Akebia quinata - chocolate vine

Discussion in 'Botany Photo of the Day Submissions' started by pmurphy, Sep 11, 2019.

  1. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    The chocolate vine is a vigorous zone 5a perennial vine that does well in full sun to part shade. It produces large edible fruit that will split open in late summer/early fall when ripe, revealing what has been described by people as a "seedy slug". As weird as it may appear the flavor is mild and tastes similar to tapioca.

    This will give you an idea as to how large the fruit actually is.....
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  2. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    What zoning system are you referring to?
     
  3. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    USDA, which is what was listed on the tags when I acquired the plants over 8 years ago.
     
  4. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    There's also a Canadian system, which is a little different. When Canadian posters in particular don't specify then it may not be clear which one they are using.
     
  5. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    As a lot of plants sold in Canada (through the larger stores or garden centers) originate from the US they usually come with USDA zoning information. And even those purchased from places like Canadian Tire and Ikea - of all places - are purchased through wholesale importers that bring in a lot of their stock from the US, and with them the tags with USDA information.
     
  6. Junglekeeper

    Junglekeeper Esteemed Contributor 10 Years

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    I don't recall ever seeing anything other than USDA zoning at retail outlets.
     
  7. Laura Blumenthal

    Laura Blumenthal Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Does it produce fruit here in Vancouver?
     
  8. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    Very much so....but the secret is to have 2 varieties to produce fruit.
    I had several of the 'purple haze' plants for years and got no fruit until I added a 'silver bells', after that I get enough fruit each year to make several jars of akebia jam (I had to make my own recipe for this as I couldn't find any online).
     

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    Last edited: Apr 23, 2021
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  9. Laura Blumenthal

    Laura Blumenthal Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    That's amazing! Thank you.
     

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