H G gardening
116 | AUSTRALIAN HOUSE&GARDEN
is therea moreromanticgardenvisionthanwisteriainfullflower?
HelenYoungrevealsthesecretsofeveryone’sfavouritebloom...T
heabundantpendulousflower
clustersofwisteriaareoneofthe
prettiestsightsofspring,augmented
bya sweet,creamyperfume.it’sbestgrown
whereyouwillwalkunderneathit – an
arbourorpergolais ideal– toallowfull
appreciationoftheblooms.as flowering
finishes,thedividedleavesburstforthand
elongatedseedpodscandevelop.Thelong
tendrilsgrowrapidlyduringsummer,thenin
autumntheleavesturnyellowbeforefalling.
Vigorousandeasytogrow,wisteriacan
betrainedacrossthetopofa verandahor
grownasa weepingstandard,butbeaware
thatit needsa verystrongsupportforthe
heavystemsandthatitsgrowthneedsto
becontrolled.it climbsbytwiningaround
anythingwithinreach.Leftunchecked,it
willrompuptalltrees,smothernearby
plantsorevenstartgrowingthroughyour
roof!They’reverylong-livedplants, and
hardtokill,so plant wisely.CARE
Wisteriathrivesincoolclimatesbutis
adaptable to warmer areas outside thetropics.it is bestinfullsunwithshelterfrom
severewinds,andis nottoofussyaboutsoil
aslongasdrainageis good.installa strong
support(metalinpreferencetotimber)
beforeyouplant.Oneplantcancovera
hugearea,butif plantingalonga pergola,
spacethematintervalsofabout3m.Train
mainstemsstraightupuntiltheyreachthe
topofyoursupport,thentrainhorizontally.
Oncetheframeworkis established,
pruningis themainjob.Cutbackrampant
tendrilsduringsummerand/orprunein
winterwhenit’seasiertoseethestems.
Wisteriasfloweronoldwood,soyoumust
leavethreeorfourpairsofbudsatthebase
ofeachstemthatgrewduringtheyear.
Thesedevelopintotheshortspursthatbear
flowers.Fertiliseinearlyspringandagainin
earlysummertopromotegrowth.apartfrom
possums,whicheatleavesandflowerbuds,
wisteriais quitepest- and disease-free.VARIETIES
Japanesewisteria(W.floribunda) hasslender
flowerclustersabout 50 cmlong.Thespecies
has mauve flowers but there are variations:‘alba’is white(pictured),‘rosea’is pale
lilacand‘ViolaceaPlena’hasvioletdouble
blooms.‘Macrobotrys’haspalelilacflowers
upto 90 cmlong.Japanesewisteriaoften
produceslong,furryseedpods(nB these
podsarepoisonous).Chinesewisteria
( W.sinensis) hasthickermauveflower
clusters,about 30 cmlong.W.‘amethyst
Falls’is a smallervarietythatneedsless
pruning,withshort,deeplilacbloomsthan
canrepeatthroughsummer.Silkywisteria
(W.brachybotrys‘ShiroKapitan’)has
downyleavesandwhite,veryfragrant
blooms that are held slightly upright.#WHYDOESN’TMY
WISTERIAFLOWER?✚Possumseatingtheflowerbuds
✚Plantstooyoung– theycantake
5-7yearstoflower
✚Over-pruning– seecarenotesabove
✚Toomuchhigh-nitrogenfertiliser
promotesfoliagenotflowers
✚Toomuchshade
Photograph by Claire Takacs.Vine of the times