Chocolate vine (Akebia quinata) catches the eye with its liana-shaped crown and fragrant exotic flowers. Central China, Korea and Japan are the areas of its natural distribution. In the middle of the 19th century, the plant was brought to North America, where it quickly adapted to a warmer and more favorable climate, and today it is widespread along the East Coast of the USA.
The young akebia has thin and green stems that turn brown when mature. The leaves are five-lobed, with elongated oval petioles, the size of which varies between 3 and 8 cm. They are located successively on the stems. The young leaves are purple, but over time they turn green with slight bluish tints. In subtropical climates, the plant is evergreen. The chocolate vines grown in our country retain some of their leaf mass in milder winters, but the crowns are most often exposed during the cold months.
Chocolate vine (Akebia quinata)
At the end of March and the beginning of April, brown-purple flowers (3-5 cm in diameter) appear on the liana with a pleasant chocolate aroma, which is felt most strongly at night. The fruits are flat and slightly elongated, colored in purple-violet tones. They have a soft interior filled with small, black seeds and a sweet taste. The fruits have a high content of vitamin C (930mg/100g) and calcium (3-4mg/100g). They contain potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) in smaller amounts, and their levels significantly exceed those in oranges, apples and pears. Fruits also contain amino acids.
An aromatic tea is prepared from the leaves, and the young shoots can become an exotic addition to salads. The roots of the plant are a powerful antipyretic, and valuable ingredients are extracted from its fruits, which are part of pharmaceutical products for the treatment of oncological diseases. The core of the stems contains substances used in medicines that treat diseases of the excretory system.
The chocolate vine prefers more shady and moist exposures, but it also adapts to sunny ones. When planning the place for planting, we must take into account the fact that in order to form flower buds, it also needs the sun. Not unimportant is the fact that the plant is highly dominant - it takes away the light, extracts minerals and moisture from the soil, enters the living space of the surrounding plants and they gradually die. This requires us to provide a "buffer" zone that will protect the other species in the garden from the aggression of the vine. The soil should be light, sandy and well drained. The chocolate vine is unpretentious in terms of acid reaction and develops equally well in acidic and alkaline soils.
One of the delicate moments in growing it is maintaining constant soil moisture. Any drought can adversely affect the development of the plant and lead to its destruction.
The plant bears fruit after the fifth year, after hand pollination of the flowers. At lower spring temperatures, the risk of the laces dripping is too high. For this reason, in Northern Europe the plant is grown only as an ornamental.
The chocolate vine withstands low winter temperatures (-20ºС), but this does not make the care for its wintering (wrapping it with straw or other suitable material) redundant. Young plants must be well protected not only from sudden colds, but also from spring and autumn frosts.
The plant is resistant to fungal infections and adapts extremely quickly to the environment in which it is placed. It grows very quickly and aggressively, suffocating all the other plants around. This requires that its growth be strictly controlled. For this purpose, it is trimmed to the desired height, and can be shaped like a tree or a bush. Its excessive spread around the garden can be limited by cutting the stems to the ground and removing as much of the roots as possible. These measures can also be combined with the use of herbicides (Roundup, Garlon, etc.).
It reproduces easily - with seeds that need humidity, a temperature of 15ºС and germinate for a period of one to three months.
Akebia does not require special care and, provided a controlled growth, can add elegance to unattractive shady areas of the garden.
