How do I make ivy spread?

[CustardLovingPooPooHead]

I have a medium sized garden with fences at the back and sides. The back fence is covered in ivy and I'd like to encourage the ivy to grow along one of the sides, too. It's quite a shady side which I understand is good for ivy.

Is this even possible?! Any tips gratefully received by this clueless gardener.

In my experience it’ll spread anyway... but do you really want it too? Won’t it damage the fence; and any nearby walls?

We had to have our old wall rebuilt when the ivy grew all over it, it’s a royal pain keeping it all clear now...

Just take a load of cuttings and stick them in where you want them. Ivy roots really easily. The ivy in my garden can spread 6-10 feet in a year if it feels like it - mostly up the house wall and over the NDN's conservatory roof. It's a right nuisance.

Be careful what you wish for.

Thanks! Yes I do slightly worry that it might end up being a bit wilder than I want. We've been in this house a few years and it's always stayed on the back fence.

Basically I want a quick and cheap solution to bare, ugly fences in a partly shaded garden.

I currently want some ivy on my garden walls to break up all the brick!

Do you have English ivy or Boston ivy?

Boston ivy isn't ivy, it's another name for virginia creeper.

I THINK it must be English ivy. It's evergreen. Never goes red.

Sounds like your bog-standard ivy to me.

My ivy basically ate my fence. Make sure you keep control of it!

How do you stop it?

I planted a few cuttings around my garden along a wall and fence.Is it meant to cling to the surfaces? I've tried tying it on to keep it up

Plant an evergreen hydrangea

I really wouldn't. It's an absolute thug once it gets going.

Yes, bog standard ivy. You're all scaring me off slightly...! I like the look of the climbing hydrangea. Maybe I'll look into that. All this to avoid painting a fence!

Boston ivy isn't ivy, it's another name for virginia creeper. Boston ivy is a close relative of virginia creeper but it's not the same. Different leaf shape. They're both in the grape family.

@Geppili does a clematis grow quickly?

I read ivy can grow 9ft annually. 😳

@MereDintofPandiculation

Boston ivy isn't ivy, it's another name for virginia creeper. Boston ivy is a close relative of virginia creeper but it's not the same. Different leaf shape. They're both in the grape family.

Yes I know that, but going into that much depth (latin names and whatnot) wasn't necessary for the thread.

Parthenocissus tricuspidata vs Parthenocissus quinquefolia anyone?

Ivy is horrible horrible horrible. You do not want it eating your fence. I’d tear it all out and plant other climbers like Passion flower, honey suckle, climbing wild rose, jasmine, something that doesn’t damage as much and actually has pretty flowers.

It's the 35 year-old ivy that's holding my equally ancient fence up and keeping it all together.

Ivy is brilliant for wildlife, not only the nectar, the pollen and the berries so many depend upon but it also provides shelter for insects and animals and birds.

The birds love it. We have Ivy on the house and the blackbirds nest in it. Covering an old tree stump that has lots of birds and a bush that has loads of insects hovering over it and berries that the birds devour in Autumn.

Don't do it; ivy is truly a real thug. Find something else.

Imo, ivy is fantastic in the right place, but (again imo) the right place is not a small garden because of its incredible vigour. I live next to a semi wild park, which has LOTS of ivy. Along the verges and green areas around my suburban neighbourhood there is much ivy. It is great for wildlife, but at least in my area (and I'd wager in most areas of the uk except maybe inner cities) it does fine, and there's enough of it in the municipal and random green parts which tend to abound in suburbia. There is no need to feel we should give up our gardens to it (unless of course we want to). Ivy is not endangered. Birds will nest and insects live in other, less invasive garden plants. Imo.

Yes I know that, but going into that much depth (latin names and whatnot) wasn't necessary for the thread. I'm all for simplification but not misinformation. "Boston ivy ... it's another name for virginia creeper" just perpetuates a misconception.

It's quite a shady side which I understand is good for ivy. It's not so much the shade as the conditions (eg moist soil) that go with it. If it's happy somewhere where it's getting good light, it's not going to deliberately seek out somewhere where it gets less light for photosynthesis and therefore less energy for growing. The reason it climbs is to try and get its head up into the light.

Birds will nest and insects live in other, less invasive garden plants. Imo. When I decided to tackle the long delayed job of pruning my winter jasmine I discovered a stack of five birds nests in there. We had no idea anything was in there, despite this being just by the front door, but clearly the same bird was returning each year and building a nest a couple of inches about the top of the previous one.

Winter jasmine's good for shade - flowers well all through winter even on a N wall. Does need support, though.

Oooh I LOVE ivy! I find that the more you cut it the more it seems to grow as well, so you could try that. It'll take years for it to get invasive enough to damage the fence, as long as you trim it so it doesn't get too top heavy.

Another really quick climber is Clematis Montana. Not evergreen (I don't think) but has really pretty pinky-mauve flowers in spring and early summer.

You could also try Russian Vine, really fast growing climber and good for covering fences (but real gardeners aren't keen, again, like ivy it's a bit of a pest!) It has pretty white flowery bits in spring also.

I see you don't really want to paint the fence, but it will last longer if it's been treated with paint or creosote before you plant, it'll be really tricky to get to once the plants take over.