Hedera hibernica
Common name: Irish ivy
Useful cultivars and selections: –
USDA hardiness zone: 5
Mature height and spread: can spread indefinitely
Form: dense ground cover, climber
Water use: medium
Soil requirements: well-drained, acidic, moist
Leaf arrangement: opposite
Fall colour: evergreen
Flower/cone/fruit descriptions: reproductive and juvenile stages, fruits produce many seeds
Limitations: invasive species, smothers everything it grows on
Suitable uses: don’t use
ID description: very long petioles, produces areal roots when climbs
Fatsia japonica
Common name: Japanese aralia
Useful cultivars and selections: –
USDA hardiness zone: 7
Mature height and spread: 5 m tall maximum
Form: upright shrub
Water use: medium to high
Soil requirements: well-drained
Leaf arrangement:
Fall colour: evergreen
Flower/cone/fruit descriptions: flowers in umbels- panicle of umbels, fruits turn black
Limitations: cannot be in full sun, leaves die back and look bad in winter
Suitable uses: shade plant, in slab or containers
ID description: palmately lobed leaves, distinctive phytochemicals- coumarin- smell like celery, very long petiole, smile shaped leaf scars, sinuses distinct- tear drop shaped
