The cultivar originated as a natural hybrid seedling discovered in the garden of Caerhays Castle in Cornwall.

[1] The cultivar was named for the Caerhays estate's gardener, David Ivey, by Edgar Thurston in his book British & foreign trees and shrubs in Cornwall.

[2] Thurston believed it to be a hybrid of E. montevidensis and E. × exonensis (E. rosea × E.

[4] 'Iveyi' is an evergreen[4] shrub growing to between 1.5 and 2.5 m high, with a similar spread, bearing glossy dark green foliage.

[4] The cultivar prefers a moist well-drained soil and a sunny or partly shaded situation.