Plant Inspirations
May 2008 ~ Classic Wisteria
Branches laden with eye-catching flowers are perfect for capturing the mood of late spring and early summer. Wisteria is a ‘love-it-anywhere’ plant, perfect around a country house or the courts and quads of ancient colleges or against a modern building.  The hanging bunches of pea-like flowers bring a feeling of comfort and elegance wherever you find them.  As with all the best plants, they’re always in fashion.
Climbers like wisteria are a possibility for every garden; they’re incredibly economical on space.  And when it comes to climbers, wisteria is an especially good choice because it’s tough and easy to look after as well as putting on a breathtakingly beautiful display every year once it’s established.  It also provides attractive features beyond simply the blooms.  The foliage of some wisteria turns a lovely yellow in autumn.

Wisteria x floribunda (Japanese Wisteria) is one of the best choices for flowers now.  It’s a vigorous, twining climber that produces racemes (long, hanging clusters) of violet blue flowers in spring and early summer.  Foliage is refined and attractive too, with numerous leaflets lending it an almost feathery appearance.  Some superb varieties to look out for are ‘Alba’ which produces white blooms in racemes up to 60cm long and ‘Multijuga’ which is outstanding because of its exceptionally large flower racemes – the largest of any wisteria at up to 90cm.
 

Wisteria sinensis (Chinese Wisteria) is often the one you see growing around older houses and gardens.  Varieties include ‘Sierra Madre’ which produces very fragrant, lavender-violet flowers.  ‘Alba’ bears white flowers and ‘Prolific’ will yield an abundance of lilac-blue or pale lilac-blue flowers.  Look out also for hybrids also - Wisteria x formosa is a great example (a crossed Japanese and Chinese wisteria).  Flowers of this hybrid are fragrant.  ‘Black Dragon’, which produces purple-violet flowers, is a real beauty.

Wisteria is fully hardy and quite fast growing.  It’s happiest in fertile, moist, well drained soil, but will tolerate poorer soils too.  Full sun or partial shade is equally suitable.  Train against a wall, over an arch or pergola, or into a tree.  Wisteria can also be grown as a specimen half-standard.  To keep wisteria under control, it should be pruned twice a year; once in summer and again in winter.  As wisteria flowers in spring, the major pruning should be done in August.  The long trailing shoots should be cut back to 15cm (6in).  In December, the shoots should be again cut back to two healthy buds from the main stem.  If mid August pruning was forgotten, prune to two buds now.
So if you want some comfort and elegance around the exterior of the house or somewhere in the garden, consider a beautiful and long-lasting wisteria.  You won’t be disappointed!

Newington Nurseries, a haven for plant lovers, on the A329, Newington, nr. Stadhampton, Oxon

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