I wish that you could smell the fragrance of these blooms. The air of the whole back garden smells of sweet perfume of the blossoms. To get these beautiful flowers you should know about the care and feeding of Wisteria.
Wisteria is the most gorgeous of vines. Rampant but beautiful.
The flowers and the foliage are lovely and it is a fast grower so is good for arbors. The shade cast by Wisteria on an arbor is a beautiful light shade with a haze of green through the leaves. The very long flowers are the Japanese hybrids while the shorter flower clusters are the Chinese hybrids. The vines need to become mature to flower well.
The key to living with a Wisteria is control. This is a big part of the care and feeding of Wisteria. They need trimming heavily in winter and a lighter pruning in fall. The vines should be kept out of trees, off power poles and roof tops of homes. Without a certain amount of supervision they quickly run amuck and grow over, under and through all the surrounding area.
In spring they send out long tendrils. Prune off the ones you don’t want to cling onto adjacent trees and shrubs leaving the tendrils that you can twist around the main support or center of the Wisteria “tree”. Watch for ground creeping tendrils also as they can emerge 20′ away after growing along the ground below other plants.
Wisteria has long fuzzy pods that break open to drop dime-sized seeds. To avoid the pods clip the dead flower heads after the bloom is over, if you can get to them with a short ladder or from the ground.
Feed Wisteria with a slow release fertilizer in spring and fall and let the rain wash in the granules. ‘Osmocote’ works well or an organic fertilizer like blood meal. Keep the area at the base of the vines clear to avoid suckers sprouting up and deforming the shape of the larger vines.
Thin canes in the winter during the heavy pruning.
This vine is moderate water requiring and needs summer water to thrive. It is tolerant to many different soil types.
Enjoy but beware! Wisteria can be a beauty or a beast!
Mission Santa Clara de Asis’ Wisteria is one of the longest Wisterias in California. It blooms in March, filling the air with delicious perfume. You can see from the trunk that is a very old vine and while the Mission dates back to 1777 the vine is not as old, but dates back 160 years. That is impressive! The vine sits in a large courtyard garden behind one of the original adobe buildings and there other lovely plants and color beds around the area. Be and sure and visit the Mission Church. It is beautiful inside.
