Where to put the ivy?

[Dragonyka]

I have a (small) dilema.

I have recently found an ivy plant growing in the middle of a fruit bed in my garden. I have been reading the 'importance of ivy' thread with interest and rather than just digging the ivy up and composting it I was wondering what the best thing to do with it would be.

I've come up with two, make that three, options:-
1) Move the ivy closer to a large sycamore tree in the corner of our garden in the hope that it will grow up the tree.

2) Move it to the 'wildlife area' in my allotment where it can grow freely. This is a new allotment with a pond that I've just put in and I'm trying to make this section as wildlife friendly as possible. Currently, there is very little plant life in it.

3) Will the plant root in different places so I could split it and do both?

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Nicola

[Kayleigh]

Yes you can split it up Ivy has aerial roots so look out for these and pin a section down in some compost let it root then cut it away from the mother plant..
or just cut the other plant in half with the roots attached its really easy to grow and takes easy..

[Dragonyka]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

Yes you can split it up Ivy has aerial roots so look out for these and pin a section down in some compost let it root then cut it away from the mother plant..
or just cut the other plant in half with the roots attached its really easy to grow and takes easy..

Excellent! Thanks Kayleigh, I'll split it if it already has extra roots or wait a bit if it has not. I assume it will grow up the sycamore?

[nightshade]

Get a proper Rustic post and train it up, then train it into a single stemmed umbrella shaped bush. Every time I come across a bush shaped like this it a nighttime roost for flocks of small birds, covered in bees and hoverflys, or a nesting site.
You could even plait the stens

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Dragonyka

Excellent! Thanks Kayleigh, I'll split it if it already has extra roots or wait a bit if it has not. I assume it will grow up the sycamore?

It will grow up anything or sprawl along the ground till it finds something..

Just break some off the main plant with roots attached and it will grow where you want it..

[Dragonyka]

Thanks again! I'll get on it tomorrow.

[Tursiops2]

It should do well on the Sycamore, plant it on the shady side of the tree. I wouldn't advise putting it on the allotment unless you've got a shed or fence for it to grow up.
T2

[Dragonyka]

Originally Posted by Tursiops2

It should do well on the Sycamore, plant it on the shady side of the tree. I wouldn't advise putting it on the allotment unless you've got a shed or fence for it to grow up.
T2

Putting it on the shady side might be a bit difficult as that side of the tree is next to the corner of the garden fence. I'll put it as far round into the shade as I can though.

On the allotment I'll put it next to the back fence so it can grow up/along that.

[artdemole]

Allotment would not be a good place as some might complain about the insects.Keep it at home and find a corner or a wall/post or tree for it to climb.Even dangle.

[Dragonyka]

I'm not sure that encouraging more insects would be a problem, as the idea is to have an area which will encourage the wildlife to visit the allotment. To encourage more pollinators and predators of those beasts that we don't want on the allotment (although, obviously I can't be selective about what visits and what doesn't - much as I might like to! ).

Would ivy encourage more insects than the pond, bog and associated planting? Or, for that matter, all the veg and fruit that I'll have growing there anyway and the tree and hedge that back onto my allotment?

And further, will the 'benefit' gained from having the ivy there outweigh the 'cost' in potential loss?

I thought I my reasoning for having the 'wildlife area' on the allotment was good, but I'm possibly going to have to argue the case in the future so it would be interesting to see what other people think about it.