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Native Plant Alternatives to Hedera helix (English Ivy)

Native Plants, Invasive Plants, Hedera helix, English Ivy, Common Ivy, European Ivy, Ivy

Hedera helix, also known as English ivy, is considered an invasive species in many parts of the world, including parts of the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Native to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa, it has been widely introduced as an ornamental plant due to its attractive, evergreen foliage and its adaptability to a range of growing conditions.

English ivy is a vigorous grower and can quickly form dense coverings over the ground and up trees, buildings, and other structures. It outcompetes native vegetation by shading it out, and when it grows up trees, it can cause them to become unstable and more likely to fall in a storm. It also creates a refuge for pests like rats and can contribute to increased fire risk due to its evergreen nature and the high volume of dead material it generates.

English Ivy is listed in the Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States.

According to the U.S Forest Service, Invasive species have contributed to the decline of 42% of U.S. endangered and threatened species and 18% of U.S. endangered or threatened species. Invasive species compete directly with native species for moisture, sunlight, nutrients, and space. They displace and alter native plant communities, degrade wildlife habitat and water quality, and potentially lead to increased soil erosion.

The federal government has estimated that nearly 25 percent of the 20,000 plant species native to North America are at risk of extinction, many of these through habitat loss. You can help reverse this trend by planting great native plants in your garden.

A plant is considered native if it occurs naturally in a particular region or ecosystem without human introduction. There are many benefits to growing native plants. First, these plants are better adapted to soils, moisture, and weather than exotic plants that evolved in other parts of the world. They need fewer fertilizers and pesticides or use less water. Second, they are unlikely to escape and become invasive, destroying natural habitats. Third, they support wildlife, providing shelter and food for native birds and insects, while exotic plants do not.

Guide Information

Hardiness 5 - 11
Heat Zones 6 - 12
Plant Type Climbers, Perennials
Genus Hedera
Exposure Partial Sun, Shade
Season of Interest Spring (Early, Mid, Late)
Summer (Early, Mid, Late)
Fall
Winter
Native Plants United States

U.S. Native Plant Alternatives to Hedera helix (English Ivy)

Antennaria plantaginifolia, Woman's Tobacco, Ladies' Tobacco, Everlasting, Mouse Ear, Plantain-leaf Pussytoes, Antennaria caroliniana, Antennaria decipiens, Antennaria denikeana, Antennaria nemoralis, Antennaria petiolata, Drought Tolerant Groundcover
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Bearberry,  Creeping Manzanita, Common Bearberry, Kinninnick, Kinnikinnick, Pinemat Manzanita, Evergreen Shrub, Hardy Shrub, Shrub with berries
Asarum canadense, Canada Wild Ginger, Snake Root, Black Snakeweed, Canadian Snakeroot, Colic Root, False Crowfoot,  Ginger Root,  Heart-Leaf,  Pigs, Southern Snakeroot,  Southern Wild Ginger,  Vermont Snakeroot
Asarum caudatum, British Columbia Wild Ginger, Western Wild Ginger, Long-Tailed Wild Ginger, groundcover, evergreen groundcover
Asarum hartwegii, Sierra Wild Ginger, Hartweg's Wild Ginger, Marbled Wild Ginger, groundcover, evergreen groundcover
Bignonia capreolata, Cross Vine, Crossvine, Cross-Vine, Trumpet Flower, Orange Vines, Bicolor Vines, Mediterranean Vines, Orange Flowers
Chrysogonum virginianum, Green And Gold, Green-and-gold, Gold Star, Golden Knee, Shade Plant
Dryopteris carthusiana, Shield Fern, Spinulose Wood Fern, Spinulose Woodfern, Toothed Wood Fern, Narrow Buckler Fern
Dryopteris expansa, Spiny Wood Fern, Spreading Wood Fern, Spreading Woodfern
Dryopteris filix-mas, Male Fern, Basket Fern, Shield Fern, Shade plants, shade perennial, plants for shade, plants for wet soils
Dryopteris goldieana, Giant Wood Fern, Goldie's Shield Fern, Goldie's Wood Fern, Goldie Fern,
Dryopteris ludoviciana, Florida Wood Fern, Southern Wood Fern, Louisiana Wood Fern
Erigeron pulchellus, Robin's Plantain, Poor Robin's Plantain, Rose Petty, Robert's Plantain, Blue Spring-daisy
Eurybia macrophylla, Bigleaf Aster, Large-Leaf Wood-Aster, Aster ianthinus, Aster macrophyllus,s, Fall perennials, Fall Flowers, White Asters, Pink Asters
Galax urceolata, Beetleweed, Galax, Coltsfoot, Wand Flower, Galax aphylla, Shade perennials, Plants for shade
Gaultheria shallon, Oregon Wintergreen, Salal, Shallon, Shallon Bush
Gelsemium sempervirens, Carolina Jessamine, Yellow Jessamine, Evening Trumpet Flower, Poor Man's Rope, Bignonia sempervirens, Bigonia sempervirens, Yellow Flowers
Verbena canadensis, Rose Vervain, Sweet William, Rose Mock Vervain, Glandularia drummondii, Glandularia lambertii, Glandularia canadensis, purple verbena, Drought tolerant plants, Heat Tolerant plants
Iris cristata, Dwarf Crested Iris, Lady's Calamus, Lavender Flowers, Bicolor Iris, Bicolor Flowers, Groundcover Iris
Mahonia nervosa, Cascade Barberry, Cascade Oregon-Grape, Dwarf Oregon-Grape, Berberis nervosa, Yellow Flowers, Blue Berries, evergreen shrub
Mahonia repensAward General
Mertensia virginica, Bluebells, Virginian Bluebells, Blue and Pink Ladies, Blue Iris, Chiming Bells, Kentucky Bluebells, Roanoke Bells, Smooth Lungwort, Tree Lungwort, Virginian Cowslip, Virginian Spiderwort
Mitchella repens, Partridge Berry, Partridgeberry, Twinberry, Running Box, Pigeon Plum, Boxberry, Checkerberry, Chequerberry, Deerberry, Foxberry, One-Berry, Pigeon Berry, Pudding Plum, Squaw Berry, Squaw Plum, Squaw Vine, Tea Berry, Two-Eye Berry, Two-Eyed Berry, Winter Clover
Pachysandra procumbens, Allegheny Spurge, Mountain Spurge, Allegheny Mountain Spurge, American Thick-Stamen, Shade perennials, Plants for shade
Packera aurea, Golden Groundsel, Golden Ragwort, Butterweed, Senecio aureus, Senecio gracilis, Yellow Flowers, Yellow Perennials
Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Virginia Creeper, American Ivy, American Woodbine, False Grape, Five-Leaved Ivy, Five-Leaves, True Virginia Creeper, Wild Wood Vine, Woodbine, Deciduous Vines, Red Vines
Phlox Divaricata, Woodland Phlox, Wild Sweet William, Blue Phlox, Wild Blue Phlox, Louisiana Phlox, Blue Woodland Phlox, Sweet William
Polystichum acrostichoides,  Christmas Fern, Dagger Fern, Shade plants, shade perennial, plants for shade, Evergreen Fern
Woodland Stonecrop, Wild Stonecrop, Iceland Moss, Three-Leaved Stonecrop, Whorled Stonecrop, Clausenellia ternata
Sisyrinchium angustifolium, Blue-Eyed Grass, Grass Flower, Narrowleaf Blue-Eyed Grass, Narrow-Leaf Blue-Eyed-grass, Bermuda Blue-Eyed Grass, Sisyrinchium bermudiana, Sisyrinchium graminoides, perennial plants, long-lasting flowers, Blue Flowers, Ground Covers
Sporobolus Heterolepis, Prairie Dropseed, Prairie Drop seed, Ornamental Grass
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium, Aromatic Aster, Aromatic American Aster, Fall Aster, Wild Blue Aster, Shale Aster, Aster obligonfolius
Vancouveria hexandra, American Barrenwort, White Insideout Flower, White Inside-Out-Flower, Northern Inside-Out Flower, Shade Plants, Shade Perennials, White Flowers, Groundcovers, Ground Cover
Waldsteinia fragarioides, Appalachian Barren Strawberry, Barren Strawberry, Yellow flowers
Baccharis pilularis, Coyotebrush, Chaparral Broom, Coyote Bush, Coyote Brush, Chaparral Broom, Bush Baccharis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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While every effort has been made to describe these plants accurately, please keep in mind that height, bloom time, and color may differ in various climates. The description of these plants has been written based on numerous outside resources.

Guide Information

Hardiness 5 - 11
Heat Zones 6 - 12
Plant Type Climbers, Perennials
Genus Hedera
Exposure Partial Sun, Shade
Season of Interest Spring (Early, Mid, Late)
Summer (Early, Mid, Late)
Fall
Winter
Native Plants United States
Compare All Hedera
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Guides with
Hedera
Guides with
United States

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