About
Akebia quinata variegated (v) is a semi-evergreen climbing plant that can reach heights of approximately 10 meters. Its leaves are rounded and dark green on the top, with a blue-green hue underneath. Each leaf is made up of five leaflets that may show a purple tint during the winter months. In early spring, this variety produces fragrant racemes of reddish-purple flowers, each measuring around 12 centimeters. These flowers are occasionally succeeded by elongated, sausage-shaped fruits that can grow up to 10 centimeters in length.
About the genus
Akebia are robust, semi-evergreen climbing shrubs that twine as they grow. They feature either palmate or trifoliate leaves and produce racemes of cup-shaped flowers, with the female flowers being purplish and larger than the smaller male ones. If cross-pollinated with a different clone, they will bear large, sausage-shaped fruits.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil type
- Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Moist but well-drained
- Aspect
- East-facing, North-facing, South-facing, West-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H6
Plant details
- Plant type
- Climber Wall Shrub
- Habit
- Climbing
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Height
- 4-8 metres
- Spread
- 4-8 metres
- Time to full height
- 5-10 years
- Suggested uses
- City and courtyard gardens
- Fragrance
- Flower
Care notes
- Cultivation
- A climber that thrives with any good garden soil in sun or part shade. It needs long hot summers to fruit well and two plants of the same species to ensure cross pollination
- Pruning
- Pruning group 11 after flowering
- Propagation
- Propagate by seed, softwood cuttings or layering
- Pest resistance
- Generally pest-free
- Disease resistance
- May be susceptible to honey fungus (rarely)