Description
Ornamental ivy - Hedera helix ‘Touch of Olive’
In a nutshell
Ornamental ivy, Hedera helix ‘Touch of Olive’, is very different from its parent.
Only the variegation connects it a little to its origin, a few yellow splashes on olive green foliage.
The fairly broad leaves are composed of three lobes. They are borne on reddish stems whose wide-spaced internodes show through to great effect.
The annual shoot is 40 cm long. The carpet is fairly short.
History
The cultivar ‘Mon Premier’ was obtained in 1998 by Hervé Canals, who was responsible for part of this collection. Here we have a mutation of this cultivar. Mon Premier‘ was itself a mutation of ’Alt Heidelberg‘.
Technical details - Hedera helix 'Touch of Olive'
Botanical information
- Family: Araliaceae
- Genre : Hedera
- Species : helix
- Cultivar : ‘Touch of Olive’
- Pierot classification: variegated ivy (very slightly)
- Foliage stage: juvenile
- Origin of the species: Europe, from Spain to Norway, but little on the Atlantic coast.
- Origin of cultivar: selected by Hervé Canals
- Mutation: sport of ‘Mon Premier’
Description of Hedera helix ‘Touch of Olive’
- Growth habit: short, spreading carpet
- Number of lobes: 0 to 3 lobes
- Leaf length: 5 to 7 cm
- Leaf width: 5 to 7 cm
- Leaf colour: green, with small yellow stripes
- Colour of veins: light green
- Leaf shape: asymmetrical
- Node spacing: 4 cm
- Colour of stem and petiole: reddish
- Hairs: stellate, 3 to 5 branches
Planting, cultivation and maintenance advice for Hedera helix ‘Touch of Olive’
- Exposure: shade, part shade
- Hardiness: -15°C
- Soil moisture: cool soil
- Soil PH: neutral or chalky
- Soil type: all
- Soil richness: ordinary or humus-bearing
- Use: ground cover
- Development: moderate
- Growth rate: 40 cm per year
- Pruning: once a year
- Pests: very rare (spider mites, mealy bugs)
- Diseases: very rare (leaf spots)
Ivy in literature
“Ivy, creeping and tenacious, clung to the stones of the abandoned mines.”






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