A Breakthrough with Wisteria

I've been dreaming of growing a wisteria arbor since I visited Monet's Garden in Giverny, France many years ago and read Wallace Stegner's book Angle of Repose. Stegner made his "wistaria" arbor sound so romantically early California, I thought for sure Casa Grande needed one. But for some crazy reason I have not been able to get one to take hold and flower. For most, the twining vine with the gorgeous purple pendulous blossoms are like Kudzu needing constant vigilance lest it take over the house. In Sierra Madre there is an entire house that was eaten by a wisteria vine.

I thought I had finally gotten one to acclimate and flower in 2003. The vine pumped out a few meager blooms, maybe three. But then we had torrential rains in January 2004. 15 inches in like a day and a half. The poor thing drowned. (Or maybe not.) So I planted another in the backyard on a new iron trellis and hoped for the best once again. Last year I got about a dozen blooms. This year, hallelujah!! and thanks to Pat Welsh by way of my sister, I have a vine full.
Constant pruning is apparently essential. Also sun. Also good drainage. And for insurance, in late winter, I dumped a bucket of epsom salt solution at its base. (Thanks Cindy McNatt!)


Here is some good advice from www.plantanswers.com:
Reluctance of wisteria to bloom abundantly is usually due to a lack of one or more of the following cultural requirements: full sun, good drainage, and light fertilization in the fall, not spring. Another essential is annual pruning, which can be done by shortening new shoots to five buds in summer. If a grafted or cutting-grown Chinese wisteria refuses to flower in three or four years after planting, or a Japanese wisteria is barren after about seven years, prune it heavily and fertilize with superphosphate. If this fails to produce blooms root-prune by driving a spade into the soil 24 inches from the trunk around the plant OR beat the devil out of the trunk!!!


So, guess what happened this year? A strong new wisteria vine has popped out of the ground where the poor drowned one had been planted previously. I guess they really are hard to kill.

At Last, The Wisteria Blooms

I've been trying to grow wisteria ever since I read Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. Finally in 2004, six blooms appeared on one I planted on the arbor near the Madame Alfred Carriere rose. Then the floods of January 2005 came and the poor thing drowned. But this year, late because of the shade from the Chinese elm in the backyard, the wisteria planted several years ago decided to push out four blooms.

I don't know why I have so much trouble growing wisteria. Southern California should be a perfect place for these vines that can be invasive. A very old wisteria is said to have eaten a house in the San Gabriel Valley. My mother cannot seem to get rid of one planted in the late 60's that nearly succeeded in taking over her greenhouse. New shoots continue to pop up everywhere despite her best efforts at eradication. I should be so lucky. Guess I'll just be thankful for these four beauties and appreciate their fragrance and delicacy and hope for more next year.