Wisteria Care Guide: How to Grow Wisteria in Your Garden

Wisterias are a genus of flowering plants composed of ten species. Wisterias are members of the legume family and are known for their twining vines and cascading flowers. With their puffy, colorful flower buds, wisterias are often used as ornamental plants, climbing up trellises or dangling from pergolas. Wisterias can soar more than 60 feet while spreading horizontally over 30 feet. The flowers come in various shades of white, pink, purple, and lilac, blooming in the springtime for some Asian species and the mid-to-late summer for North American ones.

Wisterias are indigenous to many parts of the world, including Japan, China, Korea, southern Canada, and the eastern United States. English zoologist and botanist Thomas Nuttall named the plant after the American anatomist Caspar Wistar.

Color and twining direction differentiate species: Viewed from above, Wisteria floribunda (Japanese wisteria) twines clockwise. Wisteria sinensis (Chinese wisteria), on the other hand, twines counterclockwise. Wisterias are popularly depicted in fine art, and in Japan, they are culturally significant, frequently appearing in family crests and heraldry.

The fragrant flowers of twining wisteria are hard to miss, but wisteria can overtake a garden if left unchecked. Keep these tips in mind to ensure the health of your wisteria vines:

1. 1. Offer wisteria plants lots of room to grow. Planting wisteria in the right location is as important as full sun exposure and water. All wisteria species need lots of space and something to cling onto, like a trellis or wall. You’ll want to plant them beside a sturdy support system to catch onto and twine up. Ensure the soil is fertile and rich, and wisteria blooms will come easily—the plants don’t require a regulated watering schedule.
2. 2. Consider your garden’s climate. Wisteria floribunda (Japanese wisteria) and Wisteria sinensis (Chinese wisteria) are not North American natives and can be invasive species. Regardless of the wisteria species, these climbers need full sun, so the growing season starts in early spring. As deciduous plants, the flower buds will drop come fall, but then, as soon as late spring, wisteria plants open up to reveal their purple flowers. Wisteria plants can grow in partial shade but might not always flower—full sun is ideal.
3. 3. Prune your plants wisely. Wisteria vines often need pruning to keep their growth in check. When the wisteria has reached an optimal height, you can prune the main trunk to stunt its spread. As the wisteria vines continue to flourish in early summer, you can trim off new growth so the vines don’t take over your garden and sap other plants’ access to full sun and nutrients. Additionally, prune off dead branches in the off-season to keep your wisteria plant healthy.

Whether you’re growing American wisteria and are expecting their spectacular lilac-blue flowers or are trying to get the most out of your Kentucky wisteria—the quickest to bloom—there are several critical considerations for all cultivars of wisteria species:

• Maintain water levels. Wisterias don’t need much water, but you may need to feed your garden manually if you receive less than an inch of rain a week.
• Add compost to your garden. In early spring, before wisteria plants bloom, fertilize the soil. Add some compost to the ground and cover with fresh mulch to combat weeds and keep in moisture.
• Prune wisteria side shoots. If your wisteria flowers are encroaching on a neighboring plants’ territory, prune off these side shoots to keep the wisteria contained. Prune in the late winter, leaving just four or five buds on each stem.
• Space new plants out. When adding new wisteria plants to your garden, be sure to space them 15 feet apart, so each has room to grow.

Wisteria plants contain wisterin and lectin, which are toxic if ingested. Wisterin and lectin are highly concentrated in wisteria flowers’ seed pods and can cause dizziness, nausea, and stomach pains when consumed. Removing the seed pods after the wisteria blooms can serve as a precautionary measure if you have pets or children.

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