vine, it will certainly need repainting, the suckers are nearly impossible to remove!

  8. Anne Wareham  Says:
    August 22nd, 2010 at 2:30 am

    I have grown English ivy on our house walls for 20 years: it keeps the walls warm and dry and the roots are in the ground (there are no roots on ivy above ground).

    Have to keep it out of drains.

    It is problematic as ground cover because it is impossible to kill once established….

  9. Barbara Bilyeu  Says:
    June 17th, 2011 at 5:01 pm

    Ahhh, reminds me of my horror story. I planted ONE English Ivy start at the base of the fireplace years and years ago. It looked wonderful climbing the side of the house….until it grew down the fireplace – up through the wall (a plant with no bowl) and separated the roof from the house and the house from the fireplace. Then the fun of repairs and trying to kill it. It was a NIGHTMARE and how our marriage made it through that mistake I will never know. Never English ivy ANYWHERE.

  10. mary rogers  Says:
    October 20th, 2011 at 9:50 am

    We have a brick house and carriage house with a lot of tall walls. This is too much hard surface. We have planted english ivy anf love the effect. It does involve some effort as we keep it cut away from the gutters and the roof line and around windows, etc.. I am thinking of planting crossvine as it is supposed to stay green in zone 6 in the winter.

  11. Joseph luchkowec  Says:
    April 18th, 2012 at 5:46 am

    question on English Ivy, if wood furring strips are used will the Ivy adhere to the wood or the verticle concrete surface?? can pressure treated wood be used??

  12. Joe Burns  Says:
    September 30th, 2012 at 8:42 pm

    I don’t have a house yet that I can grow ivy on or around it, but I do have a question:
    Could I use a trellis or lattice type structure to keep English Ivy off the walls of my home, but still allow me the same benefits?

  13. BILL WATSON  Says:
    February 3rd, 2015 at 2:10 pm

    I GREW UP IN A BRICK HOUSE, THE FRONT FACADE WAS COVERED IN ENGLISH IVY. WE TO SPENT TIME CUTTER IT AWAY FROM THE GUTTERS, DRAINS AND WOOD.

    MY GRANDFATHER HAD A WORKSHOP IN THE BASEMENT OF THE HOUSE HE USED WHEN HE VISITED. ONE DAY HE TOOK ME TO THE BASEMENT AND SHOWED ME A ONE INCH, TWENTY FOOT ALBINO IVY ROOT GROWING THE MASONRY WALL.

    WE CONTINUED TO PRUNE AND CONTINUED TO GROW THE IVY ON THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE UNTIL IT WAS SOLD THIRTY YEARS LATER.

  14. sally and craig wiggins  Says:
    April 12th, 2015 at 2:26 pm

    We have a very high new brick home which would be beautiful with ivy on it.We apparently planted a lot of the wrong kind of ivy and it did not stick. we used plastic things to guide it but it never gripped the brick. We think we may have gotten one batch of Boston ivy because in one small area, it sent out tendrils and did adhere to our home. So if we want it to adhere and not do damage, we need to plant Boston and if we want a ground cover, we can keep our English?

  15. Garry floyd  Says:
    March 18th, 2016 at 8:08 am

    Hey I was wondering if somebody knows of a confederate jasmin or carina jasmin…. .I need to know where to get it or how to grow it

  16. Rachel  Says:
    July 6th, 2016 at 3:07 am

    We have just purchased a house with very exposed south and west facing walls (UK). I was going to plant a virginia creeper to soften the look a bit and am also looking for something evergreen to climb and give insulation… not Comon Ivy by the sounds of it! What’s the difference between Boston Ivy and Virginia Creeper? Someone said not to plant in the ground but I know they won’t grow the same way in pots or troughs… Any ideas welcome!

  17. DHD  Says:
    July 16th, 2016 at 9:57 pm

    Do not plant English Ivy. It is invasive in the USA and illegal in many states.

  18. R.C. Norwood  Says:
    December 31st, 2016 at 11:07 am

    I have read about a smaller Boston ivy called parthenocissus henryana that sounds preferable for me, but I don’t know where to find it.

  19. John  Says:
    June 12th, 2017 at 5:44 pm

    Don’t try Boston Ivy on brick! It will crack it! The vines grow in between the bricks and unless you are diligent in cutting it back the vine will crack the brick!

  20. Yvonne  Says:
    May 21st, 2018 at 2:38 am

    John I’m 100% sure what you had was NOT a Boston Ivy. Boston’s don’t try to grow into bricks they have little gecko like feet that sticks to the brick it will not grow into the brick. We had one covering our whole house, it wouldn’t even grow under the loose stone roof shingles where birds would even go under to make nest’s. It grows over into the sinlight. Boston ivy is the most gentle climber of all climbers in my opinion.

  21. Jen  Says:
    June 20th, 2018 at 6:04 pm

    According to the article ABOVE, Boston Ivy is fine and manageable. It’s the English you don’t want. I talked to my landscape architect that made all the decisions on planting. He said the same thing. We have it on a brick wall between ours and a neighbor’s house.

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