Shrub · Lardizabalaceae
Chocolate Vine
Akebia quinata
Sweet chocolate-purple flowers and edible fruit on a climber that rewards a little firm pruning.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 4–8
20–40 ft · 6.1–12.2 m
Overview
If you have ever wanted a climber that almost grows itself, chocolate vine is a kind place to start. It twines up quickly, opens early flowers in spring, and sends out a soft scent of chocolate and vanilla spice that you will catch before you see the blooms. The flowers are a deep chocolate-purple, and when a second, different plant grows nearby they ripen into curious sausage-shaped fruit with sweet, edible white pulp. Those five-fingered leaves are where the friendly nickname five-leaf akebia comes from.
You really do not have to be an expert for this one to thrive. It is happy anywhere from zone 4 to zone 8, it does not mind full sun, part shade, or even full shade, and it forgives poor loam, sand, or clay without complaint. Once its roots settle in it copes with dry spells too, so a missed watering will not undo your good work. That easygoing nature is its charm.
The only thing to keep an eye on is how eagerly it grows. Left alone, that same vigor lets chocolate vine wander off and crowd out native plants, and it is treated as invasive across much of the eastern, mid-Atlantic, and southern United States. None of that should scare you off, just plant it where you can prune it back and keep it from straying into the wider garden.
Care
The short version: settle it into well-drained soil in sun or shade, keep it watered while it finds its feet, and then your main job is simply to prune it back with confidence, because the real work with chocolate vine is gently keeping it in bounds.
Light
Good news for almost any spot: chocolate vine settles happily into full sun, partial shade, or even full shade. You will get the most flowers and fruit in full sun, but a shadier corner still gives you plenty of healthy leaf and stem to enjoy.
Water
While it is finding its feet, give it regular water in well-drained soil, a good soak every 7 to 14 days once the top half of the soil has dried. After the roots settle in it handles dry stretches on its own, so do not worry if you forget a watering now and then.
Soil
There is no need to fuss over the ground here. It happily takes well-drained loam, sand, or clay, and a pH anywhere from 5.5 to 7.5 suits it just fine, so most ordinary garden soil will do without any amending.
Temperature
This is a tough, cold-hardy friend, comfortable from about -29°F to 100°F (-34°C to 38°C). That generous range covers USDA zones 4 through 8, so it will come through even a hard winter for you.
Humidity
Whatever the air outside offers is enough, so there is no humidity number to chase. The vine simply adapts to the moisture around it and gets on with growing.
Feeding
A balanced general-purpose fertilizer in spring is all it ever needs, and honestly most years you can skip it without any guilt. The plant grows vigorously on its own, and extra feeding just gives you more to trim later.
Pruning
Pruning is where you really help this vine, so do not be shy about it. Cut it back hard right after it flowers in late spring, since the blooms form on old wood, and a badly overgrown plant can even be cut to the ground to renew it. Expect to tidy it again through the season, and that is perfectly normal.
Repotting
Chocolate vine is rarely grown in pots, so repotting hardly comes up. If you do keep it contained, just move it up a pot size when the roots circle or escape, the top growth stalls, or the soil dries out unusually fast.
Size & spacing
Given the chance to climb, it reaches 20 to 40 feet (6 to 12 m) with a spread of 6 to 9 feet (183 to 274 cm). Set it on a sturdy trellis, arbor, or fence with a little room away from shrubs and trees, and it will have everything it needs.
When to plant
There is a comfortable rhythm to this plant. Flowers come early, from March into May, and where a friend plant stands nearby the fruit fills out through fall. Set new plants out in spring once the last frost has gone, and do your harder pruning right after the flowers fade, since next year's blooms form on old wood and you would not want to trim them away by accident.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: Late winter to early spring after cold stratification
- Plant: Spring after last frost
- Harvest: Flowers March to May; sausage-shaped fruit ripens in fall
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
Take heart, most trouble with chocolate vine comes from too much growth rather than too little, and that is a far happier problem to have. It can be tricky to slow down and harder still to remove, and a lone plant sometimes skips fruit. Find what matches your plant below, then step in early while things are still easy to handle.
Vine reaching over your shrubs and small trees
What you are seeing is the invasive habit that makes chocolate vine a handful across much of North America. It can twine 20 to 40 feet, blanket whatever it climbs, and root wherever a stem rests on the ground. Do not panic, just cut it back hard once it has flowered, keep snipping through the season, and lift out the runners before they settle into a new patch.
Fix:
- Cut back hard after flowering and repeat through the season to keep it in bounds
- Cut to the ground to renovate an overgrown vine
- Trace and dig out long roots (a single vine can produce roots 22 ft long); remove rooted stem nodes and seedlings
An established vine that just keeps coming back
The reason it is so stubborn is the deep root system, which can run 22 feet and resprout from any piece left behind. Cut stumps and stray roots push out fresh shoots, and seedlings quietly fill the gaps. Dig out as much root as you reasonably can, treat the cut stumps, and keep pulling the resprouts, and in time they really do stop.
Fix:
- Dig out as much of the root system as possible
- Cut and treat cut stumps, then monitor and remove resprouts and seedlings repeatedly
Lots of flowers but no sausage-shaped fruit yet
This one is easy to forgive, because chocolate vine is self-incompatible, meaning a single plant can flower for years and still never set a pod. It also wants a long, warm season to ripen its fruit. Plant two genetically different vines close together, or gently hand-pollinate the flowers with pollen from another plant, and you will be on your way.
Fix:
- Plant two or more genetically different individuals for cross-pollination
- Hand-pollinate female flowers with pollen from a different plant
Toxicity
You can relax about this one around your animals and your family. It is not on the ASPCA toxic-plant lists, and the white pulp of the ripe fruit is even eaten in parts of East Asia. The concern here is ecological, not a matter of poison, since the vine spreads quickly and can smother native plants, so the real care is simply about choosing where to plant it.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
There is nothing here for a curious cat to fear, since chocolate vine is not on the ASPCA toxic list. A big mouthful of any plant can upset a tummy, but the vine itself carries no known poison.
Dogs None
Dogs are safe with this one. A pup that chews a leaf or a fallen fruit will not be poisoned, though too much greenery of any kind can loosen a stomach for a day.
Horses None
There is no toxin here that troubles horses, so they can graze nearby without any harm coming to them.
Rabbits None
Rabbits can nibble the leaves with no toxic risk at all. Just introduce new browse slowly, as you would with any fresh green, to keep their digestion happy and settled.
Livestock None
Cattle, goats, and sheep are in no danger of poisoning from chocolate vine. The only real worry is the plant taking over a paddock, not hurting the animals grazing it.
Birds None
Birds are not poisoned by it, and they cheerfully eat the ripe fruit, which is simply how the seeds get carried off into new ground.
People None
The white pulp inside the ripe sausage-shaped fruit is edible and enjoyed in parts of East Asia. The rest of the plant is not food, so enjoy the ripe fruit and treat everything else as a pretty ornamental.
No special handling needed for pet safety. The main risk is ecological invasiveness, not poisoning.
Varieties
Beyond the familiar purple-flowered plant, a handful of named forms show up here and there, mostly chosen for a different flower color or a prettier leaf.
'Alba' (also sold as 'Shirobana')
A soft white-flowered form that swaps the usual chocolate-purple bloom for pale flowers and pale, whitish fruit.
'Rosea'
A gentler choice that opens in soft pink to rose-purple rather than the deep chocolate shade.
'Variegata'
Grown mostly for its pretty leaves, which come mottled and splashed with white and cream.
Akebia trifoliata (three-leaf akebia)
More of a close cousin than a cultivar, it carries three leaflets to each leaf where Akebia quinata carries five.
How to propagate
Making more chocolate vine is wonderfully easy, almost too easy, since the very trait that makes one method simple is the same one that lets it spread on its own, so a light touch goes a long way.
SeedModerate
Sow fresh seed in fall, or cold-stratify and sow in late winter to early spring · Several months to a year
Seed is the slower, gentler route, and worth knowing that because the plant is self-incompatible you will need two genetically different vines just to get viable seed in the first place. Sow it fresh in fall, or give it a cold spell and sow in late winter to early spring. Be patient, since it can take anywhere from several months to a year before a seedling is settled and growing on its own.
LayeringEasy
Spring to summer · One growing season
Layering is the easiest way in, and a lovely one for a first try. Pin a stem down to the soil in spring or summer and it roots all by itself within a single growing season, ready for you to sever and move. Just remember that this same eager rooting is exactly what lets the vine spread where you would rather it did not.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Summer (semi-ripe wood) · Several weeks to root
Take semi-ripe cuttings in summer and root them over a little bottom heat, which usually takes a few weeks. Once roots have formed, pot each cutting on and let it grow a while before it heads outside.
Myths
The flowers must be edible because the plant is called chocolate vine.
The name is all about the flowers, not a snack you can pick. They are chocolate-purple and carry a chocolate and vanilla-spice scent, and that lovely color and smell are the whole reason for the name. Only the white pulp of the ripe sausage-shaped fruit is actually eaten.