Anyone an expert on ivy?

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hello everyone,

looking for someone that knows about climbing ivy and the different species. i need a species that likes morning sun and shade in the afternoon and likes a good deal of water (where i am planting it i lost 28 arborvitaes) . i need to cover an ugly fence along my back (not mine neighbors). i also need it to not lose its leaves in the winter as i dont want to see the fence ever. i was looking into boston ivy as the leaves turn red, but i could not find out if the leaves fall off in winter. I also read somewhere that the trees sprout poisonous fruit???

Anyway any suggestion let me know and yes i know its invasive as all hell.

btw i live in philly pa.

thanks
 

sissy

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I would look online there are several ivies that would suit your area and grow no matter what .I started my ivy in NJ from a few sprouts I dug up from and neighbor that was ripping a bunch out and since I knew it grew great around his house I new it would grow good by mine .Go out for a walk and look for ivy take a few cuttings root it in water and 2 years later it will cover your fence .Mine took 2 years to grow across my fence and then on each corner I grew hollies to frame it .
 

taherrmann4

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You could try English Ivy not sure how it will do with wet soil, but I think it would do ok. I caution you that this is an invasive species as I had some planted and took it out several years ago and to this day still find pieces coming back. This stuff will climb walls if you ever decide to get rid of it after you have had it climbing on the fence it will likely ruin the wood, as it sends out the roots and they just almost grow into the wood. You would have to sand them off. There are others just can't think of the name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedera_helix
 

j.w

I Love my Goldies
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If I was going to have ivy I like the variegated kinds but don't know if there is one that will grow where it is as cold as where you live. I myself am never allowing it to grow here......uh, uh, no way!
 

JoaniePA

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Don't know if you'll come back to this post to see it, but I'm in the Philly burbs. Ivy, in particular English ivy, is the bane of my existence. We have been pulling, yanking, cutting and mowing ivy since we moved in and it's a constant, all summer long struggle to keep it from taking over the gardens, yard and climbing up the trees. We put in some leather-leaf viburnum, (make sure its leather leaf if you want evergreen) which takes part sun to shade, has pretty white flowers in the spring, and produces food for the birds. It does droop a little in the winter, but mostly is evergreen. It's not a fast grower like ivy or arborvitae, but in a few years you'll be happy with the results. We cannot see through it to our neighbor's yard any longer. I would not recommend ivy if you want a low maintenance plant to screen your fence.
 

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