Question
my husband has a very large ivy that was given to him almost 30 years ago.  he wants to replant but does not know the name of the "sticky" stick that was used in the middle of the plant for it grow up on.  have been to several nurseries and cannot find what we are looking for.

Answer
Connie,

I have'nt seen any of those plant poles myself in years. A cedar slab may be the closest thing he can find. I would wait a few more weeks and the stores will have more in and check places like Lowes, Wal-Mart, or Home Depot and see what they have.

However, whay does he want to repot it to begin with? If it is large you will never get it to look as good as it does now. Plants like this are perfectly happy being rootbound, when you repot them they go into shock. Absolutly do not move it to a larger pot or I guarantee it will die. If he feels the soil is worn out you are better off carefully removing it frome the pot, then washing the pot, have some fresh soil ready and (I reccommend mixing extra perlite with potting soil for better drainage and more aeration in the soil to keep the roots healthy)then removing as much loose soil as possible from the bottom without destroying the rootball. If you need too you might have an old tee shirt/rag handy to wrap around the roots so they don't fall apart while you remove the bottom soil. Put fresh soil in the clean pot then carefully set the plant bac in on the fresh soil. Then carefully remove a little soil off the top and add some fresh soil there. That will renew the soil without totally destroying the root ball and putting the plant into shock. If he really wants a plant in a new pot get the new pot, put the new pole in it and the soil. Then take a lot of cuttings off this plant. Dip them in rooting hormone and insert them in the new soil. Set it next to the parent plant. They will root within 2 weeks and he can give the old one away when the new one is big enough to suit him. That is the best way. Tell him that repotting any other way is going to destroy the plant and make him very unhappy with the results. I have been there done that on plants with growing poles. Good luck.

Darlene