One of my favorite accessories to the outside of any home has nothing to do with patio furniture or decorative urns but is in fact a plant.  That probably isn’t surprising and it is probably a sentiment that I share with many people when they drive by a house and see climbing vines on the brick work or a trellis of climbing roses or even a gazebo engulfed by a vine of some kind. 

This week, I would love to talk about the Chocolate Vine.  This is a hot subject and the plant itself has many people who love the vine and others that don’t.  As a plant, the Chocolate Vine is a wonderful evergreen vine that grows quickly and can reach heights of about 6 feet.  The Chocolate Vine can be used as either a ground cover or as a climber and the vibrant blue-green leaves make it very eye catching.  The plant itself blooms between March and April and the flowers are a brownish purple that are about 1 inch across.  The scent of the flowers is what gives this vine its name and many people liken the scent to either chocolate or vanilla.  After the flowers, an edible, sausage-shaped fruit matures and by September or October, it can be harvested. 

Chocolate Vine does well in many different zones from Zone 5 to Zone 8 and it has been reported to do well in Zone 4 also. 

Now for the bad news about this seemingly beautiful and fragrant plant; it is considered to be a weed.  Already, reports have been made about the Chocolate Vine being an invasive plant.  It spreads out and does so quickly.  It thrives in shade so it has gained some footing in Eastern forests in the United States.  When the vine grows unchecked, it will cover the ground and will begin to wind around trees and other plants.  Because the vine has a dense growth, it blocks out the sunlight to the plant underneath, ultimately killing the other plants that are native to the area.

So although Chocolate Vine may seem like a great addition to any garden, it is strongly recommended that you do not grow Chocolate Vine due to its invasive nature.  The Invasive and Exotic Species lists it as a weed, not to be used and many other agencies also strongly recommend avoiding this plant in your garden.  So if you have Chocolate Vine already, try to keep it under control or destroy it.  If you don’t have Chocolate Vine but would like to use a vine, I would strongly recommend finding out what type of vine is native to your area and using that.

Sirena Van Schaik

Tags: aggressive plants, Akebia quinata, Chocolate Vine, Chocolate Vines, creepers, creeping plants, creeping vines, Invasive and Exotic Species, invasive plants, invasive weeds, vines, weeds

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