My 4 year old akebia has shriveled from top to bottom. It had been doing very well, putting out new growth and had just flowered. We had a few cold nights (low 30's) but that doesn't usually effect it. Does anyone have any thoughts? I could post some pix if that would help. Should I just cut it back? Marc
I had a not-wilted but also not vigorous one snap off at the ground, enabling me to see it was being "processed" by honey fungus (Armillaria) big time - there was a mass of rhizomorphs at the soil line where there should have been a solid section of akebia stem. (Think John Carpenter's 'The Thing'). You may want to look at the bottom of yours, if not honey fungus maybe something else that damages the crown or roots, resulting in wilting of the stems.
I imagine in your climate and soils there are a number of things that can attack the roots and kill plants, including perhaps nematodes. If you get this one to sprout and grow back or replace it you should think about giving it a larger surface to grow on, this is a rather large-growing climber and yours had already run out of places to go before it wilted. The frame provided is about the right size for a small-growing clematis or climbing miniature rose.
Interestingly enough, I brushed away some leaves to check the crown/root area and found the crown/root loose from the soil. Not sure what happened. Some sort of root rot? Did the growing plant pull the crown/root from the soil? At any rate, I dug a hole and replanted the crown/root area. I'll see if this help. If not, I'll be looking for a replacement.
