Wisteria is a stunning climbing vine that if kept under control from the get go, can make a beautiful scented addition to any garden, although unscented, so too can the trumpet vine ,it grows where lots of other plants wont ,it attracts humming birds and butterfly’s and although quite late to leaf in my garden, produces flowers in abundance and for a remarkably long period once it gets going in mid June.

Last week I was talking about inheriting two types of  Bishops weed from previous home owner ,well the Bishops weed wasn’t the only pest he left me with ,if I had had the choice I wouldn’t of planted either the trumpet vine or the wisteria, in my garden they are just too invasive for me ,the plants were already massive out of control specimens that had taken control of several places around the garden, when we moved in and I have been doing battle with them ever since.

 

Wisteria

Wisteria is a genus of about ten species of woody climbing vines native to the eastern United States, China, Korea, and Japan. Wisteria is a member of the Pea family, Fabaceae (formerly Leguminoseae) the two most common species are W. floribunda, (Japanese Wisteria) and W. sinensis, (Chinese Wisteria).

Wisteria floribunda (Japanese wisteria) – has large 12 to 18-inch clusters of flowers. It usually flowers as the leaves are developing. The wisterias fragrant flower clusters come in violet-blue, white, pink and several in between shades. It flowers in May and June. Wisteria blossom always reminds me of bunches of grapes .

Wisteria sinensis (Chinese wisteria) – it flowers before the vine begins to leaf-out. Flowers are a bit smaller, ranging from 9 to 12 inches in length. Most have a mild sweet fragrance. The white and violet-blue varieties of wisteria are the most popular. This type tends to bloom at an earlier age, flowers usually in May. Individual flowers in the clusters open all at once for a very showy display.

Biggest cultivated wisteria in the world   The world’s largest known Wisteria vine is located in Sierra Madre, California, measuring more than an acre in size and weighing 250 tons There is even a festival honoring this giant wisteria vine The Wisteria Festival takes place yearly. The biggest wisteria vine in the world (Actually listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the “largest blossoming plant in the world“).

The Sierra Madre wisteria was originally bought in 1894 in a one-gallon size pot from a local Nursery, for the huge sum of .74 cents. Annually this historic vine attracts hundreds of people who travel to view this spectacular vine in bloom; with its estimated one and a half million lavender blossoms!

Wisteria, especially Wisteria sinensis, is both very hardy and fast-growing. It is even considered an invasive species in certain areas.(one being my garden) The Wisteria can grow in fairly poor-quality soils, but prefers fertile, moist, well-drained ones. It thrives in full sun to partial shade.

Wisteria vines climb by twining their stems either clockwise or counter-clockwise round any available support. They can climb as high as 20 m above ground and spread out 10 m laterally. Wisteria will grow into a mound when unsupported, but is at its best when allowed to ramble over a pergola up a wall or tree, or any other supporting frame, The support must be very sturdy nature, because when mature, wisteria can grow into immensely strong and heavy wrist-thick trunks and stems. These will certainly destroy ornamental latticework, crush thin wooden frames and arbors, and can even throttle large trees. Living trees are often used as support, for wisteria but this must be done very carefully, trees with a trunk of less than 10 inches in diameter can be quickly killed by “girdling” of the twining wisteria stems. Larger trees can also be damaged. If trees are used as a wisteria support they should be inspected every few years to prevent “girdling”. If a tree is being girdled, the wisteria can be cut back to the ground level and allowed to grow back. The remaining girdling stem must be physically cut from the tree to avoid future damage.

Do not plant wisteria where the stems can invade and clog building gutters, nor where the wisteria can clamber across a roof where roof tile can be raised by young wisteria tendrils.

Wisteria can also be grown as a single trunk standard or a tree-form. To accomplish this, the wisteria plant must be staked in an upright position. When it has reached four to five feet in height its top is cut off. Side shoots are allowed to develop but only on the upper part of the wisteria stem , but are continually removed from the lower stem. Side shoots are pruned each winter to six inches to a foot in length until the top is as large as desired. (See standard forming budelia the concept is the same. ) Future pruning consists of cutting summer wisteria shoots to the sixth or seventh leaf as soon as it expands and of cutting off secondary shoots that develop just beyond the first or second leaf. In winter, these secondary wisteria shoots are cut back to within an inch of their base.

To train wisteria plants on a wire trellis or an arbor, select a vigorous, upright wisteria stem to serve as the main leader and attach this to a support post. Remove all side shoots. Continue until the wisterias leader stem has reached your desired height, When it has reached the required height allow side shoots to form as the leader grows, the wisteria will develop more side branches that will then produce more shoots and the flower buds. Continue to train the main wisteria vine leader upward and the new side branches as needed to form a framework to fit the allotted space (allow about 18 inches between side branches). Pinch off the main leader when it reaches the desired height.The diagrams below outline how to train a wisteria vine in the manner just described

Establishing the Main  Wisteria Framework

Train the main leader to the upper part of the support frame and cut it off when it reaches the desired height. Train main side branches of wisteria as needed so they are spaced about 18 inches apart.

 

 

 

 

Allow only one strong lateral wisteria shoot leader to develop from each side of each main framework arm, without pruning, stretch and attach this shoot along the width of the support. Prune off the ends of all new wisteria side shoots just beyond the sixth or seventh leaf as soon as that leaf develops. New shoots will form as a result of these cuts. As they do, cut them back as soon as only one or two leaves develop.

 

 

Cut un pruned  wisteria leader shoots back to one-half or two-thirds of their length. Cut  wisteria side shoots pruned the previous summer back to only one to two inches from their base to form short flowering spurs.

This method of pruning wisteria allows the permanent framework branches to extend each year by half the annual growth and side shoots to become short flowering spurs.

Maintenance Pruning of the Wisteria Vine

Once the wisteria vine has been trained into the allotted space, in winter, prune leader shoots back to only four or five buds. Remove any suckers that appear at the base of the wisteria  plant, prune away all but the framework of branches. Shorten these drastically, removing crowded and poorly spaced branches. Severe pruning, if necessary, is carried out during the winter months (in the dormant season, the months of November, December, January and February.) Some pruning can be done in July to control the rampant growth of the wisteria vines. It is the dormant season pruning that is the severe pruning, This is where good judgment must be used, because the flower buds form on the previous summers growth, and if you prune too severely, of course you will be cutting off all next years potential flower buds. For more information on the wisteria vine please see the wisteria  plant profile.

 

Trumpet Creeper/Trumpet Vine
Campsis radicans

Trumpet vine is another vine that if left unchecked has the capacity to become invasive. It is a climber that produces orange to salmon flowers throughout most of the summer months. , this vigorous grower does need to be pruned back ,for containment purposes. In some areas of  the southeastern U.S. this trumpet vine is  considered a noxious weed.
This is a fast growing vine that looks quite tropical in appearance, but is also very cold tolerant . The trumpet vine  grows vigorously up to 20 to 40 feet. The trumpet vines  leaves are compound and dense and its stems have aerial roots that can cling to walls, trees and fence posts. Showy clusters of scarlet/orange, trumpet-shaped blooms that are three to four inches long appear in summer and continue blooming until early autumn. The trumpet vines long tubular orange/red bell shaped  flowers are great attractions for hummingbirds. The trumpet vine is an   ideal plant if you want quick growth to cover an area fast but be very careful as the trupet vine although beautiful  can be immensely invasive.

Trumpet creeper  is a large and vigorous woody vine of the family Bignoniaceae, notable for its showy trumpet/bell-shaped flowers. It is native to woodlands of the southeastern United States, but is in most parts a popular garden perennial .
The trumpet vines leaves are ovate, pinnate, 3–10 cm long, and emerald green when new, maturing into a dark green shiny largish leaves, the trumpet vine or creeper  sometimes known as “Cow itch vine,”plant is often late too leaf, the gardener not accustomed to the late leafing habits of the trumpet vine may worry that it has died over the winter not so as it is cold hardy to as low as -30°F/-34°C  . The trumpet vines  flowers come in terminal clusters of 4–12 blooms, orange to red in color with a yellowish throat, and generally appear after several weeks of warm weather. The trumpet vine plant as a whole may grow to 10 meters in height.

The flowers are very attractive to hummingbirds, and butterflies ,wasps and bees, many other types of birds like to nest in the trumpet vines  dense foliage. The trumpet vines flowers are followed by large seed pods. As the seed pods  mature, they dry and split. Hundreds of thin, brown, paper-like seeds are released. They readily self seed.
The growing capacity  of the trumpet vine should not be underestimated. In warm weather, it puts out huge numbers of tendrils that grab onto every available surface,(watch your roof shingles around this plant) and eventually expand into heavy woody stems several centimeters in diameter. The trumpet vine  grows well on arbors, fences, telephone poles, and trees, although it may significantly damage them in the process. Harsh pruning is recommended. Outside of its native range this species has the potential to be highly invasive, even as far north as Ontario Canada (I’ll definitely vouch for that)

Do not plant the trumpet vine  up against a house or building, though it is tempting, its tentacles are way too invasive. Try planting it against a fence that is between sidewalks, driveways or other areas like stone walls or paths that would contain it.

Try a method that is often used to contain mint and other rampant terrestrial perennials   Plant the trumpet vine in a 5 gallon container  with the bottom removed, which will help to  keep it somewhat restrained.

Do not use a tree as a pole for the trumpet vine to climb. Eventually it will strangle or “girdle” the tree. Use an actual pole or fence instead and again, prune in spring or fall, or even during mild winters.

Keep on top of the trumpet creeper by deadheading where ever possible , AND keep it trimmed back in the spring and fall once it starts to leaf out, don’t worry its almost impossible to kill this plant.The trumpet wine can be trained along wires or fence as in the manner described above for the wisteria vine

For more information on the Trumpet vine

see the Trumpet vine plant profile.

I wish you great success in you battles with either the trumpet vine or wisteria