Feasibility of Ivy (Hedra helix) for landscaping in Seoul, Korea

Abstract

Due to the global warming, Seoul in Korea seems to be plausible to grow evergreen broad-leaved trees over the cold winter. This offers the planting options to create green environment. Thus, it became worth investigating what kinds of evergreen broad-leaved plants could stand in Seoul during the winter. Ivy (Hedera helix) has been chosen in the current study which is a well-known native and ornamental plant in Europe. It grows in warm condition in general. The current study tracked H. helix which is evergreen cover plant over winter in order to evaluate the possibility for utilizing this species as a climber or cover-plant in Seoul. We found that H. helix can survive over the winter and can be utilized to create evergreen environment in Seoul. It also implies that similar kinds of plants could be tested assuming the environment of Seoul is becoming more suitable for the plants originated from the warmer sites. H. helix is an option for elaborating outdoor environments in the city that lacks of green color.