A delightful climbing vine featuring both edible fruit and ornamental chocolate and vanilla-scented flowers! The fruits grow to about 4" and have a sweetish flavor. The leaves can be used to make tea. The vine is hardy to well below 0F and will grow in most climates. Makes a beautiful ornamental and edible addition to any garden
Akebia quinata is a robust twining vine that climbs to 20'-40' or spreads as a lacy groundcover. Its dangling flowers are dark purple against graceful blue-green foliage and have a spicy fragrance. This is a frilly vine, excellent for fast cover on trellises and fences, and very easy to grow.
Native to China and Korea, Chocolate Vine is hardy to zone 5, may lose its leaves in northern climates, but the new foliage is purple, very cool. Akebia does best in partial shade, is not fussy about soil and is fairly drought-tolerant.
Akebia quinata - Chocolate Vine
Scarification: Soak in water, let stand in water for 24 hours.
Stratification: cold stratify for 30 days.
Germination: sow seed 1/16" deep, tamp the soil, lightly mulch the seed bed.
Description:
Glossy dark green leaves are oval-shaped, and grow in clusters of five. Vines produce many dangling purple flowers with three petals in the spring, and vines sometimes produce fruits that resemble eggplants late in the summer. Fruits are edible, the akebia is related to the kiwi, and has tiny black seeds embedded in the pulp as a kiwi does.
Chocolate vine (Akebia quinata), also known as fiveleaf akebia, is often used to adorn and cover structures, such as fences, walls, trellises and arbors. In addition to its five-leaflet, blue-green foliage, this vine grows 1-inch diameter flowers and blue-purplish fruit. Native to Korea, Japan and China, chocolate vine can thrive in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 to 9. Start chocolate vine seeds indoors, about six to 10 weeks before the last spring frost date.
1
Fill a small bowl with water and add the chocolate vine seeds. Soak the seeds for 24 hours.
2
Spray water on seed-starting mix to moisten it. Avoid adding too much water to the mix -- you want to be moist, not dripping wet.
3
Fill the seed-starting mix into 4-inch diameter pots with drainage holes. Fill the pots up to about 1/2 inch from the top. Firm the soil with your hand so it's level in the pots.
4
Place up to three chocolate vine seeds on the soil surface of each pot. Space the seeds 1 inch apart. Lightly press the seeds into the soil with your finger to keep them steady. Avoid covering the seeds with soil, because they need light exposure to germinate.
5
Seal the pots in individual, clear plastic bags and put them in the refrigerator at about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep the seeds in the refrigerator for at least 30 days. Regularly mist the soil with a water-filled spray bottle during the stratification period. Aim to keep the medium moist at all times.
6
Remove the pots from the fridge and place them in a warm area of the house near a bright window. Expect the chocolate vine seeds to germinate within 14 to 21 days.
7
Take the pots out of the plastic bags, after the chocolate vine seeds germinate. Continue light exposure to promote growth, and cut off the weak seedlings with scissors at soil level, so only one strong seedling remains in each pot.
Zone:
Grows in zones 4 to 8, and is evergreen in zones 6 and higher.
Size:
The chocolate vine will climb on supports or scramble up to 40 feet.
Exposure:
Flowers and fruits are best in full sun, but the vine is very shade tolerant and will grow in woodland settings.
Bloom Period:
Early spring, ranging from March to May
Materials: seed,annual,flowers,exotic vine,PURPLE BELL VINE
