Akebia quinata Alba

Akebia quinata Alba, rarer in cultivation than the classic five-leafed Akebia, is a vigorous, elegant and fragrant climbing plant that will thrive on a pergola or in a hedge. This beautiful variety with white flowers charms in spring with its lovely clusters of fragrant flowers, as well as its beautiful dark green foliage that persists on the plant in mild winters. This hardy variety tolerates ordinary, well-prepared soil and prefers a sunny exposure.

Akebia kinata Alba is a very pretty plant with woody stems, native to the temperate forests of Japan, Korea, and China. It belongs to the family of Lardizabalaceae. The plant reaches a height of 6 to 8 m (20 to 26ft) with a spread of 3 m (10ft), and its growth is rather fast. Akebia quinata var. Alba bears, from April to May, beautiful trailing clusters, adorned with bell-shaped flowers, 8-10 cm (3-4in) long, white with a pink centre. Monoecious, it bears both male and female flowers on the same plant: the female flowers being larger. This highly nectariferous flowering exudes a very pleasant vanilla scent. However, the plant is not self-fertile and requires the presence of a second plant nearby to produce fruit. The fruits appear during a hot summer. They have the shape of large swollen and arched beans, which are white in colour. Although edible, they offer a slightly tasteless white flesh, surrounding large black seeds.

The foliage, more or less evergreen in winter, is very ornamental. New leaves appear at the end of flowering. Each leaf is composed of 5 leaflets, elliptical-obovate in shape and medium green in colour. They take on beautiful reddish hues in autumn due to the cold.

Despite its exotic appearance, Akebia quinata Alba is a climbing plant of excellent hardiness, tolerating temperatures as low as -13°C (8.6°F) to -18°C (-0.4°F) in mature specimens. It clings to its support with its stems equipped with tendrils, and can be planted on a pergola, a wall, or in a tree alongside a climbing rose or evergreen honeysuckle, preferably in a sheltered and sunny location.