I first read about this plant (Parthenocissus Lowii) in Ann Lovejoy's book The Year in Bloom. Since Lovejoy lives and writes about Pacific NW gardening, I figured it would do well where I live (in zone 8b) in WA state. I bought four small plants (two each in two shipments) from gardenvines.com and I am having a heck of a time getting them to thrive. At first I thought it was because of the cool spring we were having, but when I purchased and planted the second two after the weather warmed up, they too failed to thrive. It's in sun / partial shade, in good soil, watered regularly, planted next to a cement column so they have a place to attach themselves and climb. They're not dead, they just don't look so good. It's only the first year, but all they want to do is turn bronze and vegetate; they don't seem to be growing at all. I thought it only turned color in the fall, so what am I doing to confuse this plant?
Can you post a picture? Not growing in and of itself is not a concern, plants need to get their roots going first before they'll start putting out a lot of top growth, lots of things don't do much growing for a while after you plant them. Not being familiar with the plant it's hard to say (at least without a picture) whether the bronze foliage is a problem or not. I'd always suggest doublechecking your watering--stick your finger down into the soil near the plant and make sure that things are not soaking wet but not bone dry either, improper watering is one of the more common causes of stress for newly planted things. And you might also try emailing the company you got them from and see if they have any tips for you--I looked them up in Watchdog and they've got a good rating so I suspect there wasn't anything wrong with the plants themselves, and I bet they'd be happy to give you some suggestions.
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