Solanum Jasminoides or Chocolate Vine Akebia
Big Blue Sky
Posts: 716
If anybody has Solanum Jasminoides or Chocolate Vine Akebia in their garden - can you please share your experience as to how hardy they are (do they drop leaves over winter) and also how vigorous each of them is. Surrey, south facing fence.
I am looking for a plant that would grow really quickly to cover 2' trellis on top of 6' fence to serve as a privacy screen. These two seem to be a reasonable choice.
I wouldn't like a plant that is too much of a thug as the garden is not big and there are other plants around this spot, but we definitely need a good quick climber, so as long as it is not too invasive I should be able to cope.
Please share your experience about these two plants (or any other good fast climbers) so I can make up my mind and plant it as soon as the danger of frost is over to make sure they have enough time to grow.
We have friendly neighbours but still it's nice to have a not overlooked garden to feel more comfortable.
many thanks 
Posts
Big Blue Sky, I can't comment as such with Solanum Jasminoides/Laxum but can assure you from what I have seen from around where I live and from friends, this shrub/climber is very fast growing. I have seen it growing into telephone lines and I have pictures somewhere that shows how vigorous they are, even in mid November. On a south facing fence, you will find it is practically evergreen. But, they are tender and if you regularly get frost in the winter time, it is not going to be evergreen. The older the shrub/climber gets, the more tougher they can survive the cold. If you have free draining soil, they will take over.
I have grown Solanum Crispum Glasnevin, and this shrub/climber is far more hardier and also vigorous, but does not extend to the levels Solanum Jasiminoides/Laxum gets. Far more compact, but shorter flowering time. On a protected wall, it's semi-evergreen but gets quite ugly in the winter times, but to be honest, it's not really evergreen.
Both plants need regular cutting down of old stems as after a few years, some stems will not green up, so if you want to grow them, you need to be prepared to prune regularly, but the Jasiminoides will not tolerate below -5 when young. So you will need to protect it in the first few years.
Hi. Good choices. I bought an Akebia last Autumn to cover an unused trellis on a shady wall. It has certainly survived the Winter, in a pot, but I won't know how it will grow and flourish until Spring. I think it does well in more sun - in fact the 'fruits' often don't develop in shade, I understand.
The best fast-growers I had were Clematis Montana and a Honeysuckle - they both completely covered a fence panel in two years. Maybe you could consider something which could take a few years to really provide cover, such as Ceanothus or Red Robin, and grow some annual climbers for colour and interest this year, e.g. sweet peas. I'm sure more ideas will be posted.
Thank you Borderline and Aunty Rach! It looks like Solanum is the right choice at the moment. It should be ok with the light frost here in Surrey.
But I also got quite inspired to grow that Akebia in a pot. Aunty Rach, how big is the pot you are growing it in? Would it need to be planted out at some stage or can it just continue to grow in a pot forever?
Thank you
Chocolate vine everytime - very easy to grow even in shade with much more interesting flowers and leaf shape.
I just stuck one in the ground near a shady fence and it went crazy and seems unaffected by the cold winds.
Solanum Jasminoides in my opinion is a tedious plant that gets lots of diseases and does not like the cold. Also the leaf shape is not as interesting as those of the fabulous chocolate vines!