I have a potted meyers lemon tree and was hoping to plant some ivy in the bottom to have run of the trunk of the tree. I am not sure if the ivy will steal the nutrients from the lemon tree or anything. Is this a good idea?

If you are asking that as the Ivy attaches it tenacles to the trunk, will it take nutrition from the tree, the answer is no. If your asking will the Ivy absorb nutrition from the soil, that would have otherwise been available to the tree, the answer is yes. However, you can easily compensate for the small of nutrition that the Ivy will use. The decorative value of an Ivy cover container and trunk, in my opinion would be well worth any small loss of nutrition. There might be some small concern about the container being shaded by the Ivy's foliage causing the soil to remain wet longer, but if the size of the tree is matched correctly to the size of the container your tree should be OK. BTW, I am a member of the American Ivy Society, and have traveled to many countries of the world with the society, visiting hundreds of private gardens that are not open to the general public. I would say go for it. Why NOT? - Millet

Dear Millet,
there are many possible cover plantings for containers.
In Mannheim the large pots are all covered with a blue blooming varieties of Oxalis, which is a very nice cover fpr the pots.
Ivy is possible, but the upward tendency is still unbroken, so here regard must be given, to prune away any attemp of the Ivy to climb trunk upwards...

Also some other cover plants, like Thymus vulgaris or even little strawberry selections come quite successfull. There are even a couple of flowers which can realy be used for the purpose of covering the bare compost on the surface of the container....

Important: The cover should not be a strong feeder, and the roots should be shallow and not to dense and deep....

Thanks again for you everyones help! I will post some pics later.