Hedera helix 'Glacier' is a compact English ivy cultivar with variegated gray green leaves edged in creamy white, ideal for container spilling. It thrives in part to full shade and climbs with ease making it useful for softening walls and fences.
Height & Spread: 6 - 10 ft x 3 - 5 ft
Bloom Time: Insignificant; grown for foliage
Light Requirements: Part shade to full shade
Soil Preference: Average to moist, well drained soil
Watering Needs: Low to moderate; tolerates dry shade once established
Deer Resistance: Deer resistant
Native Status
This cultivar originates from Hedera helix, a species native to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. It is not native to North America and may naturalize in some regions.
WILDLIFE & INSECTS
Birds
- Mature vines provide cover and nesting habitat for songbirds such as robins and wrens.
Spacing & Landscape Use
Spacing Recommendations
- Space 18 - 24 in apart to encourage quick spreading ground coverage.
Landscape Placement
- Best for shaded slopes, containers, or trained along walls and trellises in small gardens where controlled growth is maintained.
Companion Plants
- Ferns (Dryopteris erythrosora) - Bring soft texture and structural rhythm alongside groundcover ivy.
- Lamium maculatum 'Beacon Silver' - Offers ground hugging variegation and pale flowers.
- Carex morrowii 'Ice Dance' - Brightens shade with fine white edged leaves.
- Heuchera 'Palace Purple' - Adds contrast with deep colored foliage in part shade.
- Hosta 'Halcyon' - A blue green foliage plant that complements ivy’s cooler tones.