Question: My English ivy has dark spots all over its leaves. It eventually seems to kill the entire stem, and it’s scattered all over the planting. What can I do?

Answer: That’s a fungal leaf spot, and you’ll need to treat each time that you see it with a general-purpose fungicide. Overhead watering certainly doesn’t help the problem, nor will frequent spring rains and high humidity in the shady areas where we normally grow English ivy. There may be some differences in susceptibility between the species and its many cultivars. Some seem less likely to develop the disease.