Hedera helix Arbori Compact - Common Ivy

Hedera helix 'Arbori Compact' is a variety of non-climbing common ivy, forming a small bush with shiny dark green leaves, beautifully rounded and unlobed. It is exceptionally floriferous, producing numerous whitish flowers, very attractive to bees, followed by abundant black fruits that persist until the following spring! Its bushy and compact habit requires no pruning and it thrives wonderfully in pots. This ivy forms very beautiful and dense low borders and hedges. It is a hardy plant everywhere and has no specific soil or exposure requirements. 

Ivies belong to the aralia family, they are cousins of Ginseng and fatsias. Hedera helix 'Arbori Compact' is derived from common ivy, which is found in European forests, the countryside and gardens. The latter is native to the entire Eurasian temperate zone of the northern hemisphere. 'Arbori Compact' is a non-climbing common ivy that forms a wide and upright bush of a maximum of 1 metre (3 feet) in all directions. It is a plant that tends to spread with age and is often wider than it is tall. Its small leaves are evergreen, alternate, very rounded, leathery and shiny. They are carried by thick, short and heavily branched stems. Their colour is a dark green veined with lighter green. The cold sometimes brings out bronze nuances on the lamina. The foliage carried by the stems that will flower, located higher on the plant, has the classic appearance of ivy leaves, much more rounded and without any lobes. From January to March and then from September to December, the nectar of its abundant whitish flowering, in the form of globular inflorescences, is an excellent nectar source for bees. It is followed by the formation of bluish-violet berries that turn black when ripe, toxic to humans but presenting an excellent winter food source for birds.

Hedera helix 'Arbori Compact', perfectly hardy and as robust as its ancestor the common ivy, thrives absolutely everywhere, except in hot or arid exposures. In the garden, they make excellent ground covers capable of eventually discouraging weeds, in full sun, partial shade or even in shade. Associate them with dense perennials to keep their base moist. You can create beautiful almost maintenance-free woodland scenes by combining ivies with epimediums, dead nettles, wood anemones, or perennial geraniums such as macrorrhizum or phaeum, for example. Consider using it to create a maintenance-free hedge or border.