New Irish ivy plant

kphchase

Hello 
I am planning to buy ivy plants to cover a sparse bush. I have chosen these because they are evergreen and fast growing.
I have a choice of 60-90 cm or 2 metre plants and although the 2 metre seems appealing they are not very dense or wide.
Can anyone advise which I should purchase please?
Thank you very much. 

B3

Three seens a lot. How big is the bush?

kphchase

About 3 metres - quite tall.

Thanks

kphchase

What I’m asking really is, will a shorter ivy plant be more successful at growing and becoming dense than a taller one.

Thanks. 

Ceres

As ivy is a climber, whatever you buy is going to want to go upwards rather than bushing out from the base. Trimming it will promote side shoots. I hope you weren't hoping to keep the "sparse bush" as a going concern as the ivy will use it as a climbing frame (which is what you want) and it will probably die off due to lack of access to light.

kphchase

Thank you Ceres, that’s really helpful. Can I ask, will the bush/hedge survive if it has sunlight from the other side please?
Thank you

Fairygirl

Why not just take the shrub out if it isn't thriving and plant something nicer?

Covering it with ivy [ one would be more than enough] means maintaining the ivy, and yes, the shrub won't thrive once the ivy takes hold. If you have any other planting nearby, it'll spread in and around that, so you'll have to be prepared to keep it in check long term.