Our wisteria has just come into bloom, with many more flowers than last year. We're doing something right.
There have been several people led to this blog by Googling "wisteria," and some of them want to know how to duplicate the tree-like support to train wisteria to a standard. My husband made the support out of threaded pipe we got from the plumbing-supply section of Home Depot. Here's a close-up, below, of how the "branches" are joined to the "trunk," with t-shaped fittings and threaded "nipples," over about 1/2 inch diameter pipe. We spray-painted the pipe black after fitting it all together, and sank it into the ground about a foot, with a bed of rocks around its base.
And it's worth it to reiterate the strength, weight, and pervasiveness of this vine when it's full-grown. Unless you have a brick or stone house, keep it away from buildings, because it will pry up clapboards or shingles, and smother or even bring down porches or outbuildings. We expect to be pruning this baby back hard each spring as its trunk and branches thicken.
And it will eventually twist the pipe trellis into a pretzel.
Posted by: wally | June 22, 2006 at 08:50 AM
I've e-mailed the commenter above, asking him if he's had this experience himself. Till he gets back to me, I better include a caveat to the post above: my husband and I are new to wisteria-growing. This one is only two or three years in place. So we may find ourselves in Wisteria Hell here.
Posted by: ml | June 22, 2006 at 09:27 AM
Subject: RE: [full fathom five] wally submitted a comment to 'Wisteria
> II'
>
>
Here's the reply I got back from first commenter:
I may be a little too curmudgeonly. We had a wisteria years ago in
> California on a wooden trellis and it broke it up completely. Of
> course by that time it was able to stand by itself. Last week we were
> in Asheville, NC
> and visited the Biltmore estate and saw a wisteria that must be a hundred
> years old (see attachment). I've never seen one on a pipe trellis so
> that's
> just a theory.
>
So gardeners out there: we know one thing for sure: don't mix wisteria and wooden structures, trellises.
Posted by: ml | June 22, 2006 at 03:54 PM
The wisteria are just gorgeous! Gosh, I had no idea that such a delicate looking vine and flowers could be quite so powerful. Amazing.
Your hubby is quite clever with his invention. I sure hope it works to prevent you from eventually being invaded.
Posted by: Terri | June 23, 2006 at 11:42 AM
As if the wisteria isn't beautiful enough on its own to lure me back with the hope there will be more pictures from time to time, now, I'm going to be all caught up in "The Saga of the Wisteria, the Pipe Trellis, Wally's Theory."
See if you can't shorten up that title, ML, and compose an adventure or mystery story for us. It will be a continuing yearly series that will keep you blogging. ;-)
Posted by: joared | June 26, 2006 at 05:03 AM
A Wisteria Tree !!! I love it....Wisteria reminds me of my childhood home. And such a beautiful photo...thanks
Posted by: Chancy | June 28, 2006 at 08:26 PM
My stepdaughter had a wisteria vine outside her bedroom window in Dorchester, MA. She said she learned from it how "purple tasted."
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