Replacing Myrtle with English Ivy in the Ficus Pot

Many of you will remember the post from May 20 of last year when I planted Myrtle in the large orb pot in which the ficus tree resides.

The idea was to add a vining perennial that would provide a nice cover around the base of the tree and fill in the area between the pot the tree is in and the planter.

Unfortunately, after several months it became clear that myrtle was not the right choice for this project.  I ended up with this "stringy" mess of vine that clearly was unhappy.  So, I removed it all and amended the soil and tried something new.

I pulled out all of the dead and dying myrtle and then used a small hand rake to loosen and aerate the top few inches of soil in the pot.  During this process I added a little Miracle-Gro Shake 'N Feed All  Purpose fertilizer.

This is a continuous release plant food that I find works especially well in houseplants.  Just follow the directions on the container which tell you how often to fertilize and how much to use in each application.

I still wanted a vine of some description in this pot to give a nice clean look and to fill in the area around the base of the tree to the edge of the planter.  This time I decided to go with standard English ivy which you can find at any local nursery.  If you find yourself doing a project like this during the winter months, and your local nursery is closed for the season, you can pick up ivy in the indoor garden center in your local Lowe's or Home Depot.  I picked up these little individual pots of ivy at Lowe's.

I bought five of the 3" pots of ivy.  Always go with an odd number when planting small quantities of plants to maintain balance.  Generally, if you are planting sixteen or more plants in any given area it is fine to plant in even numbers, but in smaller areas, where there are few plants, go with an odd number.  Here you see I planted the ivy around the trunk of the ficus tree rather close to the trunk.  This gives a nice full look and, in time, the ivy will grow and fill in the open area.  A small pair of nippers can be used to keep it trimmed and looking neat and tidy later on.

Here we are with the ivy having been watered in place.  As we have discussed before, I use room temperature filtered water for all the plants in the apartment.  I strongly suggest you do the same for your houseplants.  I have great results using that formula, except, of course, with the myrtle.  But I think the problem with the myrtle was less of an issue with the type and temperature of the water and more with the fact that myrtle is probably not well suited to the indoor environment.

Finally, here is a picture of the ficus tree which is doing quite well.  It loves this spot in front of a north facing window where it receives lots of indirect light everyday.  It is actually in need of a trim.  It is starting to take over this area and is overreaching the sofa.  This was a good purchase from Patuxent Nursery in Bowie, MD.  A very healthy tree that is painstakingly cared for and that continues to bring beauty to my apartment.