In article ,
Charlie Pridham wrote:
"Spider" wrote in message
...
On 25/03/2014 11:19, Sacha wrote:
I've just popped out to the Nursery and this climber is growing on
pillars along the path. The scent is astonishing! It always amazes and
delights me that such wonderful smells come from such little flowers!

I have often admired this climber, but have read conflicting advice that
it is "tender, requiring shelter" and "hardy, H7. Surely, they can't both
be right? Has yours ever seen a really hard winter, Sacha?

Indeed, has anyone on urg grown it in harsh conditions?

Its hardy to around -30c sadly the flowers are not and our winters and
springs are so mild compared to where it comes from that it often gets
caught by spring frosts which spoil the flowers.

That hardy? Interesting. The other thing worth noting with such
plants is that they often look bad in spring with all their new
growth frosted, but they make up for that and much more as soon
as it warms up and stays warm. I have several times had casual
gardeners express sympathy (not mainly on this one, but similar),
but it really isn't needed :-)

Another tip, for Akebia specifically, is that its stems are not
all that long-lived, and tangled plants can be renovated by
removing most stems at ground level. A year of growth, and you
won't notice ....


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.