Q. I am not sure if my silver lace vine growing on an arbor at the front of my house is dying or not. I planted the vines last year and it gets about a half day of sunlight. Within the last month, not all of the leaves have started to turn orange. It's almost like it thinks it's the fall. The leaves aren't brittle or falling off. (Zone 5b, Woodstock, Ontario).

A. Silver Lace Vines are a good choice to grow if you are looking for a plant that will grow fast. It can grow up 15 ft tall in a single season if it is in the right location. An arbor or obelisk in full sun and in ordinary soil is where it would grow great. The Silver Lace Vine seems to be disease free but Japanese Beetles can cause some problems. The problem with your plant seems to be the orange colour of the leaves. If the leaves were yellow you might expect the plant to be suffering from too much water as we have had a fairly wet spring. The orange leaves may be signs of the plants decline. You might check to see if the soil around your plant is well draining and the roots are not rotting. I have heard that because these plants grow at such a tremendous speed that they suddenly expire too. Keep watching it to see if it recovers. Check the soil. If it does recover place some good compost around it.

Valerie E. Liney
Lake Simcoe South Master Gardener