Shrub · Lardizabalaceae
Chocolate Vine
Akebia quinata
Chocolate-purple flowers and plump fruit on a twining climber whose five-fingered leaves cloak it from spring to fall.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 4–8
20–40 ft · 6.1–12.2 m
Overview
Each leaf of chocolate vine splays into five oval leaflets that fan out from a single point, like fingers from a palm, and that hand-shaped pattern gives the plant its other name, five-leaf akebia. The stems twine and wind as they climb, and in spring they hang with small flowers in a deep, dusky chocolate-purple that breathe out a scent of chocolate and vanilla spice. Where two different plants grow together, the blooms give way to fat sausage-shaped fruit that split to show a soft, sweet white pulp inside.
The whole plant reads as lush and full-bodied. Hardy from zone 4 to zone 8, it clothes its support in dense foliage in full sun, part shade, or even full shade, roots into poor loam, sand, or clay, and stays leafy through a dry spell once established. Up close, that tide of overlapping five-part leaves is the plant's signature.
The same dense, fast-knitting growth has a darker side to its looks. Those twining stems pile up until they bury and smother native plants, and across much of the eastern, mid-Atlantic, and southern United States the vine is treated as invasive. Grow it only where the climbing mass can be cut back hard and held off the surrounding plants.
Care
The short version: chocolate vine wants well-drained soil in sun or shade and water while it settles, and then the twining, five-leaflet stems need hard pruning, because the real work is keeping that climbing mass in bounds.
Light
The vine cloaks its support in full sun, partial shade, or even full shade, which is part of why it spreads so well. Full sun draws out the most chocolate-purple flowers and the fruit that follows, while deep shade still fills the stems with leaf.
Water
Give it regular water in well-drained soil while it establishes, soaking every 7 to 14 days once the top half of the soil has dried. Once the roots are down the foliage stays full through a dry stretch and rarely needs help.
Soil
It sinks its roots into almost any well-drained loam, sand, or clay and asks for little. A pH from 5.5 to 7.5 suits it, so most garden ground works without amending.
Temperature
The stems are tough and cold-hardy, holding from about -29°F to 100°F (-34°C to 38°C). That range covers USDA zones 4 through 8 and carries the plant through hard winters.
Humidity
Average outdoor humidity is all the leaves ask for, so there is no number to track. The vine takes whatever moisture the local air carries.
Feeding
A balanced general-purpose fertilizer in spring is plenty, and most years it can be skipped. The stems already grow vigorously on their own, and extra feeding only thickens the foliage there is to cut back.
Pruning
Pruning is the main job with this vine. Cut the stems back hard right after the flowers fade in late spring, since the blooms form on old wood, and an overgrown tangle can be cut to the ground to renovate it. The twining growth comes back through the season and needs cutting again.
Repotting
Chocolate vine is rarely grown in pots and needs little repotting. In a container, move it up a size when the roots circle or escape the pot, the top growth stalls, or the soil dries out fast.
Size & spacing
Left to climb, the twining stems reach 20 to 40 feet (6 to 12 m) with a spread of 6 to 9 feet (183 to 274 cm). Give them a sturdy trellis, arbor, or fence set well away from shrubs and trees the foliage could bury.
When to plant
The plant's display has a clear sequence. The chocolate-purple flowers open early, from March into May, and where a second plant stands nearby they swell into ripe fruit through fall. Set new plants out in spring once the last frost has passed, and cut the stems back hard right after the flowers fade, since next year's blooms form on old wood.
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
Most trouble with chocolate vine shows up as too much growth rather than too little. The twining stems are hard to slow and harder to pull out, and a lone plant often flowers without forming a single fruit. Match what you see on the plant below, then act before the foliage piles up further.
Twining stems blanketing nearby shrubs and small trees
This is the invasive habit that makes chocolate vine a problem across much of North America. The stems twine 20 to 40 feet, layer their five-leaflet foliage into a thick mat over whatever they climb, and root wherever a stem touches the ground. Cut them back hard after the flowers fade, keep cutting through the season, and dig out the long runners before they start a new colony.
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 resprouts no matter what
The persistence comes from the deep root system, a network that can run 22 feet and push out fresh shoots from any fragment left behind. Cut stumps and severed roots send up new stems, and stray seedlings fill the bare ground. Dig out as much of the root as you can, treat the cut stumps, and keep pulling resprouts and seedlings until the regrowth stops.
Fix:
- Dig out as much of the root system as possible
- Cut and treat cut stumps, then monitor and remove resprouts and seedlings repeatedly
Chocolate-purple flowers but no sausage-shaped fruit
Chocolate vine is self-incompatible, so a single plant can carry flowers for years and never swell a single pod. It also needs a long, warm season to ripen its fruit. Set two genetically different plants close together, or move pollen by hand from another vine onto the flowers.
Fix:
- Plant two or more genetically different individuals for cross-pollination
- Hand-pollinate female flowers with pollen from a different plant
Toxicity
Chocolate vine is safe to have around animals and people. It is not on the ASPCA toxic-plant lists, and the white pulp inside the ripe fruit is eaten in parts of East Asia. The danger is ecological, not toxic, since the dense, twining growth smothers native plants, so the caution is about where the vine spreads rather than who might eat a leaf.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
A cat that bites into one of the five-part leaves takes no harm, since chocolate vine is not on the ASPCA toxic list. A big mouthful of any plant can upset a stomach, but the leaves and stems hold no known poison.
Dogs None
The plant is safe for dogs. A dog that chews a leaf or a fallen fruit will not be poisoned, though a bellyful of plant matter can loosen a stomach as any greenery would.
Horses None
Nothing in the leaves or stems is toxic to horses, which can graze beside the vine without harm.
Rabbits None
Rabbits can crop the soft leaflets without toxic risk. Introduce new browse slowly, as with any fresh green, to keep their digestion settled.
Livestock None
Cattle, goats, and sheep are not poisoned by chocolate vine. The real concern is the dense growth swamping a paddock rather than any harm to the animals grazing it.
Birds None
Birds are not poisoned by the plant, and they eat the soft pulp of the ripe fruit, carrying the seeds inside it into new ground.
People None
The white pulp inside the ripe sausage-shaped fruit is edible and eaten in parts of East Asia. The leaves, stems, and rest of the plant are not food, so only the ripe fruit is eaten and the rest stays ornamental.
No special handling needed for pet safety. The main risk is ecological invasiveness, not poisoning.
Varieties
Beyond the typical purple-flowered plant, a few named forms appear, set apart mostly by the color of their flowers or the markings on their leaves.
'Alba' (also sold as 'Shirobana')
A white-flowered form whose blooms are pale rather than chocolate-purple, ripening into pale, whitish fruit to match.
'Rosea'
A form whose flowers come in soft pink to rose-purple instead of the deep chocolate tone.
'Variegata'
A leaf form whose foliage is mottled and splashed with white and cream across the green.
Akebia trifoliata (three-leaf akebia)
A close relative rather than a cultivar, its leaves carrying three leaflets each where Akebia quinata spreads five.
How to propagate
Chocolate vine roots with little prompting, almost too readily, since the same stems that root the moment they touch soil are what carry the plant into ground it was never meant to reach.
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 slow path, and a constrained one, since the plant is self-incompatible and two genetically different vines are needed before any viable seed forms. Sow fresh seed in fall, or give it a cold spell and sow in late winter to early spring. A seedling takes anywhere from several months to a year to settle and grow on its own.
LayeringEasy
Spring to summer · One growing season
Layering is the simple way in. A stem pinned against the soil in spring or summer puts down its own roots within a single growing season, ready to cut free and move. The catch is plain to see, since this same readiness to root at every contact point is what carries the vine where it is not wanted.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Summer (semi-ripe wood) · Several weeks to root
Take semi-ripe stems as cuttings in summer and root them over bottom heat, which usually takes a few weeks. Once the roots form, pot each cutting on and grow it before it goes outside.
Myths
The flowers must be edible because the plant is called chocolate vine.
The name traces the look and smell of the flowers, not a food. The blooms are a deep chocolate-purple and give off a chocolate and vanilla-spice scent, and it is that color and fragrance that the name records. Only the white pulp of the ripe sausage-shaped fruit is actually eaten.