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Lardizabalaceae FAMILY

Akebia trifoliata

Akebia trifoliata

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitSemi-deciduous Climber
GrowthFast

Akebia trifoliata is quite cold tolerant when dormant, tolerating temperatures down to about -20°c, though another report says that this species is not as hardy as Akebia quinata, and will only tolerate temperatures down to -10°c[200[. The young growth however, is not very hardy and can be damaged by even light frosts[1]. Requires a well-drained moisture-retentive loamy soil[2, 1]. Succeeds in acid or alkaline soils[1]. Prefers partial shade but succeeds in full sun[3, 1]. Grows well on a shady wall[4]. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun[PFAF]. The plant is resentful of root disturbance, either grow young plants in containers prior to planting them out or plant them out whilst very young[4]. Fast growing, the plant needs careful siting in the garden or it can quickly outgrow its welcome and invade other areas. It grows well on deciduous trees[5]. Plants are not normally pruned, if they are growing too large they can be cut back by trimming them with shears in early spring[6]. Plants are shy to fruit, they possibly require some protection in the flowering season, hand pollination is advisable[3, 2]. Plants are probably self-sterile[7], if possible at least 2 plants should be grown, each from different seed parents. The flowers are sweetly scented[8]. The ssp. Akebia trifoliata australis (Diels.)Rehd., is used medicinally in China[9]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[1].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Surface sow in a light position[10]. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 15°c[10]. Stored seed should be given 1 month cold stratification[11, 10] and can be very difficult to germinate. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, mid summer in a frame[2, 11]. The cuttings can be slow to root[1]. Cuttings can also be taken of soft wood in spring[11]. Root cuttings, December in a warm greenhouse[11]. Layering in early spring[12]. Very easy, the plants usually self-layer and so all you need to do is dig up the new plants and plant them out directly into their permanent positions. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Akebia+trifoliata>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  3. [3]Growing Unusual Fruit. — Simmons. A. E. · David & Charles; Newton Abbot. · 1972 · ISBN 0-7153-5531-7 ↩︎A very readable book with information on about 100 species that can be grown in Britain (some in greenhouses) and details on how to grow and use them.
  4. [4]Gardening on Walls — Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. · Collins · 1983 · ISBN 0-00-219220-0 ↩︎A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.
  5. [5]Plants for Shade. — Knight. F. P. · Royal Horticultural Society. · 1980 · ISBN 0-900629-78-9 ↩︎A small but informative booklet listing plants that can be grown in shady positions with a few cultivation details.
  6. [6]Climbers and Wall Shrubs. — Davis. B. · Viking. · 1990 · ISBN 0-670-82929-3 ↩︎Contains information on 2,000 species and cultivars, giving details of cultivation requirements. The text is terse but informative.
  7. [7]Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. — Thomas. G. S. · Murray · 1992 · ISBN 0-7195-5043-2 ↩︎Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.
  8. [8]Scented Flora of the World. — Genders. R. · Robert Hale. London. · 1994 · ISBN 0-7090-5440-8 ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
  9. [9]Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. — Yeung. Him-Che. · Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles · 1985 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent Chinese herbal giving information on over 500 species. Rather technical and probably best suited to the more accomplished user of herbs.
  10. [10]Growing from Seed. Volume 1. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1987 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.
  11. [11]The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. — Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. · Athens Ga. Varsity Press · 1987 · ISBN 0942375009 ↩︎A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.
  12. [12]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  13. [13]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  14. [14]Diuretic Properties and Chemical Constituent Studies on Stauntonia brachyanthera — Xuan Li Liu, Dan Dan Wang, Zi Hao Wang, & Da Li Meng · 2015 · http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/432419 ↩︎
  15. [15]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  16. [16]Flora of Japan. (English translation) — Ohwi. G. · Smithsonian Institution · 1965 · ISBN - ↩︎The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.
  17. [17]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  18. [18]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  19. [19]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  20. [20]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  21. [21]A Barefoot Doctors Manual. — ? · Running Press; Philadelphica. · 1977 · ISBN 0-914294-92-X ↩︎A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.
  22. [22]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
  23. [23]CosIng — http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/ ↩︎CosIng is the European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients.
  24. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎