Gosh...you may be opening a can of worms if you plant English ivy in Washington state. Are you sure that's what it is? It's a major problem in that part of the world and there's an effort going on to remove it. It spreads into areas where it grows out of control. Read the link below to learn more.

There are other vines that would afford you privacy and are much more beautiful than ivy anyway! Clematis comes to mind. It has beautiful flowers and there are so many to choose from. Honeysuckle vine is another. I don't recommend the Japanes honeysuckle, "lonicera halliana" that's so prevalent here on the east coast. There are other cultivars available that don't grow out of control. I have one called "mandarin." It's very beautiful and the hummingbirds love the flowers. Here are some pictures.

http://images.google.com/images?q=mandarin+honeysuckle&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images

I just planted mine last year but from what I understand it's one of the better ones.

Maybe someone in the NW will chime in and make suggestions but I really feel there are many vines that are much better suited than eng ivy. I have "clematis montana." It only flowers for a period in the spring but it smells wonderful and it grows to 40'!

If you consider planting something other than ivy, post back and I will help you to find something that you'll love. And I'll assist you in locating the plant for a decent price. Or maybe Jenny in Pa will come along. She's very knowledgable about vines.

Otherwise...no, it's not the best time to plant ivy with few roots. I would suggest that you keep them indoors in a cool room for the winter. Spider mite can be a problem in a warm dry environment. But I do hope that you'll reconsider planting it.

Regards, Peggy

Here is a link that might be useful: No Ivy League

Hi Peggy, thank you for responding. Only know that the lady that I got the cuttings from said the ivy was tenacious. I tried some Boston and English ivy in containers a few years ago and winter killed them. Would like to grow ANY vine that could deal with zone 5 on a balcony that is EXposed to the east/north and west! Have read that English ivy is a problem, but would it still a problem if grown in a container? I have not been gardening for very long. For the exposure that I mentioned, Plus the plants being in containers; I know that I need to find plants a couple zones lower then mine and would rather start from seed. Would love some plants for winter tough enough to deal with my balcony and know of some. Thank you for your advice!

That is a tall order!

But your ivy shouldn't be a problem if it's grown in a container. Ivy does spread by seeds but typically container grown plants don't produce seeds. If you have pets or small childen, be aware that all parts of the ivy plant is toxic if eaten.

You should be able to winter your cuttings over in a cool room. Don't let them get too dry and watch for signs of spider mite. To be safe, just give them "a bath" every few weeks. Ivy is easy to propagate and if you lose these you can take more cuttings in early spring.

I hope that helps:)

That is what I had thought; that they would ok if in pots.
Will do as you suggested for the cuttings. Thank you!

ilmg - yes you can grow english ivy in a pot (I've actually grown the needlepoint type - 'Gold Heart' ivy in a rolled-up trashbag with soil), but just be prepared for cold snaps which might kill it as you have found. Where I am, mine was fine for a bunch of years but one winter, when we had a couple days of single digits, the cold eventually did them in - even with them trained to grow around a heated half-barrel water garden. In any case, I'd bring the starts in for winter, keeping in a cool spot.

Regarding vines for privacy - you might be able to try some clematis. There are some hardy ones that can be cut down to the first couple sets of buds each late winter and if put in a good-sized container, will grow to cover quite a bit during a season.

Hi Jenny, ivy growing in a rolled up trashbag! Way to go! Have enjoyed reading your posts; lots of knowledge.

Will keep the ivy starts in a cool room! Will check out the clematis. Would zone 1 plants be ok with no protection in a container?! Silly question?!

My balcony is so darned exposed! I know to mulch, wrap with burlap, black plastic ect.. Have thought of building a wooden surround to go around the containers for extra protection and now thinking of a cloche; that might help with frost & heave?

Thank you for your time and advice!

Sandy

Sandy - not a silly question. If the plant is rated 1 - 2 zones colder than where you are, then it is pretty safe provided it's in a good-sized container. Whenever I've had very hardy plants in small containers (like 4", 6", etc), I try to protect them a bit in winter though - particularly getting them out of any sun or wind. Once they are bigger and are in larger pots, they're fine in place.

If you do decide to build something, you might consider filling it with leaves or pine needles or foam peanuts and placing the plant in that. I actually started using an old console humdifier unit with the fan motor top (which was broken) removed, the water jug and filters removed from inside, and then filled the thing with pine needles. I put some smaller potted plant babies (eg., an itea) in that for winter, pulling them out every once in awhile during a warm spell to water if the soil wasn't frozen). The key is to try to find a way to keep the temperature relatively stable for the plants.

BTW - here was my ivy back when I was growing it. I have a 21" container on a support that is sitting next to my half-barrel water garden and I hung the rolled up bag from the 21" so it was right along the side of the half-barrel and then had covered the soil with some moss to keep the area moist and the vine had to have grown at least 20 or more feet long. I had wrapped it a couple times around the barrel and side shoots when off growing along my astroturf in the shade behind the containers. LOL

{{gwi:4015}}

i also briefly had some english ivy that had come with some bamboo that I dug from my mother's yard awhile ago and I eventually dug the whole thing out because I desperately needed that container when I had repotted some daylilies.

Hi Jenny, nice pictures! I love ivy! Am going to try a surround and will use a bunch of chopped up leaves. Have been gradually moving away from the smaller 6" containers; now that I know better!

Thank you for all your advice.
Sandy