Ask-a-Dave's-Gardener: Akebia Vine With Browning, Crumbling Leaf Tips, 1 by JenWiseAstoria

JenWiseAstoria wrote:
Hi, I'm in about my fifth year of container gardening on my east-facing balcony in NYC, and I'm getting pretty good at helping my plants to thrive, but I have a 'Silver Bells' Akebia vine that's struggling and since I have yet to see it flower and am very fond of it, I'd love help in identifying the problem. I bought it as a very young plant (gotta be a better term for this?) from Jackson and Perkins last early spring and it climbed all over my trellises and did great. I overwintered it by cutting it back to about 3 inches above the soil before the first frost, and set it against my apartment's brick wall on the inside of my balcony (I've since learned that these are semi-evergreen, so maybe I didn't need to do that), then I set it out after the last frost in March and it sprouted and looked happy and healthy. The vines needed something to grab onto, so I put a small trellis that pokes into the soil around it...and I'm worried that this could be the cause of the browning, crumbling leaf tips. I did feel some tension when I put the prongs into the soil, and I think I may have broken into a root. Almost immediately after doing that, I noticed the tiny balls that were growing at the base (presumably the 'silver bells,' though weird that they would grow so early and so low) were dying, then I noticed the brand new leaves closer to the bottom were dying as well. I've read that these are very parasite and disease-resistant, so I'm at a loss. I do think I see tiny spots on the leaf tips, but can't be sure. I've attached a photo so you can see the damage. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide! I really don't want to lose this plant.