Is my Vine still alive!

18 years ago

Hi Guys,

I have a few questions to ask about vines!!

I live in Toronto and don't have a garden as such, but do have a great rooftop patio with a trelis.

Last year I built 2 wooden containers, about 3 feet square and planted some vines to cover the trelis.

I asked at my local gardening center and they sold me 2 Five-leaf akebia vines, saying they would be hardy enough to survive the winter.

I had a great summer with them and tried to shelter them as much as I could from the cold (i.e. Burlap/straw etc..).

It's now almost June and I am seeing no growth from them what so ever. I was told if you scratched at the bark on a thick part of the trunk and saw green...it meant it was still alive. This is the case. I am now out of the country and instructed my girlfriend to cut back some of the obvioulsy dead bits at the end, hopefully to promote some new growth, but she says it's all dead!!

Should I begin to be seeing some greenery on this vine or am I being impatient??!!

Can anybody recommend a better vine that would withstand Canadian winters in a container?

Cheers

Alex

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

ianna
18 years ago
Alex, When you have vines in containers, use vines that can tolerate a zone higher. For instance if you are in a zone 5, use plants that are hardy to zone 4, Usually containerized vines are exposed far more than those plunked in the ground. So a zone 5 vine may not survive our winters - especially in a roof top location. Scratching the bark and seeing a lively green coloration is a good indication that it is alive. Another indicator would be growing buds. But if that green looks rather withered or just somehow looks faded, it's done for.

Vines that are cold tolerant -- This one works well in shade or part shade locations -- climbing hydrangeas. I thing this tops my list.

There are honey suckles, dutchman's pipes, etc. There are many more....
sydseeds
18 years ago
Your chocolate vine was suppose to do this:
Mature Spread -10 feet; Mature Form: 30 to 40 feet
Flower Color - Purple; Foliage Colour - Green
Growth Rate - Fast; Flowering Date - Late spring
Sun Exposure - Full sun to partial shade
Fall Color - Green; Soil Moisture - Moist
Zones - 4-8; Soil Type - Widely adaptable

Maybe your chocolate vine overwintered a disease that didn't allow it to come out of dormancy - did your local nursery give you a one year guarantee on the plant? I'd get your girlfriend to take the roots plus some of the attached dead vines and ask for a refund. You're in zone 5 so this plant should have survived the winter with all the protection you afforded it. It should be ready to flower now....I'd get my money back and invest it in the climbing hydrangea that Ianna suggested. Our original climbing hydrangea has climbed up and across two walls heading for the 3rd floor attic roof, A broken branch of the climbing hydrangea that I stuck in the ground last spring came up across the underside of the porch, climbed a pillar to the 1st floor porch roof - this spring it continues to branch outward and climb across the balcony evestroughs heading rapidly towards the 2nd floor balcony roof - all that from a broken branch that I plunked into the ground last spring.
Related Discussions
Is my tree still alive
Q
Comments (1)
if its a plain old blue spruce... then it is most likely dead .... especially if brown .... a pic would sure help ... there are some varieties that are yellow... but i cant recall any blue/green ones .. that change to yellow in fall ... ken
...See More
How do I know if my chive's roots are still alive??!!?
Q
Comments (1)
they are fairly hardy... just allow them to dry out and they should grow again. chives is in the onion family... absolutely requires good drainage, no standing water, and if potted, allow to dry out soil after heavy or constant rain. I have all mine in pots from last fall, and now have buds, should bloom within 2wks.
...See More
Wondering if my Eastern Red Buds Are Still Alive
Q
Comments (8)
you need to report it to the city.. and suggest that without proper followup pruning.. the tree might end up being a bush and that can be one heck of a problem in that 2 foot wide hell strip ... and the odds of the city coming back to prune for 5 years is low to nil ... they need to replace it ... looking at that soil .. it appears the tree basically died back to the trunk due to lack of water.. and the nightmare of reflected and retained heat from the pavements ... if it were out back on my 5 acres.. i would spend the 5 years pruning it back into shape ... but where it is.. it has to be replaced.. imo ... fall is planting time.. you might want to try to get them to come out.. while it still has leaves on it.. so they can see it .... ken
...See More
My glofish seem dead but still alive
Q
Comments (2)
Probably a lack of oxygen. How often do you do a water change? How old is the flter cartdrige? What's the temperature of the water? Mike
...See More
limarchar
18 years ago
My akebia still hasn't emerged, either, but is green where when you break off a twig. I was wondering if I hadn't watered it enough through the winter, perhaps. It's under an overhang. I watered about once a week. I sure would like to know, as I would prefer to buy an akebia again--it flourished so well last summer, and in my experience hydrangeas don't grow very fast. If anyone knows what might have happened to mine--is it not really shade-tolerant, or did I not water enough--please let me know! (And should I give up now on the one I already have...I'm still waiting on the poor thing).

Thanks!