Thoughts of things to come ..... (Wisteria)

Member Name: Thailui

Product:	Wisteria
Date:	10/02/07 (447 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beauty in the garden

Disadvantages: Has to be controlled

What better, when you look out and see snow on the ground, than to think of Spring and the flowers that come with it.

Wisteria has to be one of the most attractive of climbing plants and one that I wanted to grow from the time I first saw it. There are two main types of this plant – the Chinese: Wisteria Sinesis and the Japanese: Wisteria Floribunda – although there are also many others.

Wisteria Sinesis, probably the most usual, is a deciduous climbing plant related to the pea family. This can be seen by the flowers which hang in long sprays – known as racemes – usually shades of blue or lilac and occasionally white. Although the plants may seem to be quite fragile when first planted, once established they can quite easily grow to 100 feet – with a gnarled and twisted stem more fitting of a tree of that size.

Many people find that it takes a while to flower. In fact, some neighbours of mine got tired of waiting and took the plant out. I have two in my garden that both flower prolifically – sometimes more than once a year. Both plants (bought at different times) were no more than 45cm (eighteen inches) when I bought them and one now covers and screens a couple of sheds, the other has been trained over an arch and along the side of the house. This one also has clematis climbing with it – mixing dark blue flowers with the pale lilac of the wisteria.

Wisteria is quite capable of supporting itself as it grows long tendrils which curl around anything in the way. I regularly have to cut it away from drainpipes so that they are not pulled away from the wall! In fact, these tendrils need to be cut back as this helps the plant to produce flower shoots. Not only that, they grow so quickly that they would quickly take over house, garden and anything that gets in the way! It’s best to cut them back to about six inches even though this may seem extreme.

The flower sprays, which are about 20cm (eight inches) long, usually appear in May although sometimes more will form in late summer. The racemes of Wisteria Floribunda are longer: 30cm (twelve inches). Sometimes, if there is a late frost, the flowers will be damaged and droop but luckily this is not lasting damage although it can be disappointing at the time. The seeds, like all the pea family, are in long pods. New plants CAN be grown from these but they often take a very long time to flower when grown this way therefore the usual way to grow is from grafted plants. The seeds are harmful if eaten.

The ideal place to plant wisteria is in a sunny but sheltered position. I have found that they need very little attention – apart from pruning and training to climb in the direction required. As they are a member of the pea family they manage to provide themselves with nitrogen from the atmosphere so need very little help with artificial plant food.

I have to say that the tree that grows over the roof of the shed has always been a favourite shelter from the sun for my cats – but recently I found that there was also a fox making use of the same facilities. As this is only a short distance from the back door, I don’t know who was the most surprised when we came face to face!

I hope that you will find this interesting and I thank you for reading.

Summary: A beautiful climber