Here's the use of a rather large Wisteria in Victoria, BC. It adds spring colour to this exotic garden.
Wow, that's beautiful!!! I was looking to see if I could find a photo of a wisteria, thanx for the idea! I'm going to plant mine under our back patio railing and attach it to the edge of the patio. How do you get it to hang off the house like that? I'm guessing you tie it? Or is it a climber?
Softening a house with a wisteria like this is a classic use. You have to train and prune yearly to maintain this effect, wisteria are large and vigorous climbers quite capable of filling up a large tree when not restrained.
At my mums old cottage the wisteria didn't get pruned one year, it started to pull the roof tiles off, and part of the facing. Minor damage, but it was interesting to see the determination of the plant to grow when let loose. Carol Ja
So, in the wintertime, it's just branches with no leaves, right? Does the vine get thick enough that it could damage our wood railing on our patio?? Sounds like a strong plant! (edited) Another question... if the wisteria is left to grow as a tree, without a climbing arbor, wall or anything, will it grow into a tree or a wide shrub and just kinda fall all over the ground? I've got one on it's way, I ordered it a week ago, and want to be sure I plant it in the right place.
Pattern formed by bare stems in winter part of interest. Main stems eventually quite thick. Tree shape established and maintained by pruning and training. Frame may be needed to support wisteria "tree", same as with one grown as climber.
I have seen wisteria twist around a post, twisting it in the ground and eventually destroying one side of lattice house. Do not let the main vine twist around any of the support posts or railings- tie them in place with a stretchy material.
I bought our current house which originally had a Wisteria planted on the front SE corner. Apon closer inspection in spring, I discovered it had worked it's way under the siding, around down pipes, shingles etc in an attempt to climb up and over the house. I moved the beast and planted it where it could run free and climb uninterupted. Some remaining root from the original site kept trying to shoot for a few years afterward, and Round Up was the only way to eradicte the shoots. Personally, I'd never plant a Wisteria against a house.
Tree or standard wisteria has to be rigorously pruned and trained to stay that way. Extremely old specimens may be able to support their own weight. But I suspect that those stand alone specimens likely have support structures embedded in the woody "stem" (more correctly, vine). This one in our front yard is 10 years old. It is supported by a 2 inch stainless steel fence post embedded in a 2 foot deep concrete footing. The vine has already partially clasped itself around the post. Use the sturdiest and longest lasting support you can find - a wimpy 2x2 is no match for this vine - it will just crush it! On the other hand, I do have another potted specimen, also the same age, which is free standing. But this one does need a lot of pruning to keep the top light and from toppling over - I basically treat it like a bonsai. And that includes 2 yearly root pruning. I would advise against allowing a wisteria to rampage unchecked. If you are looking for the kind of results in the fine example illustrated in the picture in the initial post, then, be prepared to prune, prune and prune. Deligent and correct pruning (the aim is to produce flowering spurs, not lots of twining vines) is what encourages the wisteria to flower like it does in that picture. Left to it's own device, you will not only get a monster on your hands, but the flowering is apt to be less impressive. I do have a pink wisteria, Wisteria floribunda 'Honbeni' ('Rosea), which is a little better behaved, but is still apt to be octopus like with it's vines. Reading the story about the world's largest wisteria plant should alert you as to what you are up against. This wisteria, growing in Sierra Madre, California, occupies 1 acre and is estimated to weigh 250 tons. It produces 1.5 million blossoms every year. It is regarded as one of the seven horticultural wonders of the world, and has been recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest blossoming plant in the world. The largest specimen that I know of in the Lower Mainland is one growing amongst the trees in that strip of wood land between Columbia Street and Front Street in New Westminster, between Pattulo bridge and the junction of Columbia and Front. Going by Front Street in the spring time when this vine was in full bloom used to be the highlight of the day. Unfortunately, a fire on the adjacent railway tresllis a few years ago destroyed a lot of the vegetation in that area because of the intense heat generated by the burning cresote used as preservative in the lumber. I will be definitely checking it out again this spring. In the City of Vancouver, Vandusen gardens has a nice specimen adorning it's main building. Inside the garden, there are a number of smaller examples.
OMG to that link! I'd like to check that out. That is very impressive. On second thought, I don't think my garage would hold a wisteria. Maybe it's best to grow it on a strong arbor and try to link it around my garage. I'll have to think about this idea. : )
