PUSHING THE BORDERS

Got me one of these last year, I remember showing it to someone last summer not in flower and the comment was "Does the world need another Akebia!" (You know who you are :lol: ) but now its starting to flower and I think it may be a winner, still waiting on building the bit of garden I want to plant it in, in the mean time the flowers are amazing

akebia longiracemosa 016 by charliepridham, on Flickr

charlie wrote:Got me one of these last year, I remember showing it to someone last summer not in flower and the comment was "Does the world need another Akebia!"

Looking like that I would have to say yes, it does need another!

I tried A.quinata at my old house but it didn't thrive (actually it died 2010/11) in the clay soil.

interesting, I didn't think you could kill them, west of me they are considered too invasive to plant!

charlie wrote:interesting, I didn't think you could kill them,

That's what I was told! I pretty much knew that it was doomed when all that snow melted in 2011 and created a lake around it.

That plant is a stunner Charlie.

Flowers are opening properly now

Akebia longiracemosa003 by charliepridham, on Flickr

Very classy looking plant.
I hope you don't mind a slight hijack but I'd like to know why my Akebia quinata hasn't flowered. It has been planted out for three to four years and is up and over a six foot trellis with plenty of foliage but no flowers. It faces WSW and is planted in a bottomless 20L pot. Any tips please?

If I was a betting man I would say its probably trying but getting the forming flower buds frosted, I always recommend planting on walls if in cold areas for this reason, doesn't seem to mind a north wall. The plant itself is very tough and can go as low as -30c but the flower buds can not, its a problem worse in mild winters as flowering can be earlier and get caught by spring frost, one of mine had very few flowers this year while another which flowered starting two weeks later was covered, its much the same story with Holboellia and Stauntonia (I think they have become one now) Its one of the reasons I am so pleased with longiracemosa as it appears to be flowering a month after quinata, if that is the normal case it should escape spring frosts most years.

That's a stunner Charlie, a great improvement on the more readily available species.

Thanks Charlie, unfortunately I don't have a suitable spare wall so I'll have to keep an eye out next spring and the fleece at the ready for late frosts.