Editing Akebia quinata (section)

=== Seasonal changes ===

The vine is semi-evergreen in mild winters and largely deciduous in colder ones, with new leaves and flower racemes appearing together in early spring. <sup>[[#cite_note-9|[9]]]</sup><sup>[[#cite_note-6|[6]]]</sup> New spring growth is frost-tender even though dormant wood is hardy to about −20 °C; light frosts can kill the fresh shoots, so a sheltered site matters where late frosts are common. <sup>[[#cite_note-7|[7]]]</sup><sup>[[#cite_note-8|[8]]]</sup> A Kansas grower reports that the vines struggled badly at first, and cold snaps killed young vines to the ground in another grower's account. <sup id="cite_ref-12">[[#cite_note-12|[12]]]</sup> RHS gives the species hardiness rating H6 (about −20 °C) and assigns the fruiting cultivars the same requirement of long, hot summers and a second plant to fruit well. <sup>[[#cite_note-6|[6]]]</sup><sup id="cite_ref-10">[[#cite_note-10|[10]]]</sup><sup id="cite_ref-11">[[#cite_note-11|[11]]]</sup>

Flowering in the Chinese flora runs April–May with fruiting June–August; the study population in central China flowered March–May, and fruit took about four months to ripen. <sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup><sup>[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup> In North America and Europe the pods open in autumn, roughly September–October. <sup>[[#cite_note-4|[4]]]</sup><sup>[[#cite_note-8|[8]]]</sup><sup>[[#cite_note-13|[13]]]</sup><sup id="cite_ref-15">[[#cite_note-15|[15]]]</sup> Invasive-potential reports follow the same vigor: the vine is fast, smothering near supports, and is listed as invasive by the North Carolina Invasive Plant Council, so it should be planted where spread can be managed rather than near beds or open woodland it could blanket. <sup>[[#cite_note-4|[4]]]</sup><sup>[[#cite_note-7|[7]]]</sup><sup>[[#cite_note-12|[12]]]</sup>