Variegated Swedish ivy in semi-hydro LECA: a 66-day grow log

Part of our Swedish ivy on Frankie wilted and died in its first week. The rest grew into a dense, trailing mound and, by day 54, came into flower. Here's the whole story, with supervision from Luna, our cat.

Updated October 21, 2026first published October 12, 2026grown on Frankie

Ongoing experimentDay 66

Does a variegated Swedish ivy survive the move from soil into a shallow LECA bed, and does it trail far enough to cover the planter?

Started: August 16, 2026
Latest entry: October 21, 2026
What we measure: Which stems came through the first week, how quickly the bare gap filled in, and whether it flowered.
Plant: Variegated Swedish ivy, Coleus forsteri 'Marginatus' — the cream-edged form
Setup: Semi-hydro: 8 cm of LECA, about 15 mm of standing water, topped up from above once an hour
Where: Outdoors in Cyprus, under a covered pergola, 1–2 hours of direct sun a day
So far: One section wilted and died in week 1. The rest rebounded, filled the planter, and flowered by day 54.
Verdict so far: A good fit. It forms a soft, trailing layer that blends into the plants around it.
Biggest lesson: Expect some losses after a move, and don't give up on the rest of the plant.

Dense mound of variegated Swedish ivy with scalloped green leaves edged in cream, filling the middle planter of Frankie on day 54 — DAY 54Dense, trailing and freshly tidied.

Not Swedish, and not an ivy

Swedish ivy is a member of the mint family, related to coleus rather than to true ivy. It was long sold as Plectranthus, and in 2019 botanists moved many of those species into the genus Coleus. Ours is Coleus forsteri ‘Marginatus’, the form with the distinct creamy edge to every leaf. That is why our hand-written label reads “Swedish ivy (Coleus)” — it is a relative of the coleus in the planter below it.

Variegated Swedish ivy is sold under several names, and similar-looking cream-edged plants are sometimes labeled loosely, so the old Plectranthus name is still common in shops.

Swedish ivy care basics

The quick version: what Swedish ivy generally wants, and what we saw in LECA.

Light	Bright, indirect light. Some gentle sun is fine, but strong afternoon sun can scorch it. Ours got 1–2 hours of direct sun a day.
Water	Evenly moist. Its soft stems wilt when it’s dry, or when roots are disturbed. In semi-hydro it never dries out.
Temperature	Ordinary room temperatures. Keep it away from frost and cold drafts.
Habit	Bushy to trailing. Pinching the tips keeps it full.
Flowers	Small spikes of pale blue-lilac flowers, usually in autumn.
Feeding	LECA has no nutrients of its own, so the plant relies entirely on what’s in the water. We started late, and that’s covered below.
Pets	The ASPCA lists white-edged Swedish ivy as non-toxic to cats and dogs. Luna agrees with the ASPCA. Even so, don’t let pets graze on houseplants.

The setup: Frankie

Frankie is our first prototype: a wooden stand with three black planters, one above the other. The Swedish ivy has the middle planter, between an arrowhead plant above and a coleus below.

Each planter holds 8 cm of LECA and keeps about 15 mm of water at the bottom, set by the height of its outlet. Once an hour a small pump sends water to the top planter, and it overflows down through the other two and back into a reservoir. The full story of how Frankie works is on its own page.

The log

Planting day · Aug 16

Inspected, approved, washed

The Swedish ivy came home in a nursery pot, and Luna, our cat, showed up to inspect it straight away. We took it out of the pot, washed the soil off its roots, and planted it bare-root in LECA.

Luna, a white and gray cat, peering over a variegated Swedish ivy in a black nursery pot on an outdoor table — DAY 0Quality control.

Variegated Swedish ivy lying bare-root on a tiled table with soil washed from its fibrous roots, a cat's paw at the edge of the frame — DAY 0Soil washed off. The paw belongs to the inspector.

Cat sniffing bare plant roots on a tiled table on planting day — DAY 0A close look at the roots.

Days 1–7 · Aug 17–23

One section gives up

For its first few days, Frankie stood against a sunny stone wall, fed by a pipe set to a very slow drip. From day 1, the shoots on one side of the Swedish ivy looked pale and limp. By day 4, when we moved Frankie into the shade, that section was wilting badly. By day 7 its leaves had gone brown and dry.

Swedish ivy in the middle planter on day 1, with pale, washed-out, limp shoots on the right side — DAY 1Pale, limp shoots on the right.

Swedish ivy on day 4 with one section of stems wilting and hanging over the edge of its planter — DAY 4The weak section wilting over the edge.

Swedish ivy on day 7 with dark brown, dried leaves in one part of the planter while the rest stays green — DAY 7That section has died back. The rest is holding on.

We can’t say for sure why only that part died. Likely causes are roots damaged when the soil was washed off, sun in the first days, and the shock of switching from soil to LECA. What matters is that it stopped there. The rest of the plant kept going.

Day 11 · Aug 27

Rebounding

By day 11, the surviving stems had firmed up and the leaves were fresh and clean.

Close-up of healthy variegated Swedish ivy leaves, scalloped and edged in cream, on day 11 — DAY 11Healthy new leaves on the surviving stems.

Days 11–42 · Aug 27 – Sep 27

Hands off (and out of office)

For the next month, our plan was to observe without interfering. This was made easier by the fact that we were on vacation. Frankie was left in charge of itself, on a slow drip, and it coped.

We came back to a Swedish ivy that had filled the gap left by the dead section and was trailing over the edge of its planter.

Full, dense variegated Swedish ivy filling the middle planter of Frankie on day 42, with coleus below — DAY 42The gap is gone.

Days 51–54 · Oct 6–9

A first feed, first flowers, and a light tidy-up

On day 51 we added nutrients for the first time: Canna Hydro Vega for hard water, 10 ml each of parts A and B in our roughly 7-liter reservoir. We explain the dose in the arrowhead plant log.

By day 54 the Swedish ivy was flowering, with small spikes of blue-lilac flowers among the leaves. The foliage had also turned a little yellow-green overall. That’s the same paleness we saw on its unfed neighbors, and probably for the same reason.

Variegated Swedish ivy with small blue-lilac flower spikes among cream-edged leaves on day 54 — DAY 54First flowers.

Two trimmed variegated Swedish ivy leaves and a few dry brown dead leaves on a white surface — DAY 54The whole tidy-up: two leaves cut, a few dead ones removed.

Maintenance was minimal: we cut two leaves and picked out a few dead ones.

Day 66

A dense mound of cream-edged leaves, filling the middle planter and spilling over the coleus below.

A dense mound of variegated Swedish ivy, scalloped leaves edged in cream, between an arrowhead plant above and coleus below on Frankie. — DAY 66Dense and still growing.

Next check-in: whether it flowers again.

The verdict so far: it’s a fit

Losing a section in week one looked bad at the time. Seven weeks later you can’t tell it happened. After almost two months in 8 cm of LECA on recirculating water, the Swedish ivy fills its planter, trails over the edge and is flowering.

On a living wall, its small, cream-edged leaves make a soft, light layer that blends the bolder plants around it together. It also needed less maintenance than anything else on Frankie.

What we learned

Why is part of my Swedish ivy dying after repotting?

When a soft-stemmed plant is moved, some stems can lose more roots than others, and those stems may not make it. Ours lost one section in the first week, and the rest of the plant was fine. If yours does the same, cut away the dead stems, keep the plant out of strong sun and keep it evenly moist. Give it a couple of weeks before you judge it.

Does Swedish ivy grow in LECA?

Ours does. It went into semi-hydro bare-root, straight from soil, and it’s now dense, trailing and flowering. Its fine, fibrous roots suit LECA well.

Why is my Swedish ivy flowering?

Swedish ivy often flowers as the days shorten in autumn. The flowers are harmless, and you can leave them or pinch them off to keep the plant focused on leaves.

What we’d do differently

Start with two smaller plants side by side instead of one large one.
Add a dilute nutrient solution from the first week, not week seven.
Keep a newly moved plant out of direct sun until it settles.

What’s next

This log stays open. We’ll add photos as the Swedish ivy responds to feeding, and we’ll repeat the experiment indoors. Frankie’s other residents have their own logs: the arrowhead plant and the coleus.