How is it possible to “propogate” or spread out English ivy in a planting area?

🙂: How is it possible to “propogate” or spread out English ivy in a planting area?
I am wishing to spread out the English Ivy that I have to cover a larger area.

The area that I already have English Ivy is quite fully covered and by now is clumped up, but I am wishing to extend this Ivy to cover more bare areas.

Is it possible to “propogate” these plants or how exactly could one divide or replant Ivy to save the expense of buying new Ivy plants?

Thanks for your answers!

Answers and Views:

Answer by redleader
You can just pull up some vines, snip them to the desired length and lay them out wherever you want more to grow. If you have some very long vines, you can just extend them out to the area you want to cover. You should find some short roots (1/4-1/2 inch long) along the vine. Pack a little loose soil around the roots and keep them watered well. Some of them may die-off, but eventually the ‘survivors’ will fill-in.
Some consider ivy to be an invasive nuisance. I’ve heard that it’s even outlawed for sale in parts of the Northwest US, but I’ve found it to be an attractive groundcover that’s easily controlled with occasional trimming.

Answer by zeebarista
If you live in the US I would encourage you to use a native species instead of English Ivy. English Ivy doesn’t have natural plant predators here, and it tends to take over in a negative way. Some cities are now fighting English Ivy as it’s taking over the natual species, and killing them, causing what is called and Ivy Wasteland.

Answer by Marcus
This is how I did it last year. Go to the root base where you originally planted it and work forward over the soil tugging up the creepers till you find a good hold. Cut between the root base and the rooted creeper. Gently lift it with a hand fork, cut again about 8″ from the roots. Replant that where you want it with plenty of mulch, ( I used shredded paper). This year it must not dry out and it won’t grow. The following year, (around about now as it happens you will see new growth).

I did three and two have taken, the third isn’t healthy, but it isn’t dead.

I’m in Northumberland :0)

Answer by hairy.caterpillar
These plants need little encouragement even in it’s native England where there are very few creatures that can do any significant damage to it. At some point you will struggle to stop it propogating itself. At the mature stage it will send out small branches which flower then fruit, within the fruit is the seed. You can propogate by seed or the birds will propogate it for you or simply take a few long snips of vine and bury them in the ground with a few leaves poking out. Little in the way of special treatment is needed. I used to do my gardening in England and have tried to kill ivy which has been growing up a wall by snipping it at the base. The ivy on the wall has continued to grow and thrive deriving it’s moisture from the mortar in the wall!
Whenever I weed this plant from a garden I am very careful to remove any green leaves that have fallen off the vine onto the soil, otherwise these are likely to root and become another rampant ivy!

So in summary: Snip some off bung it in the dirt, couldn’t be simpler.

Answer by Inkz
cut it where you dont want it and train it where you do!!

Answer by Lauren B
Hi, I manage a nursery and have been asked this question a few times before. If you have some soil space around the base of your ivy, the best thing you can do is lay the stems along the goround and peg it down in three or four places with wire clips or simply use wooden clothes pegs. After a few weeks they will have rooted and can be severed from the parent plant and each section with a root can be cut up and planted somewhere else as a new plant. The other alternative is to cut healthy growing shhots off the plant and placeing them cut down into pots of compost. Keep them well watered and in a few months they will have rooted and will form new plants. Hope this has helped.