Description
Irish ivy - Hedera hibernica ‘Spetchley’
In a nutshell
Irish ivy, Hedera hibernica ‘Spetchley’, was spotted in the gardens of Spetchley Park in Evesham, Worcestershire, England.
It is a miniature ivy with bird's-foot leaves. It is also sometimes known as Hedera hibernica ‘Gnome’.
Leaves between green and purple, with 0 to 3 lobes, 2 cm long and 1.5 cm wide.
Reward:
Awarded the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Garden of Merit in 1993.
History
This cultivar, collected from the gardens at Spetchley Park in Evesham, Worcestershire, England, was first released under the name ‘Gnome’ in the 1970s.
Technical details - Hedera hibernica 'Spetchley'
Botanical information
- Family: Araliaceae
- Genre : Hedera
- Species : hibernica
- Cultivar: ‘Spetchley’
- Synonyms: ‘Gnome’
- Pierot classification: miniature, bird's foot
- Foliage stage: juvenile
- Origin: Europe, Atlantic coast
Description of Hedera hibernica ‘Spetchley’
- Growth habit: stocky, spreading
- Number of lobes: usually 3
- Leaf length: 2 cm
- Sheet width: 1.5 cm
- Leaf colour: between green and purple
- Colour of stem and petiole : between green and purple
- Stem: stiff
- Branches: very branched
- Hair: stellate, fairly small
Planting, cultivation and care advice for Hedera hibernica ‘Spetchley’
- Exposure: shade, part shade
- Hardiness: -15°C
- Soil moisture: cool soil
- Soil PH: neutral, calcareous, acidic
- Soil type: all
- Soil richness: ordinary or humus
- Use : climber, pot, jardiniere, rockery, houseplant
- Development: modest
- Pruning: once a year
- Pests: rare (spider mites, scale insects)
- Diseases: rare (leaf spots)
A page from my little ivy encyclopaedia
A question of circumstance ...
Are there any other miniature ivy plants?
For those worried about ivy taking over everything, there is a solution: miniature ivy, such as ‘Spetchley’ ivy. There are many other miniature ivies in our collection. Here are just a few examples:
- Hedera helix ‘Ardingly’, a small ivy with white variegation
- Hedera helix ‘Bill Archer’, a curiosity with very thin leaves
- Hedera helix ‘Duckfoot’, which, as its name suggests, is an ivy with bird's-foot leaves. An AGM award-winning variety.
- Hedera helix ‘Henriette’, a variegated variety with leaves that are often lobeless, very original
- Hedera helix ‘Little Diamond’, with diamond-shaped leaves
- and many more ...
In short, as you can see, you can install a large number of ornamental ivy plants in your home, without fear of invasion, and they'll put on a great show twelve months out of the year.
Ivy in literature
“The house, overgrown with ivy, seemed to have been forgotten by the world, but not by time.”





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