Ivy (hedera) is quite popular in indoor floriculture. It is appreciated by experienced gardeners, beginners and even those who are not keen on floriculture but want to liven up the interior.
This plant is loved for its active growth, unpretentiousness and abundance of varieties that differ in appearance. But it happens that the plant dies. The reason for this is mistakes made in care.
Water: Gives life or kills
Incorrect watering is the most common mistake in indoor gardening. It is because of this that most plants die. The root system of ivy can rot from excess moisture, especially in a cold room. It is in damp, cool conditions that root rot most often develops.
But a lack of water is also detrimental to hedera. This plant lives in forests where moisture is well preserved under a layer of fallen leaves, and ravines are always damp. With insufficient watering, ivy grows poorly, sheds its leaves, and if the situation is neglected, it dies.
Light, temperature, humidity: the three pillars of life
For full vital activity, ivy requires good lighting, high air humidity and moderate temperature.
Let's return to the forests where this liana comes from. In the forest, under the canopy of trees, the air is more humid than in apartments and even in private houses, the air temperature is moderate, the light is diffused. But the liana looks for support and rises to the sun, where it feels great.
If the conditions deviate from natural conditions, the hedera loses its decorative effect, brown spots appear on the leaves, they turn yellow and fall off. Sometimes the plant dries up. This happens especially often in winter, during the heating season, when the air in houses is dry, there is little lighting, and the temperature in the room is high.
Ivy needs to be regularly sprayed on the leaves and kept cool (place it closer to a window, take it out into a cool room).
Spider mite: death in 2 weeks
Spider mite is the scourge of ivy. If you do not take action in time, this pest can destroy even a large plant in 2-3 weeks. As the name suggests, the insect is a mite, meaning it sucks the juices out of the leaves. And it is called spider mite because the pest weaves white webbing around the branches and leaves.
At the early stages of the disease, the web is almost invisible, so you need to carefully examine the leaves from time to time. If something alerts you, wash the leaves with a solution of laundry soap. When the branches are already heavily woven with webs, soap will not help. You will have to resort to stronger preparations that can be bought in gardening stores. These are "Karbofos", "Fitosporin" or their analogues.
