I Bought One Huge Oak Leaf Ivy!
Many years ago, I had a Grape Leaf Ivy or Cissus rhombifolia and I really enjoyed that houseplant. I have been searching for this type of ivy for a long time. Some of the information available seems to suggest that it is not a common plant to find at garden centers because it is hard to grow? But no reason why?
If you watch my YouTube Channel, I recently went on a shopping trip to Troy OH at Andy’s Garden Center and I found its sister plant, the Oak Leaf Ivy or Cissus Ellen Danica. I was in love the moment I saw her!
Oak Leaf Ivy is so similar to Grape Leaf Ivy that you will be happy if you find either type. I really love them both.
The Oak Leaf Ivy seems to be an easy plant to grow and is most commonly displayed as a hanging basket or in a container as a cascading houseplant. For now, I am leaving mine as a hanging basket. She is enormous!
Oak Leaf Ivy Plant Care
This houseplant seems pretty easy to grow. It is not very demanding and grows quickly, vining around and hanging onto its planter or itself with tendrils. Those tendrils wrap around everything!
What Light Does Oak Leaf Ivy Need?
This plant is tolerant of low light areas, in fact, it can grow in low light pretty well. So if you have a brightly lit area, go ahead. But Cissus rhombifolia does well in low light. Don’t let the sun scorch it! If you see your plant stretching toward the light source, it may need more light.
A bright light area in your home can be identified by checking out the shadow on the wall your window or light source provides. If it is a “sharp” shadow, that is bright light. A slightly “fuzzier” shadow is lower light.
See how the area between the leaves is getting longer and longer? That means, as in most plants, that it is searching for more light. In this case, pinch back the stretching vines or branches and put it in more bright indirect light.
Be sure to put those oak leaf ivy cuttings in water or soil to attempt to grow roots so that a new plant can be made with just your cuttings. Remember those nodes! I am trying that and I will show you as it happens.
How Do I Water Oak Leaf Ivy?
The Oak Leaf Ivy needs well draining soil (just like our succulents), but likes to be watered more. Let it dry slightly between waterings, but don’t let it get too dry. This could make the plant drop leaves and pout for a while.
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Allowing the roots to set in soggy soil will surely kill the plant. It can suffer from root rot if not well drained. The more light the plant gets, the more water it will need, but don’t overwater. Perhaps using a Soil Moisture Meter would help.
Propagating Oak Leaf Ivy Plant
I have started propagating my Oak Leaf Ivy with the cuttings I took to stimulate more bushiness. I just made sure that I had a node and suspended the cutting in water so that the node was below the surface of the water.
Watching for roots to grow seems like it took a long time. I have rooted a lot of plants and within a few days, most have long roots growing underwater in long white strings. But the Oak Leaf Ivy grew roots a little differently as you can see in the video and the image above.
As I see it, hard white nubs started growing at the base of the stem (cut at root node) where I had it suspended. With those little “root nubs” ( I will call them that), I thought I would put them directly into soil and further the growth right along.
I chose to put them into a flat round fish-bowl type glass planter that I have. Seeing the roots developing through the glass will give me an idea of how quickly they can grow once they are into soil.
No rooting hormone was used, but I think I will try that for my next batch. If and when all these develop, I will have an Oak Leaf Ivy for outdoors on the deck. I am really anxious to see how that goes.
What do I do if it gets as big as its Mother Plant? Where will I put these two big plants in the winter? I will cross that bridge when I come to it. I can always find someone to give plants to, right?
Here is my video if you would like to take a look at the live action where these photos originated. I would love for you to share and Pin on your Social Media. Thanks!
