Hedera helix Erecta - Common Ivy

Hedera helix Erecta is an unusual form of common ivy, notable for its candelabra-like vegetation and its small leaves arranged geometrically on its upright branches. This small bush, which retains its foliage in winter, has preserved the very robust character of its creeping and climbing ancestor: it is an irreplaceable shade or semi-shade plant for enhancing difficult areas of the garden. It adapts to all soils, even chalky and very dry ones in summer.

Ivies belong to the Araliaceae family, they are cousins of Ginseng and fatsias. Hedera helix 'Erecta' comes from common ivy, which is found everywhere in European forests, countryside, and gardens. Common ivy is native to the entire temperate Eurasian zone of the northern hemisphere. Its foliage persists in winter, in all areas.

Hedera helix 'Erecta' is a moderately fast-growing shrub plant that forms a beautiful clump about 1 metre (3 feet) in all directions. Its small triangular leaves, 3 to 4cm (1 to 2in) long and wide, are alternately and regularly arranged on thick, upright branches that turn from green to grey with age. Each bright green leaf is traversed by clear veins, giving it a marbled appearance. The young leaves are a beautiful tender green. In autumn, the nectar from its inconspicuous green flowering, in the form of globular inflorescences, is an excellent source of food for bees. It is followed by the formation of black-blue berries, toxic to humans but presenting an excellent source of winter food for birds.

Hedera helix 'Erecta', perfectly hardy and drought-resistant, thrives absolutely everywhere except in scorching exposures. It will bring a lot of elegance to the difficult areas of the garden that most other plants shun. This ivy is beautiful as a low hedge, or in a border, without requiring too much maintenance. Planted in a large pot, it also makes a very attractive subject for the terrace or balcony. As elegant as a small conifer or boxwood, it is also an architectural plant that can be installed as a focal point at the corner of a wall or near an entrance. Easy to combine, it will enhance its light-shade companions such as acanthus and heuchera, for example. To surround and highlight it, also consider easy-to-grow woodland perennials such as epimediums, wood anemones, lamiums, macrorrhizum geraniums or phaeum geraniums, for example.