How To Make an Ivy Topiary From A Wire Hanger

How To Make An Ivy Topiary From A Wire Hanger

Where are my plant lovers at? Have you ever grown ivy before? You might not believe this but I don’t have a green thumb when it comes to indoor plants. However, I have been able to keep paperwhites alive, but they only last for a short season.

I know shocking, right?! 🙂

I am all about the garden and flowers outside but indoor plants that need a lot of regular maintenance never make it long in my house. For some reason I always forget to water them! I love them and one day hope to change my negligent ways. Maybe it will be with my latest project this DIY ivy topiary!

Luckily my mom has a major green thumb and grew this huge ivy plant from an ivy starter and let me have it for this darling project.

She did all of the nurturing and now I just need to remember to water it every once in awhile.

What Is a Topiary

So question before we begin…do you know what a topiary is? Basically a topiary is where you train live plants or clippings into decorative shapes.

I once made mini faux tea cup topiaries from Dollar Store items and ever since then I have loved them and wanted to try my hand at a live topiary. So the classical circular topiary seemed the easiest route and guess what? I was right!!!

Here are the step by step directions to make your own live topiary! I promise they are super easy to make and this will take you less than 3 minutes to create. (If you already have your ivy plant!)

Let’s Make A Topiary

Step 1

Let’s create the topiary! Find yourself some meatal hangers. We have a million in our closet from the drycleaners thanks to my husband. You can’t get much more budget friendly than a wire hanger!

Step 2

Next bend the base of your hanger into a circular shape. Make sure to also bend the the hanger part at the top into a straight line.

Tip: Don’t worry too much about your circle being perfect because the ivy will cover any imperfections!

Step 3

Bring your circular hanger over to your ivy plant. Place the straight point of your hanger into the base of the ivy plant as close to the center as possible.

Step 4

Then begin to grab the ivy shoots from one side of the plant and twist them up and around the hanger. Don’t worry about which piece you grab first. You can’t go wrong here! Keep grabbing and twisting the ivy up the hanger until most of them are wrapped. Repeat this on the other side until your ivy tendrils meet together at the top. Twist them together. Ivy loves to wrap and this metal hanger will train it where it needs to go!

Step 5

Now that you have your live topiary created you can enjoy it!

Caring for and enjoying your ivy topiary is simple too! Occasionally clip some of the lower tendrils or pinch back shoots to keep the circular shape in tact. For longer shoots just add them to the other pieces of wrapped ivy and let it fill in the gaps. Place it in indirect sunlight for best results indoors.

How Often Should I Water My Ivy Topiary?

More tips for watering your plant. Make sure to peek at the soil of your plant often and if it appears to be dry give it a thorough watering. Just make sure to not let it sit in a saucer of water! Then check back every few days making sure to not go more than 3 days without watering your plant. And if you feel really ambitious you can fertilize it once a month.

How To Make An Ivy Topiary from a Wire Hanger

Simple and pretty, right?! Have you made a topiary before? Do you prefer live or faux? I’m crossing my fingers my topiary stays alive so I can enjoy it for years to come. Maybe I will branch out and add other live topiaries around the house too! I hope you enjoyed this budget friendly DIY and thanks for hanging out with me.

If you want more thrifty and budget friendly décor ideas join me over on my blog, The Tattered Pew!

xoxo,

Kelly