Deep Purple Akebia

These beautiful, fast growing vines thrive with little care, and you’ll love the weird looking fruit. It is a beautiful evergreen in the Pacific Northwest and warmer areas and deciduous in colder climates. The abundant May flowers are very fragrant. The vine produces bizarre looking five-inch (occasionally much larger) long pink, or blue skinned fruit. Inside is a tasty roll of white seedy pulp that makes a tropical tasting clear jelly or flavorful drink. To get pollination and fruit, plant two of the varieties we offer. Native to Northern Japan, the durable vines are prized for basket making and admired for the intricate silhouetted patterns the foliage casts on walls. The soft young shoots are used in salads or for salt pickling. Given something to climb on, the twining vine can grow 20 feet a year. It may be pruned severely each year if you wish to control its rapid growth. Or it can run along the ground, rooting where branches touch and become an attractive ground cover. If neglected, it can naturalize and become a weed. USDA Zones 4-10. Prohibited to WI.