FireBrick said:

The tag says "Elegans", I assume that's the variety.

That's correct.


This is one of my few successes. Bought at a respected nursery this spring.
It has grown about 7 feet tall, clinging to the 'strings' I attached to my
porch posts.

I looks very nice.
It's bushy at the base but one large vine has really taken off.

The vine even has a 'woody' look to it now.

So my question is: "How do I protect it for the winter?"

It's hardy to zone 5-8 and I'm in Chicago which I believe is zone 5?

We have one at work, and I'm near St Louis. It's a very nice plant. =) You
shouldn't have to worry about any special protection, aside from a nice
blanket of mulch.

If you're in or very near the city of Chicago, you're in zone 5b (large
cities tend to form micro-climates due to all of the hardscape materials
used. If you're not that close to Chicago, you're probably zone 5a. If you
enter your zipcode he
http://www.arborday.org/treeinfo/zonelookup.cfm
you should know your zone. =)


The simple instructions on the card say.
"Because the flowers are produced on the current year's grown, recommended
pruning time is Spring."

That's correct. Ampelopsis brevipedunculata blooms on new growth. That is,
it flowers on the current season's growth, and not on older growth. Late
winter would be when you want to prune it back to the ground.


My other question is...only one of the vines is really growing up the
strings. How to I make other twigs, branches start climbing?

It climbs via tendrils. If they can reach something, they'll grab on and it
will climb.
--

Eggs

Is Marx's tomb a communist plot?