Hello there. I am in South Minneapolis and have had great luck with my Kiwi vine. I've had this vine for over 30 years. It is not the variety that pro...
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30 year old Kiwi Vine issues #868358
Asked May 14, 2024, 10:50 AM EDT
Hello there. I am in South Minneapolis and have had great luck with my Kiwi vine. I've had this vine for over 30 years. It is not the variety that produces fruit.
Every spring the vine leafs out full and totally covers my arbor which is around 20 ft long. It has always been a vigorous grower every spring. This spring there are only a few small leaves sprouting out of the large mass of vines. I'm not sure what's going on to cause this. This has never happened before, as I've had this vine since the 1980's or early 90's. There are 2 separate trunks where the vines are growing from on this arbor and both plants are producing very few leaves this spring. I have another vine growing on the south side of my house and that has normal bushy leaves already. I'm wondering if I need to cut back all of the old growth of the vine on top of the arbor.. to spur new growth, or are these vines susceptible to some kind of disease that I am not aware of?
Mid summer I always have to prune back new growth and thin out the dead branches.. as it will totally take over the arbor... but something is definitely not right with my vine this year.
Please advise..
Hennepin CountyMinnesota
Expert Response
Hi Rick,
Your vines were beautiful! I've never heard of disease problems with these tough plants. I wonder if they're showing damage from our summer droughts. Did you water them? Established plants like these can show delayed impact from drought that happened months or even years ago. Our nearly snowless winter was another stressor, giving them no insulation over the roots.
It's still mid-May. My advice is to wait a few more days and see how the plants develop. You can check to see if the branches are dead by scratching the bark with a fingernail and looking for green tissue underneath. If there is a lot of dead material, cut the plants back. You know the roots are alive, so it should resprout.
If we have another dry summer, make sure to water. Good luck.
I water frequently during the summer through the fall so that would never be a problem... watering at least once a week for sure, as my entire yard is garden.
The only difference last winter was the lack of snow over previous years...but the kiwi vine that is trellised on the south side of my house is leafing out just fine this spring.
The vines on the arbor are growing from 2 separate locations, and if this vine does not leaf out on the top of the arbor normally.. I guess I will cut most all of it back and leave only the main branches of the vine. It is sprouting new growth at the base of the plants, as usual this spring.. So I guess I'll just wait and see.
When I look at the vine now, it just looks like it is suffering from some sort of blight or disease.. so, it's good to know that they aren't really susceptible to that.
Thanks for your input on this....
I've attached a photo of my climbing hydrangea that is doing incredible this spring.. most likely due to the very mild winter we had.
In comparison it's odd that the kiwi growing next to the climbing hydrangea is doing so poorly.
Sorry I can't give you a better answer, Rick. Sometimes these things are a mystery. I have a few perennials that are dramatically smaller this year after thriving for years. Why? I have no idea.
I hope with pruning your vine bounces back. I want to clarify one thing -- while the plant needs regular water during drought, kiwi does not like persistently soggy soil.
