A Bonsai From an Ivy Plant?

[djlen]

Anyone ever do any work with Ivy, either the outdoor Ivy or plain old Heder helix?
My wife has some houseplants that are Ivy with very small leaves. Just wondering how
difficult it would be to develop them as anything besides a Cascade style.

 

[rockm]

Ivy (a lot of species, including Poison Ivy) has been a bonsai subject for some time.

Do a search on "ivy bonsai" on google images. See what you get.

Here's one in the Golden State Bonsai Federation's collection:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ragesoss/2868738985/

Larger collected trunks are used however. Skinny floppy trunks don't really work.

 

[Attila Soos]

Larger collected trunks are used however. Skinny floppy trunks don't really work.

Yes, the only reason for using ivy as bonsai is if displaying a massive trunk. That's because it is a vine, so the trunk can take up interesting, twisted and contorted shapes. The foliage is rather dull and coarse, with no seasonality.

One must find an old backyard specimen and collect it.
To grow it in a pot, from a small houseplant, will practically never result in a high quality bonsai. It will look like a potted houseplant.

 

[chappy56]

Well here's mine......

 

[grizzlywon]

This was at the East Bay Bonsai show in Oakland this year. Boston Ivy

 

[djlen]

Well, from the above pictures I'd say my question has been answered. I think I'll have to find
some wild though, that has some age on it and a good start on a trunk as trying to thicken from
a small cutting might be going against the grain.

 

[Fangorn]

Yes, the only reason for using ivy as bonsai is if displaying a massive trunk. That's because it is a vine, so the trunk can take up interesting, twisted and contorted shapes. The foliage is rather dull and coarse, with no seasonality.

The Virginia creeper has some beautiful fall colors, but it's hard to find one with a good trunk.
this is a shot of one from Harry Harrington's website

 

[mcpesq817]

Take a look at Nick Lenz' book - there's a short chapter on ivy there. He even uses poison ivy like Rockm mentioned earlier

 

[rockm]

Poison ivy can produce extremely picturesque and powerful trunks--much more so than run-of-the-mill ivy:
http://nancytoby.blogspot.com/2009/05/poison-ivy.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17842909@N00/125243037/

There is a huge poison ivy vine in a National Park near me that is 200 years old and four feet in diameter. It grows up a 90 foot tall Tulip poplar.

It's also a fairly common plant--even old one-- and, apparently, not that hard to collect.

Needless to say, if you mess with one of them, wear gloves and long sleeves to collect.

 

[treekutter]

Heres mine before pruning