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| A friends has a bed next to the house where there are two plants a Hydrangea macrophylla and an English Ivy. It appears that the ivy has basically taken over the whole bed (but fortunately can't travel anywhere else). The hydrangea seems to do well, but bloom unreliably.
She really likes the Ivy, but would like to add more plants of interest. What can you plant poking out of an ivy bed? Paul |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Thu, Oct 6, 11 at 11:45
| Hydrangeas bloom on old wood, so lots of fall trimming is not advised. In the spring, I trim them when I can see which growth buds look the most robust/well-shaped to the structure of the bush. The ivy could be hogging the water also, which Hydrangeas like a lot of. Which side of the house is this on? Also zone 5? Sun/shade situation? |
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| It's zone 5a. The bed is between two houses, but the houses are like 30 feet apart. It's facing the south with direct sunlight, but the light is limited because a bit to the west, there's a tree there. The Hydrangea rarely pruned apparently. There are some Rudbeckia growing in a large planters nearby. Since Rudbeckia require a bit of sun to bloom, I figured this mean it gets enough light. So English Ivy suck up a lot of water? I was thinking of putting an Annabelle there, but may be that won't work due to the water competition. I assume Sedium will grow there, too? There's some in the planter, too. Paul |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Fri, Oct 7, 11 at 10:53
| I'm not sure what to say and would like to see a pic. Hydrangea, Rudbeckia, and Sedum can not all be happy in the same place, BUT perhaps the hydrangea is in a more shady spot and there is a sunnier end for the others. My mind refuses to paint a picture of Sedum looking good arising from ivy for me, and didn't find the right combination of words to get google to help out. Anything I try to picture just looks weedy, like either the ivy overtook the flowers, or the flowers are invading the ivy. Now that you've asked, I just can't remember ever seeing a bed of ivy with flowers in it. Can anybody else babble more words to say less than I just did? Sorry - I didn't want to just ignore the post! |
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- Posted by mad_gallica Z5 Eastern NY (My Page) on Fri, Oct 7, 11 at 13:10
| Well, I'm questioning both IDs. Hydrangea macrophylla blooms either very sporadically, or not at all, in 5a because the flower buds are killed off by winter. English ivy also isn't fond of winter. That may be the solution to the mystery. So long as somebody is willing to cut the ivy down off the shrubs once a year or so, anything suitable otherwise could probably be planted in the bed. |
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| I would be inclined to use mostly flowering shrubs, or ones with a different texture than the ivy, along with bulbs, rather than herbaceous perennials. The texture of the ivy is part of its charm and I think too many perennials will break this up. I guess you could also use a few large-scale perennials like Baptisia which IME will bloom with half-day shade to full sun, though with more shade it may need a support about half way up the stems. Since the other hydrangea is doing well, the Annabelle, which IME is up to many challenges, should do just fine. It will need supplemental water for the first season and maybe the second. My soil here in New England is so different from yours in the midwest (I started gardening as a teenager in Ohio, but that was many years ago) that I can't think of many other shrubs that would do well for your friend's yard. Perhaps a spirea like 'Ogon' with its chartreuse, fine leaf texture, white flowers and nice overall form. If there is room, something like one of the smaller magnolias would look nice, with the contrasts of the pale bark, light flowers, and large, gray-green leaves. Perhaps try a gold twig dogwood, especially if you can get one with variegated leaves like 'Silver and Gold.' The twigs and foliage would stand out well against the dark green ivy. You could ask on the shrub forum or the midwest forum for suggestions or use the Missouri Botanical Garden's plant finder linked below to search out other shrubs that suit the bed size, soil and zone. How about daffodils or some of the larger scale alliums which will add interest from early to late spring, depending on the bloom times of the varieties she chooses. She can tuck the fading foliage down into the ivy leaves after bloom. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Missouri Botanical Garden's plant finder
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| Sedium is not growing out of the ivy. It sitting in a pot sitting on top of a planter. Rudbeckia is not growing out of the ivy either. It's in its own planter. I don't know if the ivy is English Ivy or not. I don't like ivy and don't really study up on its appearance. I assume that it's English ivy because my friend said it's English Ivy. English Ivy is supposed to be good to zone 5a and this is zone 5a. Hydrangea macrophylla does bloom very sporadically. She indicated that it doesn't bloom for many years and suddenly bloom one year and then nothing for a while. Actually looking at the bed, I notice that there are also two holly, so the bed has a hydranga, and two holly bush covered in ivy and a lot of weeds (including a pokeweed). You are correct, may be Sedium would look a bit weird coming out of the ivy. Bulbs on the other hand is actually a pretty good idea, especially Alliums. Paul |
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| You know, I look through several pictures of Ivy and can't find anything where someone grows something else with it. How about something like Coral Bell firefly where the leaves match the ivy (sort of) but then red flower stems poke out of the top during bloom season. Paul |
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| I have a very large patch of Algerian Ivy planted as a ground cover on a slope to prevent erosion. I have three shrubs that do well in it two dogwoods and one Callistemon. I have to keep the ivy clear for about four feet from the shrubs. A yearly job. Al |
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| I do not know what kind of Ivy I have either it was in the bed when I brought the house. What I have in this semi-sun bed is...... Phlox paniculata Becky Towe (Tall Varigaited leaf) The area is damp area because it is near a down spout. I think we need to remember a zone 5 sun is different than a zone 6 or higher sun. The Hydrangea works since it is in the shady part of the garden. |
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