Long racemes of pink, white or most frequently purple flowers drip from the gnarly, twisted vines of Wisteria in mid-May displaying a beautiful combination of masculine and feminine form. The fragrance is delicious and hangs in the air like the flowers themselves, sweet and heady. Soft new tendrils curl all around the edges of the main vines. The overall effect of old growth, new growth, flowers and fragrance is quite simply perfect!

The ideal situation for wisteria is either grown against a solid wall against which it can be espaliered by training it onto wires or more easily, it can be trained to wrap itself up a sturdy pillar. The pillar should be at least 4" X4" or larger. Wisteria is far too vigorous to be grown on a lattice, and you should keep it clear of vinyl or cedar siding as it can cause damage to these.

Any sunny location with at least 6 hours of direct sunshine and well-drained soil will do. Add the usual bone meal, peat moss and manure when planting, followed by plenty of water in the first year. Plant grafted plants as these bloom at an earlier age.

In the summer, we trim all the tendrils from our vines and sprinkle a handful of rock phosphate around the base to ensure plenty of blooms the following Spring.

Shauna Lambeth ©

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