Species · genus Hedera · Araliaceae

English Ivy

Hedera helix L.

Also known as: Ivy · European Ivy · Common Ivy · Needlepoint Ivy · Ripple Ivy

Growth habit

climber

Native range

Albania, Austria, Baleares, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Corse, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East Aegean Is., France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kriti, Netherlands, North Caucasus, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine

Reference · H. helix

Cultivars of H. helix

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under H. helix yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Hedera helix is a woodland climber native across temperate Europe, where it scrambles over ground and trunks in cool, dappled shade. Give it bright indirect light and even, moderate moisture; water when the top inch of mix is dry, letting the surface approach dryness between drinks but never staying soggy. It tolerates cooler rooms and average household humidity.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 10 days

Humidity

Medium

Temperature

7–24 °C

Soil mix

Rich, well-draining general potting mix

Propagation

Stem cuttings root readily in water or soil

Fertilizing

Balanced liquid feed monthly during active growth

Growth rate

Fast

Flowering

Juvenile indoor ivy does not flower

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs & humans

Araliaceae contains saponins (and the foliage triterpenoid falcarinol), which can irritate the mouth and gut and cause contact dermatitis. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (family inference)

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow English Ivy yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.