Snow or frost can occur a few times a year where species of cold-tolerant Kadsura are endemic. Mountain passes into mountain villages are sometimes impassable.

While temperatures are not comparable to the deep-freezes of the midwestern USA, freezes can often occur for the two coldest months of the year with low temperatures in the mid 20’s are probable and light frost in late fall or early spring possible.

Some northern species of cold-tolerant Kadsura grow in regions where record temperatures of 20 degrees and even 0 degrees have occurred especially with K. japonica and others.

Kadsura will often resprout from the ground or lower trunk on established vines after a killing freeze, making a quick recovery from hard freezes possible when the ground is covered in deep leaf matter or mulch*. Since Kadsura produces flowers and fruit on new growth, some growers speculate that trunk wraps and root mulching are possible ways to extend the range of Kadsura into regions where frosts are hard and frequent.

* Basal shoots, root sprouts, and suckers are words for the new growth that rises from buds on the base of the Kadsura vine trunk or from the “adventitious” buds on its roots. These ‘adventitious root buds’ can sometimes arise several feet from Kadsura’s main trunk and act as a form of survival and asexual propagation which is has proven to be especially relevant for Kadsura’s dispersal through the mists of time.