Twining vines are usually very vigorous; Akeilia eminent, the five-leaf akebia, is no exception.
A native of China, Korea, and Japan, its common name is derived from its compound leaves of five palmately arranged leaflets originating from the same leaf petiole.
It grows rapidly once it becomes well-established, growing as much as 15’ feet in one year. They are trained on a trellis. It will make a good screen.
The five-leaf akebia climbs by twining from left to right like most hardy vines except for some of the honeysuckles.
It is valued for its ornamental foliage that remains late in the season, making it practically semi-evergreen.
Twining Five-Leaf Akebia
The foliage is very dainty, each leaflet being approximately 1” to 2 ½” inches long. The twining growth is also attractive.
Like the bittersweet and honeysuckle, akebia, if left uncontrolled, may twine around other plants and choke them to death.
Occasionally, long rapid-growing runners are sent out from the plant’s base and root, where they come in contact with moist soil.
Consequently, akebia can become a pest under certain conditions. But, trained around a wire or waterspout on the side of a building, it can be kept within hounds and will add materially to the general landscape effect. Some means of support must be provided.
And if the house plants akebia, the rain-spout or the wire it is growing can, he laid on the ground when the house is painted.
If this proves impractical, cut the vine to within a few feet of the soil early in the spring. It will renew its growth quickly during the same year.
Purple Flowers
The purple flowers appear almost before the leaves. They are interesting because the pistillate flowers, measuring about 1” inch in diameter, and the small-petaled staminate flowers are usually in the same cluster.
Seeds may only be produced if the pollen of one clone is put on the pistillate flowers of another, but they are not especially ornamental nor desirable, anyway. See the photograph above of seeds.
Plant akebia for its ornamental foliage. It has the finest texture of any foliage vines that can be grown from the North well into the warmest sections of the South.
The roots are easily divided. And rooted runners are obtainable from nursery workers.
44659 by Donald Wyman