Hedera helix Marginata Elegantissima - Common Ivy

Hedera helix Marginata Elegantissima is a charming variety of common ivy with beautifully variegated foliage, hardy and indifferent to soil type. Its small evergreen leaves, triangular in shape, display a soft grey-green colour, widely and randomly margined with white-cream, and are outlined by a pink edge. Ornamental all year round, it excels in winter, when its leaves take on various shades of pink. With moderate growth, very bright, and perfectly elegant, this ivy is a true gem for partially shaded areas of the garden. As a climbing plant, it can cling to any support through its climbing roots to form a beautiful green wall.

Ivies belong to the Araliaceae family, they are cousins of Ginseng and fatsias. Hedera helix 'Marginata Elegantissima' 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.

'Marginata Elegantissima', sometimes marketed under the names of Hedera helix 'Tricolor' or Hedera helix 'Silver Queen', is a moderately fast-growing climbing or creeping plant, capable of covering an area of 2.5 square metres. Its small evergreen leaves, triangular, slightly crinkled, divided into 3 to 5 lobes, measuring 4cm (2in) in length, are carried by thick, green, and then greyish branches with star-shaped hairs. Each leaf is different, but all blend shades of light or dark grey-green and are widely margined with white-cream to very pale yellow in summer. Cold weather brings out pink shades on the leaf edges and surface. The stems cling to supports on their own with powerful climbing roots. 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 winter food source for birds.

The Hedera helix 'Marginata Elegantissima', perfectly hardy, thrives everywhere except in hot or arid exposures. Its beautiful variegated foliage requires a shaded light exposure. This plant is a good wall cover but do not neglect it as it can quickly become invasive or damage old walls or facades. On the other hand, variegated common ivies are irreplaceable for decorating a terrace or balcony, trained on a small wire structure or trailing in variegated drapes along large containers, down to the ground. In the garden, it forms an excellent ground cover capable of discouraging weeds in semi-shade or even in shade. Associate it with easy-to-grow woodland perennials such as epimediums, lamiums, or perennial geraniums like macrorrhizum or phaeum, for example.