wisteria wisteria is a genus of
flowering plants in the legume family
fabaceae leguminous a that includes 10
species of woody climbing vines that are
native to China Korea and Japan and as a
introduced species to the eastern United
States some species are popular
ornamental plants an aquatic flowering
plant with the common name wisteria or
wider wisteria is in fact tiger Phila
differ mmus in the family a can they see
a wisterias climb by twining their stems
either clockwise or counterclockwise
around any available support they can
climb as high as 20 meters 66 feet above
the ground and spread out 10 meters 33
feet laterally the world's largest known
wisteria is in Sierra Madre California
measuring more than one acre 0.40
hectares in size and weighing 250 tonnes
planted in 1894 it is of the Chinese
lavender variety the leaves are
alternate 15 to 35 centimetres long
pinnate with 9 to 19 leaflets the
flowers are produced in pendulous
racemes 10 to 80 centimetres long
similar to those of the genus laburnum
but are purple violet pink or white
there is no yellow on the leaves
flowering is in spring just before or as
the leaves open in some Asian species
and in mid to late summer in the
American species and w japonica the
flowers of some species are fragrant
most notably w sinensis wisteria species
are used as food plants by the larvae of
some Lepidoptera species including brown
tail the seeds are produced in pods
similar to those of laburnum and like
the seeds of that genus or poisonous all
parts of the plant contain a saponin
called Western which is toxic if
ingested and may cause dizziness
confusion speech problems nausea
vomiting stomach pains that eye area and
collapse there is debate over whether
the concentration outside of the seeds
is sufficient to cause poisoning
wisteria seeds have caused poisoning in
children and pets of many countries
producing mild to severe gastroenteritis
or other effects wispy riah especially
wisteria sinensis is very Hardy and
fast-growing
it can grow in fairly poor quality soils
but prefers fertile moist well-drained
soil it thrives in full Sun it can be
propagated via hardwood cutting softwood
cuttings or seed however specimens grown
from seed can take decades to bloom for
this reason gardeners usually grow
plants that have been started from
rooted cuttings or grafted cultivars
known to flower well another reason for
failure to bloom can be excessive
fertilizer particularly nitrogen
wisteria has nitrogen fixing capability
provided by rhizobia bacteria in root
nodules and thus mature plants may
benefit from added potassium and
phosphate but not nitrogen finally
wisteria can be reluctant to bloom
because it has not reached maturity
maturation may require only a few years
as in Kentucky wisteria or nearly 20 as
in Chinese wisteria maturation can be
forced by physically abusing the main
trunk root pruning or drought stress
wisteria can grow into a mound when
unsupported but is at its best when
allowed to clamber up a tree pergola
wall or other supporting structure
whatever the case the support must be
very sturdy because mature wisteria can
become immensely strong with heavy
ristic trunks and stems these can
collapse latticework crush thin wooden
posts and even strangle large trees
wysteria allowed to grow on houses can
cause damage to gutters downspouts and
similar structures wisteria flowers
develop in buds near the base of the
previous year's growth so pruning back
side shoots to the basal whew buds in
early spring can enhance the visibility
of the flowers
if it is desired to control the size of
the plant the side shoots can be
shortened to between 20 and 40
centimeters long in midsummer and back
to 10 to 20 centimeters in the fall once
the plant is a few years old a
relatively compact free flowering form
can be achieved by pruning off the new
tendrils three times during the growing
season in June July and August for the
Northern Hemisphere the flowers of some
varieties are edible and can even be
used to make wine others are said to be
toxic
careful identification by an expert is
strongly recommended before consuming
this or any wild plant
Chinese wisteria was brought to the
United States for horticultural purposes
in 1816 while japanese wisteria was
introduced around 1830 because of its
hardiness and tendency to escape
cultivation these non-native wisterias
are considered invasive species in many
parts of the US especially the southeast
due to their ability to overtake and
choke out of their native plant species
a presentation by Mirza Jamaal Maha Kavi
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