Wisteria Species, Chinese Wisteria

On May 24, 2020, TheCzaress from Rolla, MO wrote:

Although we’ve both always loved wisteria, buying this home just 6 months ago, my boyfriend and I are now new caregivers to one and we are green. And now that our Wisteria’s beautifully pleasant blooms have gone, her tendrils are running wild. She is very mature. I haven’t measured her root base but if I were to guess, probably 18 inch circumference. From the root base at the driveway, along with foliage, runs along the average-length walkway and support/fence, over an arbor, back down to a very short portion of support and ends. There is a pergola that was built above the front door that may have been intended for the Wisteria but I can only guess. We need help taming this beauty without killing her or stunting her growth. The tendrils are out into the walkway and we don’t know what to do... read more to get her on her way to the pergola. Please help. I have photos if you need to see.

Thanks,
Mary and Derek,
Missouri, USA

On Jun 14, 2011, wynswid from Garland, TX wrote:

My neighbor's kept invading my backyard and killed my plum tree. I'll never plant it.

On Aug 16, 2010, PiBall from Milford, NH wrote:

We now live in a home that was built in 1963, and I suspect the Wysteria in the backyard was planted at the time of construction. It is conveniently in the MIDDLE of the yard, in full sun and exposed to high winds. It has been pruned over the years to be a huge ball, rather than as a climber, and has an incredible trunk several inches in diameter. It is a Japanese variety, I believe, because it flowers BEFORE the leaves unfurl. This year it sent out several crawlers that I will cut back to the trunk this fall, after the leaf drop, when I can see better under it. It does, however, create a spectacular display in early spring! Fragrant and lovely, masses upon masses of hanging clusters of lilac/blue flowers. Fuzzy seed pods are of interest all summer into the winter. I put a shepard's... read more hook by it with a bird feeder because the little birds love the massive "shrub" for cover, but alas, the pole is being swallowed by the vine. Overall, high maintenance but worth it. BTW: the leaves have been deep, rich green in spite of the New England drought this summer. No watering needed for this plant.

On Jul 20, 2010, garden4wildlife from Pinehurst, NC wrote:

If you are considering aquiring this plant, first check to see if it is invasive in your part of the country. There is much information about invasive species on the internet or from your native plant society. Much expense is incurred in attempts to remove it from roadsides, parks and other natural areas. It kills trees and all native undergrowth thus affecting the entire ecosystem. You may feel you can control it in your yard, but you don't see what happens in all the natural areas where the birds deposit its seeds.
There are native wisterias, frutescens and macrostachya, that are not invasive or such strong growers that they can kill large trees and are very attractive.

On Oct 2, 2009, mswestover from Yulee, FL (Zone 9a) wrote:

When I purchased this property five years ago this plant had grown over everything it could reach. I trimmed it back to within 15 feet of the mother plant. I put some landscape timbers in the ground and cross hatched them with fishing pole bamboo in a circular shape, about 15 wide and 50 feet long and 8 feet high to form a little walkway under the flowers. Now the Wisteria has grown and intertwined with the bamboo and mostly supports itself. It is a show stopper in full bloom in March. You can walk under the flowers and watch the yellow bumble bees feasting for about a month before they fade. You have to keep on top of it by constantly trimming or it will grow, grow, grow everywhere you do not want it.

On Oct 2, 2008, Strazil from Seattle, WA wrote:

Originally bought this chinese wisteria (9 years ago) to climb and cover an unattractive but useful woodshed in the far corner of our backyard. Though I've heard they can grow quite large, this one gets a lot of shade from a very large cherry tree, so the size can easily be controlled if you are vigilant about new shoots. I don't get a profusion of blooms, but a decent amount each year. BUT if I had to choose again, I think I would have gone with Virginia Creeper, a much more attractive display throughout the seasons.

On May 1, 2008, blufour from Cantril, IA wrote:

I'm not sure I can say neutral is my experience with Wisteria. I tryed for years to grow different ones I bought. Finally I got one from Earl May here in Iowa and it survived. After probably 2 years it had enough growth to actually put on a couple or three blooms. I also, in the meantime, purchased a Wisteria tree which became established more quickly and bloomed I think the first year. Then I moved! Had to begin all over and so far I've had probably 3 Wisteria vines, lost the first 2, and looks like I'm losing the third one. What has happened each time is those late freezes or just a hard winter. If I could get them through a few winters in order to get good woody growth I think they'd be established enough to take the extreme cold. We live on a "bottom" ground area and we get fr... read moreost and freezes when others don't. When I did get growth out of my Wisterias they gave me no trouble with spreading here in Zone 5 of Iowa.

On Mar 16, 2007, Lily_love from Central, AL (Zone 7b) wrote:

I've one of the Chinese Wisteria, planted one year on my old property. When I moved (the vine was probably 2 year-old), the taproot was deep that I needed a water lancer (spl.?) to help dug it out the ground. Good thing I did, for there were no wild growth has been sighted at the old stumping ground.

Since then, this once a toddler, now 6-7 year-old-vine being kept confined in a whiskey-barel is rewarding us with beautiful, prolific flower buds. (It's prunned into a small tree form), for the first time. In general, vigorous pruning, and use No nitrogen, or Potash, but strickly tripple Phosphate fertilizer to encourage blooming. It worked for me.

As far as help to identify which variety we have. Once can see when the various vines timing of blooms, and i... read morets unique habits.

1. Chinese varities, blosoms begins after the leaves unfurl. in the Spring, then sporadically when the weather cools down in the early Falls. Vigorous grower.

2. Japanese varities; blosoms BEFORE the leave erupted. Most frequently used in "Bonsai"? Vigorous grower.

3. American varities; Bloom well after the leave are out, in mid springs, and sporadically all through the growing seasons. Less vigorous grower.

On Jun 25, 2006, Junebug62 from Swansea, SC wrote:

This vine has to be pruned not only on top but also at the roots, it will send feeder roots up to forty feet from the original roots. Treat this vine poorly, don't water alot put it in poor soil, will grow in sand, be aggressive about pruning both above and below ground and you will be rewarded with the beautiful blooms.

On Mar 23, 2006, gooley from Hawthorne, FL (Zone 8b) wrote:

I'm told that there is a similar vine, a relative (same genus, different species) that is less vigorous and native to the US. As I write, the Chinese wisterias are in bloom here, all along the old railroad cut and in various disturbed areas: it's the spring equinox more or less. They're pretty. They're ubiquitous. They're impractical to get rid of. They're crowding out a mess of native species. Just don't plant them. I see from the reviews that few people will agree with me.

On Feb 13, 2006, MotherNature4 from Bartow, FL (Zone 9a) wrote:

I do not grow this plant. Though it is beautiful when blooming, this is an extremely invasive plant. It will uproot the foundation of your house or completely smother a tree. My recommendation is to not plant it.

On Nov 14, 2005, rondaross from Deer Park, TX wrote:

My husband and I have a Purple Wisteria trained up a poll in our backyard. We keep it trimmed along the trunk up to about midway the height of the vine (13') and it puts out tons of flowers around March-April with no fail. It does receive full sun with the exception of early morning due to a neighbors Pecan tree. But we've had no troubles and really after the blooms are gone, we do a drastic trim on branches and new trailers and keep it short during the rest of the year. It fills out quickly with leaves once the blooms drop. We do get occassional blooms throughout the year because of our constant trimming back.

On Jun 14, 2005, theresamendoza from Hesperia, CA (Zone 8a) wrote:

I planted my chinese wisteria three years ago and no blooms so far.
This year has been cooler than normal so maybe that has something
to do with it. I'm in zone 8a, high desert. I have seen maybe 3 wisterias blooming in our tri-cities communty. It is a rare plant here.

On Apr 26, 2005, PlantmanPatric from Statesville, NC (Zone 7a) wrote:

Chinese Wisteria grows in North Carolina with the same rambunctiousness and voracity that kudzu does, but at least Wisteria is pretty and smells good.

I have recently purchased a tree wisteria. It has only been in the ground about a month, but I have my first leaves budding out. I have a cousin that has a wisteria vine that her grandmother trained into tree form. This one is over 100 years old. She has to constantly trim and train it to keep it looking like an ornamental tree, but it is beautiful this time of year.

Here's to hoping I can repost into a positive later on.

On Mar 16, 2005, tiffcrum from Indianapolis, IN wrote:

I planted two Wisteria Sinesis about 3 years ago over an arbor. They are filling in quite nicely but are not overpowering whatsoever. I am in zone 5 and the cold seems to keep the Wisteria from being so invasive. The blooms are gorgeous and very fragrant. This is my absolute favorite plant. I prune it several times a year. I have heard that the more distress you cause to the plant helps it flower more.

On Oct 27, 2004, lmelling from Ithaca, NY (Zone 5b) wrote:

Yes, this is an invasive little critter, but when it blooms, it's absolutely beautiful. I started 2 here back in 1997 that were supposed to be about 4 years old. I waited and waited for them to bloom - nothing! But boy, did they grow! I had one planted next to my house and made a trellis for it, but I couldn't keep it contained. After 5 years with no blooms, and it growing like wildfire, I decided to move it to an area where it could grow along our fence and not get in the way. Well...the main trunk died! But meanwhile, back where I had taken it out volunteers were coming up everywhere! I dug and transplanted several of these to the fence and they have now taken off - but I keep finding more volunteers that have now grown around both corners of the house - will this thing ever stop... read more? I keep cutting and digging and they keep coming!!! If it weren't so funny, I'd be really mad.

Meanwhile - the second wisteria still wasn't blooming either. I have it growing on a 3 sided lattice trellis that surrounds our propane tank to hide it. It has now filled all three sides and we have to continually cut back on top and inside the screen so the guy can fill the tank. In 2001, in frustration that it didn't bloom I read up on how to make it bloom...the answer - PHOSPORUS!

HOW TO MAKE IT BLOOM:
In late fall, dig a shallow trench around the main trunk, pour superphosphate along the trench, shovel over and water thoroughly. Next spring (unless late frost kills the buds), you should have beautiful blossoms! It worked for me and it bloomed well the first year, and less so in 2002. The blooms were killed off by late frost in 2003 and I didn't have any blossoms this year, so this fall I'm going to do the phosphorus again.

On Jul 15, 2004, conniecola from Lincoln, NE wrote:

I LOVE this plant! Mine is fairly new(3 years old). It had beautiful purple clusters last year, but this year nothing yet. I heard that you can train it to be a tree or a vine. I am trying to train it by having it go along the length of my wooden fence. Are you supposed to prune it in the fall? and how far down do I cut it back? I think we have one on our chain length fence also. It was here when we moved in. My husband has tried to get rid of it, but can't. It is twining through the fence, but this summer, I saw these totally beautiful purple clusters that smelled wonderful, and told him not to get rid of it. I love to look at the older more established ones when they are in full bloom!

On May 18, 2004, uofagirl from Orrville, OH (Zone 6a) wrote:

Have a 10+ old wisteria chinensis w/o flowers in part sun already, but bought this blooming 4 year old baby and put it in full sun in hopes to continue its flowers next season.

On Mar 13, 2004, greenthumbscott wrote:

The wait is worth it. I live in central Pennsylvania (not quite sure what zone it is.) I planted a Chinese wisteria 9 years ago and it took 7 years to bloom. The first year it only had a few flowers but last year was magnificent. The entire plant was nothing but clusters of blue-purple flowers. Neighbors would stop and comment on it and let me know that in a slight breeze, they could smell it several houses away.

The base is now about 5" in diameter and I have it growing on a 6' privacy fence on the side of my yard in full sun.I want to trim it but after seeing it bloom last year, I'm afraid I'll inhibit its flowering.

On Feb 25, 2004, jesup from Malvern, PA (Zone 7a) wrote:

While it's pretty when/if it blooms....

It's very invasive! At the house I bought it's taken over most of the sunny slope (45 deg.) below house. It's strangling azaleas, dogwoods, firebushes. One magnolia tree (6-8" trunk) had this twining up it with a 2" vine that was at least 1/2-3/4" embedded into the trunk. There are hundreds and hundreds of vines everywhere, criss-crossing, twining around each other, etc. Probably covers at least 1/2-3/4 acre.

I'm fighting to try to at least limit the spread and damage to the shrubs and trees. I have no illusions that I'll ever be able to fully control it and plant the slope the way I'd like.

On Nov 24, 2003, Greenknee from Chantilly, VA (Zone 6b) wrote:

I have 3 wisterias, and have had the same problems with getting them to bloom. They are very strong growers, and generally need to be pruned very hard to induce blossoming in plants less than 10 years old. I suggest letting them grow to get a little size then begin cutting back all side shoots to only 3 to 5 buds where you want flowers, otherwise cut back to main stem(s).

If planted in rich soil (a mistake!) you may also have to root prune to induce stress, as they bloom best when stressed, as by pruning, etc. Those on display, as on the National Mall in DC, have trunks 6" to 8" in dia, and are pruned ruthlessly at leat twice a year, August and agin in February. Likewise the fabulous collection at Dumbarton Oaks, as well as those at Filoli, in CA.

On Oct 11, 2003, nipajo from Dallas, TX (Zone 8b) wrote:

I planted mine in front of the garage and now it's runners all over the place. In the alley, on the patio, growing on my neighbors trees. Mine blooms in the spring and then sporadicaly for the rest of the season. I live in the zone 8 area. It has gone through several trellises, cement blocks and through the garage. But it is one of the first bloomers of the spring and the smell is spectacular.

On Jun 30, 2003, koimiss from Allegan, MI wrote:

I am in Zone 5. I can't remember which Wisteria I have, and I certainly can't tell from the flowers because it isn't blooming!

It is a nice size vine, though only about 12 ft tall right now. I have one on either side of an arbor 9ft tall and 4 ft across. I am beginning to have nightmares about what will happen back there when this thing really takes off. I have only had it two years. I haven't pruned it much yet, and I understand it isn't quite as fast growing in our zone. I sure would like to see it flower though. The ones where I bought it from bloomed the first year and every year since. I am holding my opinion to neutral for now!

On Apr 20, 2003, Stonebec from Fort Worth, TX (Zone 7b) wrote:

I am not sure if I have the Japanese or Chinese wisteria. I understand it has something to do with whether it coils to the right or left. I braided 5 main stems together to form a tree-like structure with mine but it still needs a trellis to grow on because it is fast! Mine has it's first bloom before it gets any leaves, about early March here in Fort Worth. It goes through about 5 bloom cycles a year. We trim it when it reaches the peak of the roof of the house. Our trellis is over the air conditioning unit and it really does keep our electric bill down. I love the smell and don't bother the bees. We planted one of our wisterias next to our pine tree last winter and it has started up it. It will look so marvelous with blooms hanging from the pine. We are constantly catching it sending ten... read moredrils across the driveway. Very easy to break. Flowers do not hold their scent if cut and brought in the house - darn it! I love it, faults and all.

On Mar 19, 2003, Kelli from L.A. (Canoga Park), CA (Zone 10a) wrote:

In my area, Chinese Wisteria blooms from late winter to mid spring. Overall my experience with it has been positive, but it is a vigorous plant that needs to be kept under control. One of my pictures shows the plant along the edge of the roof and it is planted in the back of the house, giving it a length of probably 50 feet. We have to keep it out of the shutters or it would pull them apart. The plant will self-sow. The seed pods are interesting. I like how they feel. If I didn't know the name of the plant, I would call it velvet bean. The seeds ripen in the fall. One half of the seed pod pops off and the seeds are flung for many feet in all directions. This is audible. The flowers are slightly fragrant, making this a plant for the senses of sight, hearing, touch, and smell.