I just heard about this plant being attractive for cats. Silver Vine (Actinidia polygama)

I was wondering if it could be grown in my zone and if the fruit is edible to people?

This site says it will grow in zones 4-9, and they offer seeds. A bit dear though:
http://www.georgiavines.com/ca...

woofie said:This site says it will grow in zones 4-9, and they offer seeds. A bit dear though:
http://www.georgiavines.com/ca...

Thanks!

Hello, just came across your post. If you are still wanting some silvervine seeds, I can send you some for free. Just tree mail me if you still want some.

Agoo said:Hello, just came across your post. If you are still wanting some silvervine seeds, I can send you some for free. Just tree mail me if you still want some.

Will they grow here?

I am in zone 5b here. I would give it a shot. I don't know why it wouldn't grow there. We get freezing tempatures, snow, ice. Dosnt seem to hurt it any. Just make sure you have the room for it. I wanted to quickly cove a 20 foot X 5 foot high section of fence. At first i thought I might need a couple more plants to get the job done, but nope. Just one 12" high silverlace got the job done within 3 years and its still getting bigger.
On the pic here the silverlace vine is in the background covering the fence.

I'm so embarrased, the vine you were asking about and the one I was telling you about are 2 different plants. Please forgive me. If I had the one your after I would certainly offer it to you.The

Keith,

Yes, the fruit is edible, but I've heard it is not as tasty as supermarket kiwi fruit.

None of the five seeds I received from Georgia Vines was viable.

Last year I mail-ordered 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘺𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘢 'Pavel' from One Green World.
I was disappointed to find that my cats are not at all interested in it, even though they have responded to purchased silvervine powder from Japan.

There's an NIH article on a related species, 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢. The scientists found little or no amounts of cat attractants in their plants. That could be due to the immaturity of their plants, compared to established groves in the wild.

Perhaps my plant is just too young to contain much cat attractant.
Or, perhaps I should have purchased a female kiwi plant. I haven't seen any research on whether or not gender matters.

I live in the UK and managed to get a small Silvervine/Actinidia Polygala plant from a nursery in Scotland. It grows brilliantly well here....when I can protect it from the cats! I have been told that it will withstand temperatures as low as minus 20°!

I live in Missouri and my cat loves silver vine Is there anyway possible that you still have some free seeds

KATLADY58 said:I live in Missouri and my cat loves silver vine Is there anyway possible that you still have some free seeds

Sorry I don't, Petsmart sells it though

I grow silvervine kiwis. I have a named male and named female that produces high quality fruit. Wild strains are said to be pungent and spicy but my female makes sweet elongated fruits.
Keith they will grow in your area if you or anyone else wants cuttings this winter shoot me a tree mail. I've had problems with cats chewing through the base of my plants and had to put a net around the bottom 4 ft of the vines.

It's also widely used in Japan and China as a cat stimulant. When exposed to powdered silver vine, cats enter a euphoric state that involves behaviours like rolling, chin and cheek rubbing, meowing, drooling and licking.

So its kitty opium

ediblelandscapingsc said:So its kitty opium

I'm very interested in receiving or buying some of those plants/cuttings/fruits! Can you email me please?

The thing cats love most are the fruit galls. These are induced by a gall midge (P. matatabi), that doesn't exist in the USA, so we'll not be able to get fruit galls. Cats may have a mild response to other parts of the plant, although this has not been confirmed yet.

Maybe this is of interest to you:
Google: "bol caspers bmc vet research" and you'll find a paper published about cats and silver vine. Especially the discussion section contains some fun information.

Hi there, I've 2 cats who would LOVE some plants in their Cajun garden.
If you're still able, I'd like some cuttings.
Thanks for the information.

ediblelandscapingsc said:I grow silvervine kiwis. I have a named male and named female that produces high quality fruit. Wild strains are said to be pungent and spicy but my female makes sweet elongated fruits.
Keith they will grow in your area if you or anyone else wants cuttings this winter shoot me a tree mail. I've had problems with cats chewing through the base of my plants and had to put a net around the bottom 4 ft of the vines.

Hi, I just found this group. I am looking for some Silvervine/Actinidia Polygala seeds or cuttings. I am building a catio and want to have some plants growing in it. It would be fun to have a jungle of these. Thanks in advance!

vamelnick said:Hi, I just found this group. I am looking for some Silvervine/Actinidia Polygala seeds or cuttings. I am building a catio and want to have some plants growing in it. It would be fun to have a jungle of these. Thanks in advance!

I found silvervine mixed with catnip in PetSmart, possibly the seeds are mixed in?

ediblelandscapingsc said:I grow silvervine kiwis. I have a named male and named female that produces high quality fruit. Wild strains are said to be pungent and spicy but my female makes sweet elongated fruits.
Keith they will grow in your area if you or anyone else wants cuttings this winter shoot me a tree mail. I've had problems with cats chewing through the base of my plants and had to put a net around the bottom 4 ft of the vines.

Hi, I have some Actinidia Polygama plants, but no idea if they are male of female. One is in its 4th year and not flowered yet, the other 4 are last years seedlings, bought from a different supplier.

I would dearly love some fruit, but not even a flower yet

Chrissy

DWRead said:Keith,

Yes, the fruit is edible, but I've heard it is not as tasty as supermarket kiwi fruit.

None of the five seeds I received from Georgia Vines was viable.

Last year I mail-ordered 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘺𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘢 'Pavel' from One Green World.
I was disappointed to find that my cats are not at all interested in it, even though they have responded to purchased silvervine powder from Japan.

There's an NIH article on a related species, 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢. The scientists found little or no amounts of cat attractants in their plants. That could be due to the immaturity of their plants, compared to established groves in the wild.

Perhaps my plant is just too young to contain much cat attractant.
Or, perhaps I should have purchased a female kiwi plant. I haven't seen any research on whether or not gender matters.

Ny understanding is that the most potent powder comes from a gall produced on the plant by an Asian insect (Pseudasphondylia matatabi), so it looks like we cant produce the galls here in the UK. Shame.

Chrissy