In the spring, wisteria blooms ferociously, producing clusters of lilac-colored flowers on fresh growth that develops from spurs off the main stalks. Check out our Wisteria Growing Guide for more information on wisteria maintenance, including planting and pruning.
About Wisteria
Wisteria is a long-living vining shrub with cascades of blue to purple blossoms that, in the spring and early summer, look stunning hanging from a pergola or archway. However, this vine is known to grow fairly heavy and to grow quickly and aggressively, frequently reaching lengths of more than 30 feet. It’s advised not to put wisteria vines too close to your home since they will squirm their way into any crack or crevice they can find.
Beautifully fragrant wisteria flowers offer a feast for the senses. A brown, bean-like pod remains on the plant during the winter after flowering. There are only blooms on fresh growth.
Note: Be careful when planting wisteria! The wisteria plant contains lectin and wisterin, which are poisonous to people, animals, and even pets. If taken in significant quantities, these poisons can result in anything from nausea and diarrhea to death.
Is Wisteria an Invasive Plant?
The wisteria species Wisteria sinensis and Wisteria floribunda, which are not native to North America, are regarded as invasive in several areas. If you want to add a new wisteria to your garden, we advise choosing one of the native North American varieties, such as American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens) or Kentucky wisteria (Wisteria macrostachya), which are excellent alternatives to the Asian species.
Do you want to know how to distinguish between North American and Asian species?
While North American wisteria is not quite as aggressive in its growing tendencies and has smooth seed pods and fruits in addition to more-or-less cylindrical, bean-shaped seeds, Asian wisteria is an aggressive grower with fuzzy seed pods. Another distinction is that the flowers of American and Kentucky wisterias appear in the late spring after the plant has begun to leaf out, whereas those of Chinese wisteria do not.
When to Plant Wisteria
- Plant during the plant’s dormant season in the spring or fall.
- Wisteria can be grown from seed, although plants from seeds frequently take many years to mature and begin to bloom. It is advised to buy wisteria plants that are already established or to begin with a cutting.
Where to Plant Wisteria
- Put a plant in full sun. Even while wisteria will grow in some shade, it won’t likely bloom. Sunlight is necessary.
- Wisteria should be grown in fertile, wet, but well-draining soil.
- Wisteria will grow in most soils unless it is in bad condition, in which case you need add compost. Find out more about soil improvements and getting the soil ready for planting.
- Because wisteria grows swiftly and can easily engulf its neighbors, pick a location apart from other plants.
- Additionally, wisteria is renowned for encroaching on and infiltrating surrounding buildings like homes, garages, sheds, and so on. We highly advise against growing wisteria too near your house!
- Wisteria vines need a very strong support, like a metal or wooden trellis or pergola, to climb on. Plan carefully and use substantial materials to construct your structure because mature plants have been known to become so heavy that they destroy their supports.
Wisteria looks gorgeous growing up the side of a house, but use caution when planting it because it is a very strong vine that will get into any crack or gap!
Caring for Wisteria
- Apply a 2-inch layer of mulch and a layer of compost under the plant each spring to keep moisture in and keep weeds at bay.
- Phosphorus is often used by gardeners to promote flowering. In the spring, work a few cups of bone meal into the soil. Then, in the fall, add some rock phosphate. Study up on soil amendments.
- If you get less than an inch of rain each week, water your plants. (To determine how much rain you are receiving, set an empty food can outside and use a measuring stick to gauge the depth of the water.)
- During the summer, try pruning the out-of-control shoots every two weeks for more blooms.
Pruning Wisteria
- In the late winter, prune wisteria. Remove at least half of the growth from the previous year, leaving only a few buds on each stem.
- Also prune in the summer after customary flowering if you prefer a more formal appearance. On fresh growth, spurs from the main shoots of the wisteria develop its blossoms. Trim back every new shoot from this year to a spur, leaving no more than 6 inches of growth. So that there are no free, trailing shoots, the entire plant can be trained, roped in, and otherwise organized throughout this procedure.
- Mature plants that have been cultivated informally require little to no more pruning. However, for a plant that has been formally trained, side branches should be pruned back in the summer to 6 inches, then again in the winter to 3 buds.
- Possess you a fresh wisteria? After planting, aggressively prune the vine. Then, the next year, trim the main stem or stems to a height of 3 feet from the growth of the previous year. After the framework has grown to its full size, midsummer extension growth should be cut back to where it started that season.
Does Virginia have wisteria trees?
A woody liana with the capacity to reach heights of 15 m, Wisteria frutescens has young stems that are either smooth or coated in tiny hairs that are packed tightly against the stem surface. Stems climb by twining counterclockwise around supports. The odd-pinnately complex, alternating leaves measure 1030 cm in length. The number of leaflets per leaf can range from 5 to 15, and they can be elliptic to lance-ovate in form with acute or acuminate tips. Upon emerging in the spring, the leaflets are pubescent, but as the season goes on, they lose their hair. Densely flowered terminal racemes, which can range in length from 3 to 15 cm, first develop in the late spring, well after the emergence of leaves.
Although the individual flowers are oriented upside down in comparison to the majority of papillionoid legumes due to the pendulous racemes, the flowers nonetheless follow the basic pattern of these legumes. The sepals are fused together to form a 57 mm long calyx with an irregularly and shallowly lobed rim. Two keel petals curve downward and end under the ends of the wing petals, and there is a single standard petal that reflexes backward and creates a broad semicircle 1.5 to 2 cm in diameter. Pairs of wing petals are obovate and merge at their tips. Although subtle variations exist, flower hues typically vary from violet to blue, with greater reddish undertones in the calyx and newly opened petals, and darker petal veins. Standard petals also have a triangular yellowish middle zone, and white-flowered versions are also known. The paired keel petals completely encircle the stamens; nine of the ten stamens have fused filaments that resemble tubes, while the tenth stamen is distinct from the others. Each flower has a single ovary that is enveloped by the keel petals and encircled by staminal filaments. The ovary is stalked at the base and contains many ovules. Fruits (also known as “legumes”) are long, linear, smooth capsules that contain many reniform seeds.
Name and relationships
Species of wisteria belong to the vast and diverse family of legumes (Fabaceae). The first member of the genus, American Wisteria, was given the full scientific name Glycine frutescens in Linnaeus’ 1753 publication Species Plantarum. Thomas Nuttall identified this woody liana as separate from soybeans in 1818; Nuttall named the genus Wisteria in honor of Philadelphia-born physician and anatomist Caspar Wistar, who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The word “shrubby” is used to describe the species in the scientific name, frutescens. The genus Wisteria has seven or eight species, two of which are indigenous to eastern North America and the rest to eastern Asia.
In the garden
American Wisteria is a simple-to-grow plant that thrives in USDA zones 5 through 9. For optimal results, place it in a spot with full or nearly full sun and water it frequently during dry spells. If a trellis is used as support, it can be grown in containers until it is ready to bloom. It is advised to regularly prune long branches that resemble whips as they grow by the end of the summer. Wisteria frutescens is regularly suggested as a native alternative to commonly grown Asian species, such as W. sinensis (Chinese Wisteria), W. floribunda (Japanese Wisteria), and the all-too-common spontaneous hybrid W. x formosa. These Asian Wisterias are widely regarded as aggressively invasive. Wisteria frutescens can be multiplied either by softwood cuttings obtained in the spring or by seeds placed in the fall or spring without any particular pre-treatment. The cultivar “Amethyst Falls,” which was chosen from a wild source and is renowned for its bright lavender flowers and consistent flower output in young plants, is the most widely accessible.
In the wild
From southeast Virginia through Florida and Alabama, Wisteria frutescens can be found naturally in coastal plain swamp woods, streamsides, and woodland edges. Long-tailed Skippers, Silver-spotted Skippers, Marine Blue, and Zarucco Duskywing Butterflies all lay their eggs on American Wisteria, and many other adult butterfly species find the blossoms alluring.
Human uses
According to many accounts, wisteria blooms can be consumed in salads or extracted using cold water to make a refreshing beverage. However, due to the presence of numerous recognized toxins in Wisteria species, caution is suggested. Triterpene-based saponins found in roots, bark, branches, fruits, and seeds will irritate the gastrointestinal tract. Additionally, seeds contain canavanine, a chemical that, if consumed, can impair a number of biological functions by interfering with protein synthesis.
Conservation status
According to the Virginia Division of Natural Heritage, the species’ conservation status is G5, S1, which means that it is abundant throughout its entire geographic range but critically endangered in Virginia, where it is found near the northernmost end of that range.
Where to see it
Wisteria frutescens is a wild plant that grows in a few isolated locations in just nine counties in southeast Virginia. Cultivated examples can be found in numerous public and private gardens.
Invasion of wisteria in Virginia
Japanese and Chinese wisterias are classified as sporadically invasive in Virginia, respectively. Both can be discovered everywhere around the Commonwealth. Deciduous woody vines that can grow up to 70′ long. On moist to dry substrates, form dense infestations.
The ideal places for wisteria to grow.
According to Kirsten Coffen, a landscape architect and designer based in Maryland, “its gorgeous spring-blooming cascade of purple (or white) scented flowers is best observed when trained on a structure, such as a robust pergola.”
Such a lush, floral canopy offers delightful shade throughout the sweltering summer months. According to Irene Kalina-Jones, a landscape designer at Outside Space NYC (opens in new tab), “We plant it on rooftops in the city, training it to cover pergolas to create shade.” “But I enjoy it grown against buildings, too,” you say.
Wisteria grows best in full sun in a protected location, such as a south or west-facing facade. When planting, work in a lot of organic matter (such as compost) to ensure that the soil is rich and well-drained.
If you want to grow wisteria up a wall or the front of a house, put some effort into building a strong structure that it can climb over many years. A tensioning system of wires is possibly preferable to a wooden trellis because wood can rot. The wires must either automatically tighten as the plant gains weight or be simple for you to tighten (via turnbuckles, for instance).
Where in Virginia can I locate wisteria?
Now that spring has arrived, gardens in Northern Virginia are brimming with new flowers, plants, and foliage. Visit these naturally beautiful Virginia locations, and don’t miss the special events taking place during Historic Garden Week in Virginia.
Alexandria
Enjoy the city’s springtime gardens. On April 17, 2021, as part of Virginia’s Historic Garden Week, the Old Town Alexandria Historic Homes & Garden Tour will be self-guided and lead you through Old Town’s tree-lined streets. The historic Carlyle House’s gardens are also available for strolling. Do you fancy tea? Tune in to Carlyle House’s on April 22 for “Dean Norton, the director of horticulture at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, will give a virtual lecture on Historic Gardens at Historic Sites. The lecture will also include a tea box filled with treats from The Spice & Tea Exchange and Firehook Bakery that you can enjoy at home. In the meantime, Princess Street’s The Rectory “When the tulip magnolia trees blossom in mid-March, secret garden is the ideal location for a springtime photo shoot.
Arlington County
With 130 different rose kinds, the Bon Air Rose Garden is a hidden gem. It is an English-style rose garden. Spend a leisurely afternoon exploring the well-kept walking paths of the Bon Air Rose Garden, which include quiet benches and attractive trellises. The end of May to the beginning of June mark the roses’ peak blooming period. Azalea and decorative tree gardens, as well as shade and sun gardens, are scattered throughout the grounds. The neighborhood park, Bon Air Park, which has a trail, a playground, a picnic area, and a stream called Four Mile Run, is also open to visitors.
Netherlands Carillon – Thousands of flowers have been planted on the grounds that surround the enormous bell tower of the Netherlands Carillon. The tulip bulbs are the most well-known springtime attraction. The vibrant reds, yellows, and pink tulips are joined by darker purple and pink varieties. The serene surroundings provide the ideal setting for a tranquil getaway from the bustling city life. There are numerous places to relax with a picnic lunch thanks to the grassy hills and big trees. Additionally nearby is the Marine Corps War Memorial.
Fairfax County
More than 30,000 acres of natural space can be found in Fairfax County, and within those acres are numerous distinctive garden landscapes that are ideal for savoring the post-quarantine springtime blossoms and warmth.
The only traditional, open-to-the-public Korean Bell Garden pavilion in the Western Hemisphere is found at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, a 95-acre sanctuary tucked away in Vienna. Take a stroll around Lake Caroline’s perimeter among the more than 100 cherry trees, explore the many native plant collections and sizable decorative display gardens, or bring the kids to the Children’s Garden to play. On April 20, 2021, visitors can also tour a number of private gardens in McLean as part of Virginia’s Historic Garden Week festival, which this year includes Meadowlark Gardens.
Visit Green Spring Gardens, which recently celebrated 50 years of beauty in southern Fairfax County. Green Spring also runs a national historic site that provides glimpses into a long and rich history with colonial origins in addition to the stream valley, 20 display gardens, native flora, and greenhouse. The amazing selection of workshops, tea parties, and events available to guests includes activities for both adults and children.
The formal pleasure garden, the kitchen garden, as well as several other tiny nurseries, are only a few of the four abundant gardens of George Washington’s Mount Vernon that can be explored and appreciated for a different viewpoint.
Loudoun County
Outside of Leesburg, go visit Oatlands Historic House and Gardens. One of the best gardens in the Commonwealth of Virginia is the five-acre formal terraced garden at Oatlands. George Carter started the gardens in the early 1800s, and the Eustis family later added boxwood parterres, statuary, a teahouse, a bowling alley, a rose garden, and a reflecting pool. There are still many of the original plantings and components.
Morven Park, dubbed the “Central Park of Loudoun,” is home to a stunning Greek Revival palace as well as hiking paths and gardens created in the 1920s and 1930s. Enjoy the lovely boxwoods, wisteria, and other flowers that line the reflecting pool and tiered garden. You can wander the grounds for free or sign up for a guided tour.
Prince William
The Master Gardener Volunteers are the group behind the Benedictine Monastery’s Teaching Garden. It started off as a vegetable garden where Master Gardeners could show householders how to grow vegetables as part of the Plant a Row for the Hungry project. The Teaching Garden features examples of low-maintenance gardening practices that gardeners can use in their own yards. It also includes regionally adapted plant species.
Antique Rose Garden at Ben Lomond Historic Site: A 5,200-square-foot garden of antique roses is located on the grounds of Ben Lomond Historic Site (one of the largest public gardens devoted to antique roses in the U.S.)
The collection, which was inspired by a French garden, contains 200 distinct rose shrubs and over 160 different kinds of roses.