English ivy is pretty sturdy. I grew it outside in the Boston area so I don't imagine winter in NC will bother it much.

I haven't tried it indoors but it's so easy to grow outside I think it'd do fine.

Hi timestocome,
Thank you for your reply. I think I will leave it out there, especially since ants have moved into the pot. I'm going to get some ant traps to put on the soil and around the base. Then I'll just take the small one inside to protect the roots during really cold spells.

Krys

krys, I have several potted regular green English ivy outside. They are doing wonderful. I bring them in every winter, I am sure they will be willing to take the cold. I know because the ones growing on properties over the winters always do well even with the snow and ice and cold temps of South central Pennsylvania. However, they are so pretty, i bring them in every winter, wrap all the new growth around and around, the vine is over 20 feet long now hanging on the one from a hook and put it in my window with light, even shade during the winter, then take back out in the spring. I will be leaving one outside this winter due to a bird family who built their nest in the middle of the English Ivy pot and left droppings all over the poor plant. It seemed to like it though, but this one won't be coming in this winter. Yes outside or inside in winter. Works out well. Never did bonsai with it though. I have a bonsai book which i am sure has English Ivy bonsai details in it. I will have to check. Ciao, Maggie

Hi Italian Girl,
In that case, I think I'll leave mine outside since it doesn't get all that cold here.
About the bonsai: I've seen photos of such "trees" . It can be done because the trunk can get quite thick after a time but it's probably more likely to get that way if it is growing in the ground.
There was once some English Ivy growing up the side of a house we owned some 30 years ago. I pulled it down but couldn't get at the roots. It kept growing back until finally the base looked like an old tree, over an inch in diameter. If I had known then what to do, I would have dug it up and trained it into a bonsai. But I only took up this art about 20 years ago :-)
Thank you for sharing your experience. By the way, the ants seem to be all gone since I put out the traps a few days ago.
Krys