Akebia Species, Chocolate Vine, Five-Leaf Akebia, Raisin Vine

I just found my first patch (at least 2 acres) of akebia gone completely invasive in the woods at the Riverbend Environmental Center just...Read More outside of Philadelphia. It is way worse than kudzu. Never plant this vine! If you have it, pull it out! It has found its way to the top of tall trees and completely overrun everything on the ground.

I've had to deal with this in a garden where a neighbor had allowed it to grow freely for many years and to take over 50' of fence. It re...Read Morequired endless attention. It grows with astonishing speed, and I was continually pulling up 15' runners that were already rooting at every node. It also twines about and strangles any woody plant it can reach. Untangling it was immensely time-consuming.

It was very much like wisteria in its vigor and growth habit, and all in the shade of Norway maples. And as with wisteria, I was continually finding new seedlings in other beds.

Its height is limited only by the height of its support. It can climb tall trees.

This vine has naturalized in 16 states and has been reported invasive of natural areas in 6. I know it's taken over hundreds of acres of woodland on the Biltmore estate in NC.

Portland, OR, zone 8b.

Three years ago, I planted five varieties of akebia quinata, and three varieties of akebia trifolia...Read Moreta, all fairly near each other (the farthest are 50 ft apart) for cross pollination. My source for all was onegreenworld.com.

The first year, they grew, but had no flowers.
The second year, they flowered, but bore no fruit.
This year, about half are fruiting (in late June, fruit are 1-3 inches long).

I've trained them all upwards on bamboo, and while some require weekly pruning of high growth, none have sent runners along the ground. They've required no effort to restrain spreading in 8b.

In my experience, they LOVE growing upwards, but will at best grudgingly grow over a horizontal rail. Many horizontal vines just peter out within five feet.

Quinata have been evergreen, but trifoliata have lost all leaves in winter. (When I received them in pots, they wintered outside, and froze solid; none perished.)

Many are planted below a North facing wall, and get absolutely no direct sunlight. The quinata do well here, but do get mild powdery mildew. (One quinata is by a West facing wall, and the main vines grew to the width of my finger in one full year, but the vertical and horizontal growth has been good, but not great; minimal pruning only.)

They bloom early (early March) and for a long time (six weeks).
"Silver Bells" (white bloomed quinata) produce beautiful bunches of small (3/8 inch), cup shaped flowers, and draw many admirers.

Bees don't seem to prefer them. I've read they're from Japan; I wonder what their main pollinator is there?

I have 2 different varieties (one pale white, one deep burgundy) growing on the metal railing of my concrete deck. The pale vine is near...Read Morely 20 y/o and perhaps 50 ft in length. It blooms early spring with a delicate scent (NOT chocolate).

The burgundy vine is about 15 y/o and MUCH smaller than the other vine. Both grow in deciduous summer shade. The burgundy vine has set fruit once (blooms also NOT chocolate scented.

While edible, cardboard with a sugar coating is comparable. Dozens of seedlings sprang from the compost area where the fruits were interred. They take a LONG time to get going.

It is invasive in Seattle area? Don't know but I think I have the solution to cover a 10 ft tall x 50 ft wide retaining wall. YES!!

Whomever said that this vine grows "4-6 feet" has either never actually grown this plant or they are referring to how fast it grows per d...Read Moreay. The ONLY good thing about this plant is that the seeds do not readily grow -- otherwise it should be on the invasive species list. Akebia quinata will easily grow 20-30 feet, in all directions, in only a few years. Besides the main vine, it sends out runners along the ground which quickly take root so that even when you kill the main stump (you will want to, just wait) the runners have already rooted and are taking over your trees, shrubs, fence, neighbor's garage, etc. And whomever said that the flowers smell like chocolate must have been eating a Hershey bar at the time. A nasty, horrible plant that I regret ever having planted.

I ordered two from the internet for an area that is well confined--don't want the invasive problem. One is doing well. However, one died....Read More Only one person mentioned having two different vines. I'd like to order the other one as I understand that they do better with both. Yet, I haven't seen any listings, other than the nursery online, that list more than one variety, which makes me wonder why and if one is more hardy.

Can anyone tell me the difference and how to tell which one I have?

Thank you.

I just purchased my first plant. I'm not opposed to invasive wild vines. I am curious to know why it's called a chocolate vine as nobod...Read Morey has mentioned the scent.

I grade this neutral because while it grows like crazy and stays green through the winter, it has never bloomed for me.

I planted an akebia vine 4 years ago in a partial sun spot, because I wanted to cover an ugly railing. It's been a very aggressive growe...Read Morer and has done very well for its intended purpose. I keep it in check by pruning it regularly and watering very little. If I left it untrimmed, it would easily go past 8 feet tall. I would not recommend it for someone who wants a tidy, low maintenance plant.

The blooms have a lovely scent in May, similar to lilac. They bloom around the same time. I've had no problems with seed pods.

Last winter was extremely mild, and it kept most of its leaves. In a normal Chicago winter, the leaves drop when the daytime low gets below 15F a few days in a row. It's extremely hardy with very little dieback in our climate.

Last year, I noticed my lilacs were being invaded. I also noticed the ground (and surrounding shrubs and trees) in this section of our ...Read Moreproperty was covered with "something" very interesting. After a bit of research on the internet, I found out what it is. Chocolate vine. Yes, it is beautiful, it smells wonderful, and I love the flowers, but if you saw how many trees this has destroyed, how invasive and destructive it can be, you would think twice about planting it! Please, please, please, be very careful with this plant.

I have been growing this plant in three different locations in CT for the last 30 years, and I love it. It needs two different varities t...Read Moreo produce fruit and seeds.
If left in a wild area, it can spread and take down dead trees, rotting barns, and sleeping dogs. It will behave nicely in a garden as long as you remove the vines that run across the ground since they start new plants by putting down roots anywhere there are clusters of leaves.

Lovely, lacey well-behaved climbers. Threw them a bit of a curve by putting them in on the shade-to-speckled-sun north side of our house,...Read More but they've adapted very gracefully. And have survived everything from warm wet to flash frozen winter conditions without special care. Just gave them nice strong string to scale and they've twisted their way to the top of an 8 foot tall trellis, and are now waving their viney heads around...probably looking for more string to follow. Subtle. Lovely.

I came open this plant in the middle of a forested area in my town's open space land. It was completely covering a 150 by 150 foot area. ...Read MoreIt carpeted the floor and was vining up the trees. It is the most scary invasive I have ever seen except for maybe stilt grass. Mile a minute is not yet in my town but this certainly compares. It had not spread from a contiguous site. As i said, it was in the middle of the woods. Please alert others who seem to think this is a good plant. It should immediately be put on the "do not sell" lists.

This plant had been growing in our yard draped over a screen house for 7-9 years. I have been in the home only the past 3 years so can o...Read Morenly speak to the experience then. The previous years had been in a drought and the past 3 winters quite wet. I had only a few blooms the first year but as it was top heavy cut it back to within a metre of the root. the following year had many blooms ,still no fruit, and this year it has bloomed already..mid winter and is covered with thousands of blooms and buds. The bees seem to prefer other plants and perhaps it is pollinated by insects instead. There has been no seedlings or offshoots appear so I am presuming the heat of our summers 35-40+ keep it in check . Mine grows in full sun but the roots are shaded by a port wine magnolia tree.

I love this plant. I positioned it at the edge of my deck, 12 feet from the side of the house. Originally I wanted it to cover the deck r...Read Moreailing, but it surprised me by coming up between the deck and the house, where it has climbed the wall and given that side of the house the vine-covered cottage look. It does not have invasive tendrils, it simply twines around the wires that I made available instead of crawling into cracks in the siding. A yearly check-up and pruning keeps it tame.

It took me a few years to notice the blooms, which come pretty early in this part of California. Mine has never set fruit. I do not consciously water the plant during our dry summers--it only receives moisture from fog and watering of some nearby plants. I try to keep this part of my garden fairly dry because of the native oak trees that do not do well with summer watering. The deck does keep the root area of the akebia shaded and cool but where it grows on the wall can get pretty hot on a warm day.

By late winter, much of the akebia has lost its leaves, but in my climate it never loses them all. I have not done much pruning on it but this fall I plan to cut it back severely to get it growing in a different direction.

I could see where this might become invasive given a wet summer environment. But here it is perfect.

It has been eaten by deer and sheep when they have gotten into the garden.

This invasive vine could be the next Kudzu! Do NOT plant unless you want to terrorize the few remaining natives that are struggling to su...Read Morervive in Eastern forests and ecosystems. . It appears innocent for the first year or so, then as it becomes established it will take over and you will have to fight to keep it in check from taking over your flowerbeds, woodlands, etc. Any lanscaper recommending this plant does not know what they are doing!

Ordered 2 last spring ('09) from an internet vendor and planted them in a pot. So far, they're doing great, already bloomed once with dar...Read Morek purple flowers and the vines are looking pretty happy twining around a wild sunflower plant in the pot with them. I plan to move them close to my deck/arbor (southeast side) to shade the deck. Will update how they do on NE Kansas weather.

I purchased two of these several years ago to try and create some shade over my fish pond. I had no clue what they were, just liked the ...Read Morewoody vines. One of them blooms white and the other blooms purple. For the first time the purple one is hanging full of fruit this year. It's quite an amazing site. I have not had any problem containing them to one area but need to find out exactly how to prune them because they are becoming quite top heavy.

It is not really invasive here in Central Texas because the summer heat and drought is just too much for it. I have to keep it in the sha...Read Morede and water it more than I like. I bet it is pretty drought tolerant is other less oppressive areas. Other than that, it has a vigorous growing period in the late spring and is attractive. I have two varieties and have had flowers but no fruit.

The foliage is so beautiful I don't even need blooms. Cut all but 2 or 3 stems for a tracery effect. Very pretty vine, not invasive at all for me.

I planted this at my parents' home in Annapolis, MD six years ago. It is prolific but not invasive. Love it.

INVASIVE DO NOT PLANT!

I inherited this plant when we bought this house 2 yrs ago. At first I was delighted by the beautiful, fragrant flowers. Then after the...Read More first year I noticed many little volunteers, which I quickly removed. It had gotten quite big, it's on a trellis about 6ft high by 7 ft wide, so I tried to prune it back. This year nothing grew back on the old wood but the top of it went wild, flowing over into the neighbor's yard! And I just noticed dozens of those seed pods! I don't know if I'm going to be able to get rid of this plant but I am going to have to try. It's too invasive for where it is planted. I would never put one back in my yard.

Finally I've identified a 'mystery vine' in my garden as Akebia quinata. It was cut back to virtually nothing along with the rest of the...Read More overgrown scrub on a bank behind my house and sprayed with herbicide last year. I noticed it flowering this spring from bare wood; we've now got leaves, and new vines have just started coming away in the last week. With the warm temperatures we've had it's suddenly started growing fairly quickly and I'm hoping by autumn it will have spread nicely. Love the pretty foliage and the smell and unusual colour of the flowers. Both flowers and foliage are mostly very small so far on my plant; this could be the cultivar? but I suspect they'll get bigger as the vine comes away again.

Kiweed - there is no Akebia triata but there is an Akebia trifoliata (three-leave Akebia) which must be what you've got.

Beware that it doesn't escape, especially in you live in a natural forested area. It can be invasive and very damaging to the natural habitat.

I have a wonderful chocolate vine in Memphis that is 6 or 7 years old. It is a fast growing and spreading vine, but the runners are mainl...Read Morey aboveground and can be cut away without much effort if it becomes too rampant. Otherwise, like wisteria, a lot is good. It seems like the plant was quite a few years old before it began producing the little grape-cluster-like dark fruits that are so beautiful. Although the seeds don't stay around too long, the vine is lushly attractive all year long. It is one of my favorite plants!

This was growing on a corner of a shed when we moved in. The previous owner had put up a wire trellis, and it pretty much is contained t...Read Moreo that area. It is in bloom now...you have to look closely to see the blooms as they are so dark. I couldn't tell it was in bloom from looking across the yard. Beautiful plant.

Usually evergreen to 5 degrees F, give or take depending on individual. Prune in the spring after it blooms (as it blooms on 1+ year old...Read More wood.

Flowers are dominantly male, and a plant's first attempt may be all male (as pollen is cheaper to produce than fruit.) I liken the fragrance to a spiced version of honeysuckle.

Growth is greatest in spring and fall (in hot summer areas) but still grows rampantly all year. Likes full intense sun and blooms better with it.

Zone 7. We have 2 or more of them covering a rebar teepee, blooming both purple and white. They have a very unusual purple fruit and if a...Read Morellowed to ripen and cast seeds, they sprout all over the place. It is supposed to be edible, but that must be before the seeds ripen, because by the time it splits open there is no more pulp. I plan to pick them earlier this year and taste them. That would solve the seed problem. Anyone have a recipe for them?

This is beautiful in early spring in 7b. It does not grow as fast as wisteria but in just a few years (maybe 4) it has grown up both si...Read Moredes of our trellis and about halfway over the top (12 x 14 trellis), therefore I am a little unsure of the 4-6 foot height listed for it. I need to trim it now since it has grown "up" and has a "hat" appearance at the corners. I only planted two, one on each end, and they have met and intertwined very well. It does give off a sweet smell when in bloom. I love seeing this as one of my first bloomers each year and it looks great with the daffodils blooming underneath it!

So far I love mine! I've only had it one growing season. Mid-fall it got powdery mildew, so I sprayed with an antifungal and that took ...Read Morecare of it. It only seems to like climbing natural string. It took training to get it to wind around the post, but it climbs around the string (and itself) all by itself.

I planted this vine two years ago, but have not been aware of any flowers -- that could be our zone 5 climate, or maybe I just looked for...Read More them too late in the spring. I have it growing along with a clematis vine, whose flowers are lovely next to the chocolate vine's unusual foliage. It has grown amazingly fast. Because of concerns that this vine may eventually overpower the less-vigorous clematis, I may need to move the clematis to another location.

I'm in Alabama in zone 7 and have had one of these for about 3 years. It will definately take over if not contained. I'm posting to res...Read Morepond to some of the folks that haven't had blooms. I thought mine wasn't blooming, but realized this year I've been looking for blooms too late in the season. I happened to notice blooms on mine the first of March before our weather had even warmed up. It also bloomed lower on the vine on old growth instead of on the ends like I would have expected.

I planted an Akebia 2 years ago and have had fairly good luck with it in my climate, surprisingly. You would think Montana weather to be ...Read Moremuch too inclement to this vine, but as I say, it has done quite well so far. Here, it is deciduous but comes back bigger and better every year. I have not had it bloom for me yet, and I'm not sure it will in my zone, but we shall just see about that! I am hoping it will eventually bloom, and if it does, I will probably get another and then hand pollinate them to see if I can actually get the fruit to appear too. I really like any plants that belong to the Lardizabalacae family. I hope I spelled that right! LOL!!! I am thinking of purchasing a Stauntonia and a Holboellia also, to be grown in my solarium. I pretty sure those would NOT grow outside in this climate! But to anyone else in Montana, or my zone, I would recommend trying an Akebia vine. It's quite beautiful and well behaved here so far and really worth the extra effort.

This vine seems very tropical in appearance for something that's so hardy--even in zone 4. I put it in last summer and it survived winte...Read Morer beautifully. However, I have had no blooms at all. I hear that it appreciates having a partner plant, but then I'd worry about it becoming rampant. It makes beautiful leaves and should do a nice job hiding an ugly chain link fence. I have had no trouble getting it to twine onto that fence, and find that it is fairly easy to keep it from choking out flowers in front of it. I wonder if it will bloom next year now that it has a nice woody base and long runners?

Grows very well here in upstate SC. Once established needs some control. My vine was an escape and now, after about 10 years covers a lar...Read Morege area of fence. Have never had fruit.

Just purchased this plant to place on arbor ... planting it to provide some shade for the patio underneath.

Two of the three plants I bought are suffering some kind of mildew and can't even be bothered to twine properly. The specimen I have that...Read More is thriving has more dappled shade and has lived up to the promise of vigorous climbing. Perhaps the sunny wall repuation is overplayed?

Adapts well to growing in a container and has beautiful foliage. Mine hadn't bloomed for me and I'd had it for four years but now I thin...Read Morek my mistake is cutting it back each fall. This summer should prove or disprove that for me. It takes the heat of the south in full sun very well.

I don't have this yet, I'm getting seeds and cuttings. I've heard that this is very invasive. The fruit tastes like tapioca. However, thi...Read Mores plant is a treat for cold climates which don't usually get to have such interesting plants.