Wisteria (wisteria glicynia)

A woody climbing plant straight from Japan, wisteria (Wisteria) is a specimen known for its vigor, its hardiness (it resists to -20°C), very appreciated for its magnificent clusters of fragrant flowers and its thick foliage. Deciduous, its leaves can reach 20 to 40cm long and are divided into around fifteen light green leaflets.

Growing a wisteria

Plant your wisteria in full sun in a rather warm location (near a wall facing south or west, for example). It needs well-drained soil that is not too rich. It lives in symbiosis with bacteria which will give it the nitrogen necessary for its growth. In soil that is too rich, or if you add a fertilizer rich in nitrogen, the plant will tend to produce many leaves, but few flowers. You need a very solid support (a pergola, for example), because the thick stems of Asian species in particular can crush a small trellis. Note that all wisteria can grow to impressive heights: 10 m or even more!

Once your wisteria begins to grow well, you should not hesitate to prune its wandering branches which, otherwise, risk invading all the structures and trees in the surrounding area. Knowing that these long “whips” will not flower (rather, they serve as a structure for the true flower stems that will form later), cutting them back to within 6 to 12 inches of a main stem can even help stimulate better flowering. Pruning can be done after flowering or during winter.