Chocolate vine

Sun

Full sun to partial shade; tolerates deeper shade but flowers less freely.

Water

Water regularly during establishment. Once established, it tolerates short dry periods but grows best with moderate moisture.

Soil

Moist, well-drained soil; tolerates clay, loam and sandy soils, and a broad pH range.

Height

20-40 ft (6-12 m)

Spread

6-9 ft (1.8-2.7 m) across a support; much wider if stems are allowed to root along the ground.

Flowers

Spring; small purple-brown flowers in hanging clusters, with a sweet scent often compared to vanilla or chocolate.

Foliage

Leaves have five rounded, blue-green leaflets. Usually deciduous in cold climates and semi-evergreen in mild, sheltered conditions.

Growth

Fast once established.

Care needed

High

• Check local invasive-plant advice before buying or planting.
• Provide a strong pergola, trellis or wire framework, and tie in young shoots until they begin twining.
• Water deeply during dry spells in the first two growing seasons; avoid persistently waterlogged soil.
• Apply a thin layer of compost in spring and mulch the root area, keeping mulch clear of the stems.
• Remove wandering shoots and rooted stems promptly; keep growth out of trees, gutters and neighbouring gardens.
• For fruit, plant two genetically different plants; cuttings from the same parent usually will not provide suitable cross-pollination.

Pruning. Prune immediately after flowering, shortening long shoots and removing tangled, dead or unwanted stems. An overgrown plant can be cut back hard in late winter, but this sacrifices much of that spring's flowering.

Late winter

Inspect supports and remove dead stems; renovate an overgrown plant now if necessary.

Spring

Plant where locally appropriate, water well and mulch with compost.

Late spring

After flowering, shorten excess growth and tie retained shoots onto the support.

Summer

Water young plants during dry spells and remove shoots spreading beyond their allotted space.

Late summer

Take semi-ripe cuttings if you want more plants and propagation is locally appropriate.

Autumn

Check for fruit and rooted trailing stems; remove fruit before seed dispersal where escape is a concern.

• Train over a sturdy pergola near a seating area where the spring fragrance can be noticed.
• Cover a substantial trellis to create a leafy screen in a courtyard or larger garden.
• Train on wires against a wall, with shade-tolerant perennials beneath the canopy.
• Use over a broad arch in a woodland-style garden, keeping the vine separate from living trees.

Garden styles it suits: Woodland, Japanese, Cottage garden, Romantic rose garden, Secret garden and Sensory garden.

Plant it with: Hellebores, Epimediums, Japanese painted ferns, Hostas and Snowdrops.

Wildlife: Flowers attract some visiting insects, and dense growth can provide bird shelter. Where invasive, it can overwhelm native vegetation and reduce habitat quality.

• Rampant growth can smother nearby plants: prune after flowering and repeatedly remove wandering or ground-rooted stems.
• Few flowers in heavy shade or after winter pruning: provide more light and do routine pruning after flowering.
• Little or no fruit: grow two genetically different plants; even then, pollination and summer conditions may limit cropping.
• Root decline in waterlogged soil: improve drainage or move the plant to a better-drained position.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses, although animal-specific safety information is limited. The ripe fruit pulp is edible; this does not establish that leaves, stems, seeds or rind are suitable to eat.

Where it spreads. Spreads aggressively by vigorous stems, rooting where stems touch soil, and sometimes seed. It is listed as invasive in parts of the eastern United States, especially the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. Do not plant in affected regions; check local restrictions elsewhere.

• Three-leaf akebia (Akebia trifoliata)

  Usually has three larger, often wavy-edged leaflets rather than five smaller, rounded leaflets.

• Hybrid akebia (Akebia × pentaphylla)

  Often carries a mixture of three- and five-leaflet leaves with features intermediate between its parents; identification can be difficult without a reliable plant label.

• Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)

  Has five pointed, toothed leaflets and climbs using tendrils with adhesive pads; chocolate vine has rounded, mostly smooth-edged leaflets and twining stems.

Akebia comes from the Japanese name akebi, quinata refers to the five leaflets, and chocolate vine describes the flowers' brownish-purple colour and sweet scent.

Propagation. Layer shoots or take semi-ripe cuttings in summer. Seed-grown plants vary and may take several years to flower; do not propagate where the species is invasive or restricted.

Accepted botanical name

Akebia quinata

In the US and Canada

Introduced in the lower 48 states.

Native range

China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Japan and Korea.

Measured

Average height 1000 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.