I so look forward to the chocolate vine in my garden, Akebia quinata, coming into flower every year and, thankfully, it just has. Its flowers dangle like deep ruby earrings and cleverly entice you in for a closer look so you get intimate enough to inhale its scent of vanilla with a hint of chocolate — delicious.
Akebias are semi-evergreen plants and during a mild winter will keep most of their leaves. Mine still has last year’s fading foliage, which has provided useful cover in winter, but, in truth, the flowers show up far better against twiggy leafless stems. Their main season of interest is now, but throughout summer its foliage (made up of five elliptical notched leaflets) brings an exotic element to the garden and turns a subtle shade of purple-pink in the autumn. Mine has never fruited but if you grow two of the same species they will hopefully cross-fertilise, and after a long, hot summer be adorned with beautiful purple sausage-shaped edible fruit.
They grow well in sun or shade, but on an exposed east-facing wall their flowers may get damaged by early morning sun after a frosty night, and for fruit they require the sun and warmth a south-facing aspect will offer. Akebia quinata “cream flowered” is a form with lighter coloured flowers that combine beautifully with the purple sepals held within.
“They look perfectly happy on their own, but you could combine them with a clematis
Akebias are ideal for scrambling over a shed, fence, old tree stumps or ugly wall. They may look delicate but once they get going are far from it. You certainly need to show them who’s boss — I prune mine hard, back to a basic framework after flowering, and trim it back occasionally through summer to keep it within its allotted space and it seems to rather like it.
Akebias look perfectly happy on their own as a specimen climber, but you could combine them with a clematis or two and let them intertwine. Clematis cirrhosa var. purpurescens ‘Freckles’ is the earliest flowering, with pretty bell-shaped, speckled flowers and dark evergreen leaves. It will most likely have flowered just before the akebia, or may overlap, which makes for good succession planting, and it is a good time of year to plant both. Some of the early clematis alpina varieties may flower at the same time or just after and would work well too. C. alpina ‘Frances Rivis’ is extremely reliable and has purple-blue twisted downwards-facing flowers. C. alpina ‘Ruby’ has purple-pink flowers and plenty of them, whereas ‘Constance’ has deep-pink nodding flowers. All are followed by masses of fluffy seedheads. They all reach about 3m and don’t need any pruning, only the occasional tidy up, so could grow close to or through the akebia quite happily.
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How to grow akebias with clematis
When planting two climbers intended to grow together, such as akebia and clematis, or a climbing rose and clematis, or even when looking to grow a clematis through a large shrub or small tree, make sure to give each plenty of their own root space — never plant in the same hole. Plant them at least a metre apart so their top growth comes together but they don’t compete for nutrients and moisture. With the akebia, condition the soil first with plenty of moisture-retentive compost or well-rotted manure and mulch after keeping the compost a little away from the main stem. Clematis are a little more fussy. They can dry out and are susceptible to clematis wilt. Dig a deep hole (at least twice as wide as the pot and half as deep again). Be careful not to damage the plant’s roots when taking it out of the pot. Use plenty of garden compost, composted bracken or leaf mould in the bottom of the hole and added to the soil for backfill. Plant with the root ball at least 8cm below the level of the soil (ie, deeper than it is in the pot). Water well and don’t let it dry out. Feed in spring with a sprinkling of fish, blood and bone.