North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Melissa Kacalanos <mijwiz@yahoo.com>]

I've seen one akebia here in zone 5, at Cornell University's public garden. It has beautiful flowers, and is an impressively vigorous vine, forming a dense tangle sort of like a honeysuckle, on a sturdy pergola. I seem to recall that it had a good fragrance when I stuck my nose in a flower, but it didn't really perfume the air. I don't know how hard they have to work to keep it from taking over, but it looks quite nice. They have only one, so it doesn't fruit.

For fragrance from an invasive vine, I think you can't beat honeysuckle. One vine can perfume a city block. Or for fruit, there are climbing roses with hips. I've heard that kiwi has fragrant flowers, but is that an if-you-stick-your-nose-in-it kind of fragrance, or a smell-it-when-you're-several-houses-away kind? Whatever, I'll be planting some this spring anyway for the fruit.

I've grown melons that, when ripe, filled the garden with a wonderful fragrance, so that's another option if you don't insist
 that fragrance has to come from flowers.

Melissa

----- Original Message -----
From:
To:
Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2009 6:34 AM
Subject: [NAFEX] Akebia vines


>I will be moving to a new property soon, and am thinking about what to
>plant. I like fragrant flowers, and the Akebia vines in the Raintree
>catalogue cot my eye.