Hi!

I recently bought two Akebia Quinata. They were in a pretty bad shape when i first got them, but now one of them is getting better fast. The thing is, the leafs on the second one is turning yellow/was yellow when i bought them and isn't getting better (both of them had yellowing and damaged leaves). Now I guess it could be nitrogen deficiency, so i fertilized. But then I noticed that the stem's coated with a white powdery substance. A quick google search tells me that it's powdery mildew. But it's characteristics seem a bit different.

First of, some of my accumulated info tells me that the vines can be affected. Can i assume that the leaves also have to be affected if it happens to be mildew or perhaps the mildew is in a early phase? It looks like only the new shoot is affected, as if the plant coats it's stem with some sort of white substance. I ask this question because the better looking one have a bit of white powder on the newly shot vines. But it really dosen't look like it's a problem for the better looking one. Wouldn't the old vines be affected as well if it were mildew?

I know Akebia Quinata is susceptible to powdery mildew, alas i have come here with my concerns. If it makes it easier, i can probably take some pictures of it, if that's even possible.

I have no idea what it could be, I've never had powdered mildew nor have i had an Akebia before, but my only hope is that it isn't mildew. I have a dense corner of plants, that I really don't want infected, but I don't want to throw the vines away, or deliver them back as they're really hard to come by around here.

Thanks in advance for any answers or solutions,

Chris