Is my English Ivy Dead? - Ask Extension
Normally my English Ivy stays green all winter on the side of the house and on the entry way trellis. However due to our very harsh winter all the le...
Knowledgebase
Is my English Ivy Dead? #179562
Asked May 06, 2014, 12:46 PM EDT
Normally my English Ivy stays green all winter on the side of the house and on the entry way trellis. However due to our very harsh winter all the leaves are brown. When I go to break off a piece of vine with my fingers however it appears to be green or no brittle. Will it come back? I can take a picture if that would help but I do not have one now.
Macomb County Michigan
Expert Response
The brown leaves are dead and won't recover. They will eventually drop off. The ivy stems, however, may still be alive if they are green under the bark and not brittle. The only thing you can do is wait and see if it pushes out new leaves. If you don't have new leaves by the end of the month it probably won't come back.
This is not a great picture I took with my phone but there infact is new growth on the English Ivy. I will have a mess to cleanup when all the dead leaves fall off but at least I know that it is not dead from the winter. Thank you so much for your help and encouragement! I wanted you to know that you were right!! Thank you! Christine
I wanted to send you this picture as I in fact do have new growth on the English Ivy. I will have a mess to clean up when all the dead leaves fall off but I am thrilled to know I do not have to pull down all teh ivy from the wall and tresllis. Thank you so much for your help and encouragement! Christine
You are welcome and thank you for using Ask an Expert with Michigan State University Extension!
