My males have bloomed, but my females haven't, so no fruit yet. The shade within the arbor is pretty deep. The vines have closed up both sides, the back and would close up the front if I didn't prune. I've only got 5 of the vines on the arbor itself, the other three are along the fence further down and one has tried climbing the cable line to the pole. (I have to cut it back each year) ~Chills

Personally I think you would be much better off both economically and longevity using the solid galvanized high-tensile fencing type cable over a clothes-line grade braided cable. There are defiantly braided cables that will work, but I would surprise if they did not cost quite a bit more. The description you posted "high-tensile (210,000 p.s.i.), steel wire with a class III galvanizing" is referencing this type wire. TSC (Tractor Supply Company) sells a coil of 9 gauge 170 foot for $14, and the same price for 300+ feet of 12.5 gauge. My Lowes carries the 9 gauge for about $18 I think. The tag may just label weight a 10 LB. A 10 lb coil of 9 gauge is 170 feet. The stuff is stiff and hard to work with tying a knot in 9 gauge is not easy. You can use the U shaped cable clamps if you want. The Gripples referenced above in this thread work great on this stuff. A large gripple for 9 gauge or a medium gripple for 12.5 gauge. I would also consider a in line tensioner or wire strainer at one end, which can really help you keep the wire tight, and only 3 or 4 bucks there are 2 sizes listed on below link. I going to post 2 links one to show wire type another to the wire strainer, the wire link is for a larger coil, and is the 12.5 I would go with the 9 Gauge. Just pasting in the text here as only one link allowed below, so just cut and paste these links. Most any farm supply store, or fencing supplier will have these in stock the wire and strainer, but you probably have to get the gripples online if you choose to use them, but with a 25 foot trellis you have no real great need for the gripple. http://www.tractorsupply.com/fencing/electric-fencing/high-tensile-electric-fence-accessories/high-tensile-wire-12-1-2-ga-4-000-ft-coil-3601326 http://www.tractorsupply.com/fencing/electric-fencing/high-tensile-electric-fence-accessories/wire-strainer-3601180 Here is a link that might be useful: TSC high-tensile fencing

Hello, Thanks for all of the help. I'm sorry if my post was confusing. When I was asking about how, I was looking for timing and I wasn't sure if the wires could be more harmful if left embedded than if they were removed. Each plant is now supported on two wires connected to pipes ten feet apart with five to ten feet between sets so they are spread out across two fifty foot rows intermingled with grapes and apricot trees. The wires are about four feet and five feet off of the ground. I suspect there were more plants initially but when my husband bought the property it had been untended for close to two years so many plants had been choked out, etc. He spent the first few years working on the house, when we got married three years ago I started working on the outdoor stuff but I had no gardening experience so we've been building up basically row by row, plant by plant. We were looking at replacing the pipes with 4 x 4s but I wasn't sure if we should stick with wire or if there was something else that would be better for them to climb on or a particular variety of wire that was best suited. We have absolutely no idea what we're doing with them, our main garden crops are asparagus and tomatoes so we are on quite the learning curve so I apologize if my questions are a little dense. We have been pruning them to keep them within "their area" at likely the wrong times and from what I've been reading I suspect that might be stemming off the fruit production somewhat. Should we be giving the females more space and support then since they are producing the fruit? And if we are using wires between 4x4s, is there a particular spacing that is best? I.e., right now they are one foot apart - would two feet be better? Or 8 inches? Two rows of wire or three? Again, I greatly appreciate the guidance, now that I know what they are I would like to foster them and possibly add additional plants. I love the idea of them growing on an old greenhouse frame! That has to be amazing looking! :) Thank you again! Sincerely, Teresa

Thanks for the advice Alex. I think I'll give that a try in the spring. The trunk is 2 feet in diameter and overall it is quite far from dead. It was infested long before I moved in 2 years ago and I've only had to remove a couple branches from it in that time. The upper half of the tree appear to be quite healthy still. My plan was/is to anchor one end of a trellis directly onto the tree (there's a post that won't move) and plant the fruting female plant about 10 feet away to run along the trellis. The male non-fruting plant would be planted at the base of another side of the tree and left to run more or less wild up the tree. I don't have any experience with kiwi's, so I'm not sure if 1) the asthetic will be any good (aka wife factor) and 2) how well the tree and vine will interact. It's my understanding that eastern hemlocks have very shallow root systems, so not sure how well the kiwi would establish. I have rhubarb and a paw paw I planted about 8 feet away this year and both seem to be doing quite well. A foot away may be a different story though. I guess there's no harm in giving it a go and seeing if it works or not. Worst case, I just buy another male and fit it in somewhere.