Hello group, The leaves on my ivy have recently began turning brown and dying. I am not doing anything different with it so I'm not sure how to fix the problem. Does anyone here have some advice on care for ivys? I've attached some pictures. Thanks so much!
HI there .. I wouldnt doubt it that you are haveing a problem with spider mites... those lil guys just love Ivys.. to see if you do just take a spray bottle with water and spary the plant .. if you see a webbing on it then you have mites... (it is just the easiest wa to chek) and if you do then get a good spider mite spray .... andit also looks a lil dry .. they dont like to get to dry ... and also when was the last time it was repotted ??.. Marn
Thanks Marn! I just sprayed it and can not find any webbing...found a few cat hairs though! I repotted it a month ago actually. I started having problems after that. Maybe with the larger pot and more soil I'm not getting it watered well enough? I don't mist my ivy like I do some of my other plants. Should I be? Tara
what kind of soil did you use when you re-potted it? also, what kind of pot did you put it in? can't see it from the pics. does it have drainage hole?
if you started having problems after re-potting and don't seem to have any pest, it might be the pot size/ heavy soil. Perlite added to the soil can help with drainage. You want the plant to be semi snug in it's pot. The sides and bottom of the root-ball should only be an inch from sides and bottom of the pot. Direct sun can also dry out the leaves. I don't mist any of my plants, but with ivy I would, it will help some on keeping any future problems with spidermites at bay, they hate moisture.
another thing if you just repotted it is .. there might be an air pocket under the plant ... were there is no dirt .. that can mess up a plant big time .. give the pot a few good taps on a table or the ground to shake all the dirt down .. or if you can . try and stick your hand in the pot under the roots... to see if there is an empty area .. i had repotted a plant once and it wasnt growing or doing anything ,.. and i went to give a friend a part of the plant and that is when i noticed the big air pocket under the roots.. Ivy's also love to be misted .. :) Marn
Joclyn, I used regular miricle grow potting mix from LOWES and it is potted in a ceramic pot that has two 1 inch diameter holes in the bottom. I have not watered it in this pot to the point that water drains out the holes. I thought that would be to much since it is a larger pot than what it was in. Bluewing, It does get some intense direct sun where it is at right now in the summer and we've had some 75 degree days lately (I live in Alaska so that is hot!). I'll look at where I can move it to and I'll start misting it. For some reason I thought I saw somewhere not to mist ivy that is why I don't. Thanks to both of you! Tara
Marn, I don't know about air pockets. What happens? I think that might be the problem. When I repotted this ivy, it happened to coincide with me browsing a magazine that said to put styrofoam packing bubbles in the bottom of the pot to help with drainage so I thought I'd try it. If there is about an inch of those in the bottom of the pot would that be considered an air pocket?
i use the styrofoam to assist drainage, also. i put the pieces in and then put soil on top of them and lightly tamp it down; then i add a little more soil and the plant and then finish filling in around the root ball. if you didn't do that, then tapping the pot on the table should be enough to move the soil down a bit - especially if you've not been watering it too much as the soil will be dry enough to move into the spaces between the styrofoam bubbles. ivy doesn't like 'wet feet' it does need a good deep watering when you do water it, tho. then let it get a little dry before doing another deep-water. sounds like you've got a combination of an air-pocket and keeping it too dry. glad you have it in a pot that has drainage holes!! there should be a bit of water coming out after a watering... i always water twice. first round to moisten the soil a bit and the second to give the deep watering. if you just pour a ton of water into a pot with dry soil, it'll just drain right out, so i go around to all the plants with a light watering and then do it again when the soil has a bit a moisture in it and it can retain the proper watering better.
Thanks! I'm going to tap it down, give it a deep water and start misting it. Hopefully I can fix the problem. I appreciate everyone's help. Tara
