Anyone growing chocolate vine (Akebia quinata )?

I have a friend how has one in her garden.
She bought the property a bit over a year ago and I've been working in it for about 4 months. It was owned by a person who was a real gardner, but it wasn't worked in for about 2 years until my friend bought it. I'm trying to get soime order back without ruining what was done before.
Anyway, I finally ID'd the chocolate vine. Now I'm reading that is can be invasive, but I see no sign of this with hers - no nearby volunteers. I'm thinking it isn't that happy; I've never seen a bloom or much growth (it's probably about 8' long and growing along the ground in the shade).
If I can, i'd like to get it growing on a trellis of some sort. Since it's right next to her back porch, I'm sure she'd appreciate the chocolate scent.
Thanks for any feedback.
Barb

I've had one in the shade since early last summer. So far I haven't had any problem with mine volunteering. Hope that's the was it's going to stay!
Bev

I have had one for years witout any problems at all. It dies back during the winter and goes gangbusters come spring. I have it growing on a trellis made by bowing a cattle panel and it covers it in a pretty short period of time. Never had it spread by seed but the vines will form roots if you bury part of it in the ground so is easy to start.

Cool.
Good to know.
Barb

I have one out in front of my house - part shade and it is on a trellis, it needs pruning to keep it in shape but it is not invasive for me, now the trumpet vine and wisteria that grows around the edge of my property - wow, those can be considered invasive. The best part is the smell, it blooms for me in early spring (if memory serves) but the blooms are not very obvious as mine are the white variety - the 'burgandy' shaded one seems to stand out more. I have heard if you have two then you can get fruit... might want to look that info up as Im not sure where I heard that :-) Good luck, we'd love to see pictures of all the work you've done!

Thanks for all the information.
My friend also has trumpet vine that she just LOVES! I'm going to try and control it by putting it in a pot. She'll get her blooms and the garden won't be overtaken....
Right now I'm still at the cutting and hacking thru the overgrown jungle of ligustrum, eleagnus and vines stage in her yard.
When I get some real progress done, I will post come pics.
Barb

Hi, all
If you have this you should destroy it. Replace it with Mondovilla, (which dies back each year) Clematis, or our native Confederate Jasmine.

check out the pictures here: The areas are covered with it like Kudzu, but denser.
http://www.invasive.org/browse/subject.cfm?sub=10090 - It can spread by berries eaten by birds, but it looks like it is like many Asian vines like kudzu, there are no enemies of it here.

From the above site
" chocolate vine

Ranunculales > Lardizabalaceae > Akebia quinata (Houtt.) Dcne.
Synonym(s): fiveleaf akebia

Chocolate vine, also called fiveleaf akebia, is a deciduous to evergreen climbing or trailing vine that invades forested areas throughout the eastern United States. The twining vines are green when young, turning brown with age. The leaves are palmately compound with up to five, 1 ½ to 3 in. (2.5-7.6 cm) long, oval leaflets. Flowering occurs in the mid-spring, when small, purple to red, fragrant flowers develop. Fruit are purple seed pods that contain white pulp and small black seeds. Fruits are rarely produced. Chocolate vine is shade tolerant and invades forested habitats. The dense mat of vines formed can displace native understory species. It can also climb into, smother, and kill small trees and shrubs. Chocolate vine is native to eastern Asia and was first introduced into the United States in 1845 as an ornamental."

Also here
http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/akqu1.htm

"ECOLOGICAL THREAT
Fiveleaf akebia is a vigorous vine that grows as a groundcover and climbs shrubs and trees by twining. Once established, its dense growth crowds out native plants. "

"SUGGESTED ALTERNATIVE PLANTS
In the eastern U.S., some great native vines that are available as substitutes for Akebia including trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans), Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), cross vine (Bignonia capreolata), and Dutchman’s pipe (Aristolochia durior). Contact your local native plant society for other suggestions."

I have not seen akebia become invasive here (I have seen some reports in cooler climates), but honeysuckle, campsis, and VA creeper?

LOL!!!!!

LOL. My friend offered me trumpet vine (I said no thank you and ran away). It has taken over (and I do mean OVER) my mom's patio. I have VA creeper all over my yard. It is a problem, that is for sure. And I never planted it, some poopy bird did. But there are animals and insects (and maybe butterflies) that rely on it for food and shelter because it is a native.

But alien invaders (slipping over the border without a green card, so to speak) are a different kind of invasive - the comment from the site "...climbs shrubs and trees by twining. Once established, its dense growth crowds out native plants." means that the native plants have no defense against them, and the native bugs and diseases will likely not keep them under control, either. Kudzu was brought over here as a "Wonder Plant", and was supposed to keep steep banks stable, act as fodder for cattle, etc. But livestock (nor anything else) would eat it and the banks just eroded under the canopy of leaves, as all other plant-life near it was choked out. Sometimes it takes 50 or 60 years for a plant to gain a stronghold, and it is not the ones in your garden that cause the problems- it is the escapees.

If you keep it in a pot, never let it bloom so that seeds are never formed and distributed by those poopy birds or ants, and you destroy all cuttings by burning, then you might (MIGHT) not be a part of the problem. But it was a very well-intentioned person who brought hydrilla to our waterways here in the south (for example) and we have been fighting it ever since to the tune of millions of dollars of manpower, chemicals, and lost time, effort, and lost ecosystems. My best friend's hubby is the state DNR guy on invasive plants, and he can tell you stories that would make your marigolds curl.

Now, can I interest you in a nice, tame WISTERIA! BWAH-HA-Ha-HA-Ha (ahem, sorry.... lost my head there - they are also a pox on our land here in the Carolinas- too bad, because they are very pretty and I love them, but cannot bring myself to have them).

There are so many plants to choose from, so why not choose something else? And as we learn more about them we can also learn (hopefully) from past mistakes and heed warnings from others.

I like the foreign species, but I try to be very choosy about which ones I plant (and the native ones, too), and if it is a problem child or a bully, I leave it or get one that has been bred to be better mannered. To me, finding out the plants is all the fun of gardening. I will make mistakes, we all do, but if we are warned ahead of time we should heed it.

I you planted 1 each of Akebia, Honeysuckle, Wisteria, Campsis, and Smilax in a nice 8'x8' raised bed, fed them and watered them, I wonder which one would still be growing after 5 years?

I do know the honeysuckle and smilax would have taken over, even outside the area!
I'm not familiar with Campis, have to check it out.
Barb

You might want to look at which honeysuckle they are referring to , there is one with red 'flowers' that is native and does not take over... very different from the japanese version.

Good point, there are several different types of honeysuckle.
Barb