Many people love how ivy plants look, and this makes them want to keep them indoors.
The problem with this is that ivy plants are sort of notoriously hard to keep indoors for many people. They can be a bit finicky, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t thrive as indoor houseplants.
If you have constantly had ivy plants die on you, you might be wondering what it is that you’re doing wrong.
Keep reading to learn about several potential reasons why ivy plants can die. This should give you a better understanding of what has been happening each time you lose one of these plants.
1 – Improper Lighting
Improper lighting can cause most types of plants to die, and it likely isn’t going to surprise you to hear that too much light or too little light could kill your ivy plant as well.
Your ivy plant is going to do best when it is positioned in medium light, but some can do well in bright light settings as well. If you want to play it safe, then you should probably go with medium light.
Some types will feature white variegation on the leaves, and these plants do better with indirect sunlight. If your ivy plants have pure green leaves, they might do better in direct sunlight.
The variegated leaves are much more likely to burn or otherwise get damaged when exposed to the sun, and this means that you need to be more careful.
Remember that light issues can easily kill plants if you aren’t paying attention. If your ivy plant gets too little light, it could wither and die.
Overexposure to sunlight could kill it as well, and this means that you must find the right dichotomy.
2 – Watering Your Ivy Plant Too Much
One of the most common reasons why ivy plants die is that their owners make the mistake of watering them too much.
Ivy plants don’t do well when they get more water than they need, and you might have become overzealous during your watering sessions. You need to wait until the top two inches of soil are dry to the touch before you go through with watering them.
Your ivy plant would do better if it was allowed to dry out a little more. Waiting to water it for a bit too long will be much less problematic than watering it too often.
It’s also imperative to ensure that your ivy is potted in soil that has good drainage so that it can survive.
When you water your ivy plant too much, it can wind up causing the leaves to turn brown. You might also notice that the edges of the leaves will become quite dry, and this can trick some plant owners into thinking that it needs more water.
It’s actually a sign that the roots are drowning and that they aren’t able to function properly due to too much water.
3 – Humidity Issues
Humidity issues have the potential to cause your ivy plant to die, too. Ivy plants really enjoy humid weather, and keeping an ivy plant in a dry environment is going to be counterproductive.
Thankfully, there are things that you can do to make your house more humid during the dry winter months.
You can mist your ivy every so often as a way to give them the humidity that they need. It’s also possible to invest in a humidifier that will keep your home nice and humid during the winter.
Some people find humidifiers to make things a lot more comfortable, so this could benefit you in ways outside of making it easier to care for your ivy plants.
4 – Hot Weather
Hot weather can actually cause your ivy plants to shrivel up and die if you don’t take the right steps. These are plants that do better in slightly cooler temperatures, and this means that the hottest days of summer can be tough on them.
The ideal temperature range for your ivy is going to be between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
This might be slightly cooler than you normally keep the temperature in your home set at. Be mindful of the temperature recommendations for ivy plants so that you don’t accidentally kill them.
Eighty degrees Fahrenheit temperatures could put them in a tough spot, but you can manage things effectively by keeping your house cooler.
You could also try keeping ivy in rooms that are cooler than the rest of your house. Some rooms might be on the cooler side, and this will make them places where your ivy will be able to thrive.
Otherwise, you might need to adjust that thermostat just a few degrees cooler than you normally would.
5 – Pest Issues
Pest issues can kill ivy plants as well, and this can be very problematic. If you accidentally let your plant get too dry, it could attract pests such as spider mites.
These spider mites could very easily kill your ivy plants if you don’t take quick action, and you’re going to want to be a proactive plant owner.
This is really an annoyance because you know that you can’t water your ivy too much or it will create problems. It means that you need to do your best to get things right to avoid attracting pests.
There are also insecticides that you can purchase that will be able to get rid of spider mite problems.
The only issue is that your ivy plant could have already taken a turn for the worse before you noticed the spider mites. Ivy plants can pretty easily die from pest infestations, and you’ll want to catch any issues as early as you can.
Beyond being an observant plant owner, there isn’t much more advice to give aside from being mindful about your watering practices.
Take Care of Your Ivy
Take care of your ivy so that you can continue to enjoy it for a long time. It might be a bit tough to care for these plants sometimes, but they are really nice to have around.
So long as you understand the types of things that can kill them, it’ll be a lot easier to avoid those situations.
Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.