How to Treat Dry and Crispy English Ivy Leaves?
Amazing Advice for Your Plants!

What’s This Post About?

Whether you have planted your Ivy plant indoors or outdoors, observing your Ivies turn dry and crispy can often be overwhelming.

You don’t want to find yourself in such a formidable situation, nor would you want your plant to debilitate especially when you’ve been making efforts for your plant to bloom.

There can be multiple reasons due to which the plant might lose its appearance. You might be overwatering - or even under watering your plants. Or the Ivy might not be getting the required intensity of light, humidity, or nutrients.

To treat a dehydrated Ivy plant, water it adequately. Make sure that the roots do not drown in the water while the soil remains moist enough. Also, plant the Ivy in a rightly sized pot to allow the roots to absorb sufficient nutrients and monitor the light and humidity levels in its atmosphere.

Growing Ivy Plants in your House

The rapidly growing Ivy plants give a perfect, exotic look to your house with their heart-shaped leaves, blossoming in hues of green. Vining around, this beautiful indoor plant can sit in glass containers or vases or cascade onto the walls from hanging baskets.

With the right amount of light, water, and nutrients, this plant would not fail to give your place a fresh ambiance.

How to Treat Your Debilitated Ivy Plant?

The things you must do to revive your ivy plant include:

• Alter Your Watering Practice
• Avoid Direct Sunlight
• Adjust the Humidity Levels
• Avoid Giving Too Much or Too Little Fertilizers
• Regular Pruning and Cutting of the Foliage
• Prevent Attacks from Pests and Diseases

Let’s explore these things in more detail to bring your Ivy Plant back to its healthy and blooming outlook.

1. Alter your Watering Practice

Here are some things you can do to ensure an effective watering regime.

Do Not Overwater

One of the fundamental reasons your Ivy leaves turn brown and gradually dry up giving them a crispy texture, is that they don’t get the right amount of water.

Warning

In most cases, there is a likelihood that you're overwatering your plants which makes you wonder why the leaves are getting dry then?

When you provide too much water to the plants, the roots tend to drown and hence cannot function properly. They can’t transport nutrients, let alone, water to the stems and leaves of the plant. The result? Your leaves turn brown and begin to wither from the edges.

Watering your Ivy once a week is optimal. Ivies prefer to live in slightly dry soil, so you shouldn’t let too much water sit in the pot. The overly wet soil harms the plant.

If you pour in too much water daily, you might damage the roots, as they can get infected with a fungal disease - root rot - when exposed to too much water.

For best results, let the soil dry out properly before you give more water to the plant. We recommend using a finger test by checking the top inch of the layer of soil. If the soil turns out dry, it is the right time to water your plant with only a little moisture.

It’s better to keep your plant a little dry than keeping it a little too wet.

Drainage Holes in Pot

You do not want any excess water to remain in the soil and eventually damage your ivies.

How to deal with this situation? Create holes in the pot that allow for proper drainage.

Next time when you water your Ivies, pour water in the pot until water begins to seep through the holes. This indicates that the water has reached the roots. Now you know when to stop.

Let all the excess water flow out through the holes, and remove the tray you’ve placed under the pot to ensure that the soil doesn’t absorb any more water.

With controlled water stress, your Ivy should be able to revive in a short period. But if your Ivy has been exposed to large volumes of water, there is a possibility of root damage, which means that it can be difficult to recover your plant.

Use Distilled Water

If you are using tap water for your Ivies, know that tap water contains a high content of mineral salts - which can be detrimental to your plant’s wellbeing.

Let the tap water sit overnight before adding it to the plant. This lets the excess chlorine evaporate, improving the water constitution for your Ivies.

However, if you still observe that the plant’s health is deteriorating, use distilled water. Some Ivies might be sensitive to the high content of minerals, so plant it in a new pot with fresh soil and note stark improvements in its growth.

2. Avoid Direct Sunlight

Ivy plants don’t flourish well in high temperatures. If your plant is receiving direct sunlight, chances are the foliage might be scorched due to the intense heat. This might make the leaves crispy, giving the plant a quite dry look.

Pro-Tip

Even though Ivy's can adapt to variable levels of light, they need a medium to bright light for optimal growth. The best condition would be a perfect balance of light and shade.

Also, if your Ivy plant is indoors, in a dark spot, the lack of light will hamper its growth, and it will eventually die.

3. Adjust the Humidity Levels

Even though Ivies can adjust to considerably dry soil, the plant doesn’t like to live in a very dry atmosphere. You might notice the edges turning brown and crispy.

Regulate the air circulation by ensuring the air doesn’t get too dry. Keep a water spray close by, as spraying some water to add in a little moisture whenever the air seems a little dry might do the trick.

Pro-Tip

If you haven't tried the humidity tray method, give it a shot. It's quite simple.

In a saucer, place in some pebbles and add water over the pebbles. Set your pot with the Ivy plant on top of the pebbles. As the water evaporates, it will raise the humidity levels around, creating the perfect atmosphere for your house plants.

4. Avoid Giving Too Much or Too Little Fertilizer

Just like all other plants, your Ivy plant needs an optimal amount of nutrients to grow well. If not, you will start to notice yellow and withered leaves.

You may not realize it, but your plant might not be getting the right nutrients. Often, the soil lacks nitrogen, which greatly impacts your plant’s growth.

If your plant has been living in the same soil for a long time, there are chances that it might have exhausted the soil of its nitrogen content. It’s time to replant your Ivy in fresh soil to reinvigorate it once again.

Pro-Tip

Switch your Ivy plant into a bigger pot with more soil, allowing the roots to spread freely and inherently giving it more nutrients.

You may also use a regular plant fertilizer with all the necessary plant minerals to recover your plant. Do not use it too frequently, as an excess of fertilizer can also have an adverse impact.

Fertilizing your Ivy plant once every two months should be sufficient. It keeps the plant healthy and green.

5. Regular Pruning and Cutting of Foliage

Foliage that has turned entirely brown or yellow and appears almost dead needs to be trimmed with pruners. The condition of such leaves is quite worse, and they are not likely to revive. It’s better to get rid of them to stimulate new plant growth with healthier, greener leaves.

6. Prevent Attacks from Pests and Diseases

Whether indoors or outdoors, your Ivy plant can be a vulnerable target of pest attacks. It would help if you were vigilant of any such infestations.

Pests can find their way to your Ivies for several reasons. Pests like spider mites are likely to attack the Ivy plants if you live in warmer climates with low humidity.

If your plant is deprived of water, it can become prone to infestations.

To mitigate the chances of any such attacks, or if one has taken place, it’s vital to wash your plants regularly. Put them under the water hose and let the water flow over your Ivy plants.

If you notice any tiny spider mites, mix warm water with a few drops of washing liquid. Spray this solution onto the surface of the plants. Ensure the solution reaches the depth of the leaves and washes the Ivy carefully from underneath the leaves.

Keep Reading

Now that you know how to treat dry and crispy English ivy leaves, your plant will revive in just a few days.

If you want to learn more about the right ways to water your Ivy plants or explore tips to prevent your plants from pest attacks, read our guide on watering succulents.

Do My Succulents Need Water? The Top Ten Tips for Watering Succulents!

Succulents are known for not having to be watered as often as other indoor plants but they still need water to survive. Lets learn more.

Posted in: English Ivy Reviving Plants Crispy Leaves Dry Leaves Succulent Turning Brown