In my opinion, ivy is one of the most elegant and beautiful houseplants, which lends an air of grandeur to any hearth, window sill, or shelf its tendrils cascade down from. So, I imagine my horror when my ivy leaves started turning yellow!
I did my research, spoke to some expert growers, and conducted some experiments to find out how to diagnose the reason for yellowing ivy leaves and the steps that you need to take to save them!
In this article, I share with you all the tips, hacks, and secrets to save your ivy…
To sum it up…
Most often, ivy leaves turn yellow because of excess water around the roots due to overwatering, slow-draining soils or pots without drainage holes in the base. Yellow ivy leaves can also indicate a lack of nitrogen in the soil, or the ivy roots are pot-bound and cannot access the nutrients they require, causing the leaves to turn yellow.
Keep reading for why your ivy plant’s leaves are turning yellow and how to save the ivy…
Ivy Leaves Turn Yellow Because of Saturated Soil
For us to understand how to save Ivy, we need to know how they grow in the wild…
Ivy plants are native to woodlands and forests, where they grow in moist yet well-draining aerated soil.
In all my experience, by far the most common reason for ivy plants to turn yellow is due to excess moisture around the root ball as they do not tolerate damp, slow draining, or boggy soil around the roots for long periods.
If the soil around the roots of the ivy plants is boggy, then this excludes oxygen from the soil which prevents root respiration and interferes with the ivy’s ability to uptake water and nutrients causing the leaves to turn yellow and drop off with the plant dying back.
Of course, we need to consider whether our ivy plants are turning yellow because of overwatering or due to other factors such as:
- Slow-draining or compacted soil prevents water from draining effectively.
- Pots without drainage holes in their base cause water to pool around the roots.
- The use of saucers, trays, and decorative outer pots prevents water from escaping and causes the bottom of the ivy’s potting soil to remain damp.
For my ivy plant, I had planted in compost, and I had compacted the soil too firmly around the rootball. Ivy was one of my first ever houseplants. When I did this, I pushed all the air out of the compost. This made the soil very dense rather than porous. This meant that the soil did not drain very well at all, creating damp conditions around the roots. It was about 3 months before I first saw the symptoms of yellow leaves!
If the Ivy is in saturated soil for a long time then this causes the fungal disease root rot which can cause the plant to die back. So, if we are going to save our Ivy plants, we need to replicate the well-draining soil conditions of the plant’s native woodland environment.
How I Saved My Yellowing Ivy Plant…
- Scale back the watering. Ivy grows in well-draining soil and prefers when the top inch of the soil dries out somewhat between bouts of watering. I use my finger or a moisture gauge to detect the moisture in the soil. In my experience, this is the best way to establish the optimal time for watering my ivy to avoid root rot and yellow leaves.
- Replant the ivy in new potting soil. I learned that ivy requires porous, light soil with an aerated structure to allow water to drain effectively rather than pool around the roots of the plant. After speaking to experts and experimenting myself with different potting mediums, I found that using a ratio of 3 parts potting soil mixed with 1 part perlite was the best mix for good soil structure as it created the optimal balance of moisture for growing ivy and avoids the effects associated with damp soil such as yellowing leaves or root rot. I also found you can substitute the perlite for orchid pine bark mix or horticultural grit. Horticultural sand did not work as well, in my experience.
- Always plant Ivy in pots with drainage holes at the bottom to prevent water pooling around the roots, which causes root rot. I know this one seems obvious, but I’ve observed that a lot of beginners make this mistake. To ensure the drainage hole does not become blocked with soil or roots, I like to place a layer of gravel in the base of the pot to ensure water can drain effectively, although there is some debate in the gardening community as to whether this step is necessary, but I find it works well.
- Saucers and trays are useful for preventing water from spilling from your pot in the home, but they can keep the soil at the bottom of the pot too damp if it is not emptied regularly. Check to ensure water is not pooling at the base of the pot in saucers, trays, or decorative outer pots for long periods and empty regularly to maintain a healthy ivy plant.
- Avoid compacting the soil too firmly around the base of the pot like me! When potting up your ivy, just pat the soil down rather than firm it. If you are using some grit as a soil amendment, this should further help mitigate the effects of dense soil.
Once the right balance of watering and drainage has been achieved, your ivy should begin to recover. How long it takes to recover depends on however long it was exposed to overly damp soil conditions.
I cut back all the vines with yellow leaves, and in the Spring and Summer new, healthy growth emerged.
Top tip: What I learned from my experience is that ivy is incredibly hardy. Even though I had trimmed several of the tendrils that had yellow leaves, they just grew back (when I changed the potting soil and watered well). I cut the affected vine back to the soil line.
However extensive periods of saturated soil can cause root rot, at which point it is very difficult to revive the ivy plant.
(Read my article on how to water ivy plants to learn how to establish the optimal watering frequency for ivy plants in your home or garden).
Lack of Nutrients Cause Ivy Leaves to Turn Yellow
Our Ivy plants are foliage plants an have vines that grows abundant leaves which means it requires relatively nutrient-rich soil to grow healthy green (or variegated) leaves to fuel its growth.
A classic problem I’ve encountered with ivy (and other houseplants) is that if the Ivy has been in the same pot for many years then the ivy’s roots may have exhausted the available nutrients in the potting soil which turns the leaves yellow.
Smaller pots also have less capacity for soil and therefore less capacity for nutrients which can also be the cause of your ivy leaves turning yellow and looking unhealthy.
This can cause the leaves of your ivy to turn yellow due to a lack of nitrogen, iron, or magnesium in the soil.
Which specific nutrient deficiency is responsible for your ivy leaves turning yellow is difficult to determine, but I can assure you that, ultimately, the treatment is the same regardless of the cause.
How I Save Yellowing Ivy Due to Lack of Nutrients
To save our ivy plants with yellow leaves, we need to transplant them into a larger pot or container with new soil. A larger pot has more capacity for the soil so that the roots have greater access to the nutrients they require.
This should help to address the problem and the ivy should start growing new green leaves once it has a chance to establish in the potting soil.
When I did this, the yellow leaves did not necessarily green up, but new green growth started to emerge from my ivy’s vines, so I cut back the vines with yellow leaves to stimulate more growth and help the plant recover.
It looked fabulous again in a few months. I’ve been told it’s best practice to trim your ivy every now and again to prevent it from becoming leggy.
I recommend using fertilizer for potted ivy plants once a month with a general house plant fertilizer during the Spring and Summer when the Ivy is actively growing.
A well-balanced liquid fertilizer ensures that the ivy plant has access to all the nutrients it requires to grow healthy and green to avoid the leaves turning yellow.
Using a well-balanced fertilizer is always better than trying to treat individual deficiencies, as an abundance of one nutrient may make it more difficult for the ivy’s roots to uptake another nutrient.
However, I am now trying a liquid sea weed feed after seeing a recommendation from gardening expert Monty Don because it is organic and cheaper. So far, I love it, and my Ivy leaves look glossy.
(Read my article, on how to revive a dying ivy plant if your ivy plant looks unhealthy).
Spider Mites Can Cause Yellow Spots on Ivy Leaves
One of the reasons I love Ivy is because it is a very hardy plant that is rarely affected by pests and diseases. However, if the ivy is unhealthy due to underwatering, overwatering, or a nutrient deficiency then this can make the plant more vulnerable to attack from spider mites which cause small pin-sized yellow dots on the leaves.
Spider mites can be more prevalent on indoor ivy plants as the indoor environment tends to be much lower in humidity compared to outdoors, which promotes the conditions for spider mites to thrive.
The way to prevent and tackle spider mites is fortunately very easy in my experience.
Spider mites thrive in low humidity, whereas our ivy plants prefer some humidity, so what we need to do is mist the leaves with water once or twice per week to create a humid micro-climate around the ivy leaves which deters the spider mites and creates more favorable conditions for the ivy.
I have also had success at deterring spider mites by moving my ivy to my bathroom, as the natural humidity is an effective deterant.
To address the spider mite problem immediately I used an insecticidal soap derived from neem oil as whilst this kills spider mites, it does not harm other wildlife or pets.
Neem oil can be wiped over the ivy leaves with a cloth to prevent any further yellowing of the ivy leaves as quickly as once application, although from experience, it can take 2 or 3 applications if there is a significant infestation.
Once the spider mites have been dealt with what I did was snip back any badly affected yellowing leaves and the ivy should recover well.
(Read my article, on how to revive ivy with brown leaves).
Key Takeaways:
- The reason ivy leaves turn yellow is because there is too much water around the roots due to overwatering, slow-draining soils, or pots without drainage holes in the base. Yellow ivy leaves can also indicate a lack of nitrogen, magnesium, or iron in the soil.
- Ivy plants require well-draining soil. They do not tolerate boggy soil around the root ball, which causes leaves to turn yellow and root rot.
- Spider mites can leave pin-sized yellow spots on ivy leaves. They are common in homes with low humidity. Spray the leaves with mist to prevent spider mites, and treat any infestations with neem oil.
- To revive ivy plants with yellow leaves, ensure the soil is well draining and scale back the watering so that the top inch of the potting soil dries out between bouts of watering. A well-balanced houseplant fertilizer can prevent nutrient deficiencies that turn the leaves yellow. Plant ivy in potting soil mixed with perlite for improved drainage and an aerated soil structure that emulates an ivy plant’s native habitat.