Growing Wisteria

How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Wisteria

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A high-climbing vine, wisteria blooms vigorously in spring with large, drooping clusters of lilac or bluish-purple flowers. Here’s how to plant, grow, and care for wisteria in your garden!

About Wisteria

Wisteria is a long-lived vining plant with cascades of blue to purple flowers that look spectacular hanging from a pergola or archway in spring and early summer. However, this vine is a fast and aggressive grower—often reaching 30+ feet long—and is known to grow quite heavy. Wisteria vines will work their way into any crook or cranny they can reach, so it’s advised to not plant them too near to your home.

Wisteria flowers are beautifully fragrant, providing a feast for the senses. After flowering, a brown, bean-like pod stays on the plant until winter. Blooms only appear on new growth.

Note: Plant wisteria with caution! All parts of the wisteria plant contain substances called lectin and wisterin, which are toxic to pets, livestock, and humans. These toxins can cause anything from nausea and diarrhea to death if consumed in large amounts.

Is Wisteria an Invasive Plant?

Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) and Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda) are not native to North America and are considered invasive species in some states. The native wisteria species, American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens) and Kentucky wisteria (Wisteria macrostachya), are great alternatives to the Asian species, so if you’re planning on adding a new wisteria to your garden, we suggest that you go with one of the North American species.

Wondering how to tell the difference between the Asian and North American species?
Asian wisteria are aggressive growers with fuzzy seed pods, while North American wisteria are not quite as aggressive in their growing habits and have smooth seed pods and fruits, as well as more-or-less cylindrical, bean-shaped seeds. Another difference is that American and Kentucky wisteria’s flowers appear after the plant has leafed out in the late spring, whereas the Chinese wisteria’s blooms appear before its foliage.

Wisteria Vines

Planting

When to Plant Wisteria

Plant in the spring or fall, while the plant is dormant.
Wisteria can be grown from seed, but those grown from seed often take quite a few years to reach maturity and produce flowers. It’s recommended to purchase established wisteria plants or start from a cutting.

Where to Plant Wisteria

Plant in full sun. Though wisteria will grow in partial shade, it probably won’t flower. Sunlight is essential.
Plant wisteria in fertile, moist, but well-draining soil.
If your soil is in poor condition, add compost; otherwise, wisteria will grow in most soils. Learn more about soil amendments and preparing soil for planting.
Choose a site away from other plants, as wisteria grows quickly and can easily overtake its neighbors.
Wisteria is also known for growing onto (and into) nearby structures, such as houses, garages, sheds, and so on. We strongly recommend not planting wisteria too close to your home!
Wisteria vines require a very sturdy structure to climb on, such as a metal or wooden trellis or pergola. Mature plants have been known to get so heavy that they break their supports, so plan with care and build your structure with hefty materials.

Wisteria on brick house
Wisteria looks lovely climbing up the side of a home, but plant with caution; wisteria vines are very powerful and will find their way into any crack or crevice!

How to Plant Wisteria

Dig a hole as deep as the root ball and 2 to 3 times as wide.
Space plants 10 to 15 feet apart.

Care

Caring for Wisteria

Each spring, apply a layer of compost under the plant and a 2-inch layer of mulch to retain moisture and control weeds.
Some gardeners swear by phosphorus to aid with flowering. Scratch a couple of cups of bone meal into the soil in the spring and then add some rock phosphate in the fall. Read more about soil amendments.
Water your plants if you receive less than one inch of rain each week. (To know how much rain you are getting, you can place an empty food can outside and measure the depth of water with a measuring stick.)

Pruning Wisteria

Pruning is the secret to good flowering, as wisteria only bloom on new wood.

Prune wisteria in late winter. Remove at least half of the prior year’s growth, leaving just a few buds per stem.
If you want a more formal appearance, prune again during summer, after traditional flowering.
For more blooms, try cutting back the rampant shoots every two weeks during the summer.
Do you have a new wisteria? Cut the vine back severely right after planting. Then, the next year, cut the main stem or stems back to 3 feet of the previous season’s growth. Once the framework is full size, shorten further extension growth in midsummer to where growth began for that season.
Informally grown, mature plants need little or no subsequent pruning.
For a formally trained plant, cut side shoots back to 6 inches in summer, then shorten them again in winter to 3 buds.
Wisteria will resprout with vigor if cut back severely, but this pruning should be avoided, if possible, because new shoots may take some years before they flower.
Get more tips for pruning wisteria.

Wisteria on pergola

When Your Wisteria Won’t Bloom

Wisteria are notorious for taking a long time to bloom. Don’t expect flowers for 2 to 3 years after planting. Some readers have sworn by this method to spur on blooming:

Take a shovel and drive it 8 to 10 inches into the ground about a foot and a half away from the wisteria’s main trunk to slice into some of the roots.
Damage about half of the roots and the bush will be shocked into reproduction (flowering).
Don’t worry—it’s difficult to hurt this rampantly-growing, unrestrained, often-invasive plant!
Frigid winter temperatures can also affect wisteria’s blooms.

Pests/Diseases

Dieback
Crown gall
Leaf spots
Viral diseases
Japanese beetles
Aphids
Leaf miners
Scale insects
Mealybugs

Recommended Varieties

Native Wisteria

If you are located in North America, consider planting a species of wisteria native to the continent, such as:

American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens), which grows in Zones 5 to 9. It’s native to a range of states covering Virginia to Texas, southeast to Florida and north up through New York, Iowa, and Michigan. The vine grows 25 to 30-feet long with shiny, dark-green leaves and large, drooping lilac or purple-blue flower clusters which appear after the plant has leafed out. The blooms will only appear on new wood. However, note that the flowers are unscented, unlike the Asian wisterias’ flowers.
Kentucky wisteria (Wisteria macrostachya), which grows in Zones 4 to 9. This late-season bloomer is native to the southeastern U.S. and is similar to American wisteria (it is sometimes considered a variety or subspecies of American wisteria). Kentucky wisteria bears unscented bluish-purple flowers after growing only two to three years, making it the quickest wisteria to bloom.
- ‘Blue Moon’ is an extra-hardy cultivar of native Kentucky wisteria, with showy, silvery-blue clusters. It blooms in late spring or early summer. It’s cold hardy to -40°F (-40°C).

Non-Native Wisteria

Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) and Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda) are non-native, invasive species, so we do not recommend them for North American gardens, despite the fact that they are regularly sold at nurseries and garden centers. They are hardy in Zones 5 to 9 and are capable of growing 30 to 60 feet in length (and beyond in the Southern U.S.). Two common varieties of Japanese wisteria include:
- ‘Honbeni’ (syn. ‘Honko’): popular, bears clusters of pink flowers in late spring
- ‘Alba’ (syn. ‘Shiro Noda’): bears lovely clusters of pure-white flowers in late spring

Wisteria flowers

Wit & Wisdom

Are Wisteria Toxic to Pets and Humans?

Yes, all parts of the wisteria plant contain substances called lectin and wisterin, which are toxic to pets, livestock, and humans. These toxins can cause anything from nausea and diarrhea to death if consumed in large amounts.

The substance is especially concentrated in the plant’s seeds and seedpods, so removing the seedpods after the plant has flowered is a good idea if pets or children are often nearby. The seedpods do not have a foul flavor or an immediate effect, so an unknowing child or pet won’t hesitate to eat as much as possible! Call your local poison control center in case of ingestion.

Reader Comments

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Wisteria Roots

I have two large wisteria along the chainlink fence/arbors in my backyard. I would love to keep them, but am struggling as their root system has taken over my small space and making it difficult to plant anything in the ground. I currently have about 15-20 ft. of fence line between the two wisterias that I would like to plant a small flower garden in front of. Do you have any suggestions as to how to manage the wisteria roots and/or which plants could survive these conditions? Thank you in advance!

Wisteria seeds

How and when do you plant wisteria seeds,?

propagating wisteria

I have been trying to get more plants from my old wisteria but totally without success. Unsuccessful with new shoots so I tried clipping old vines and put these in pots with good soil then put them in partial shade & water regularly. Still all died. What should I do? Should this only be done at certain times eg September? Please help.

Wisteria not growing.

I seem to have the opposite problem - my wisteria (2 years old) bloomed this year but has not grown much, or at all. It has stayed about 2 feet tall. I have a well supported structure for it to climb up. It gets hit by my sprinkler every night. Perhaps that's the culprit? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Starting to wilt

I've had my wisteria for a few years and it's been growing nicely. This year it flowered early, and immediately after the whole plant started to sag, leaves look droopy and yellowish. What's happening to it? Looks dry but it's not (we've been getting decent rain).

Wilted Wisteria

Have you fertilized it? If so, how much? Yellowing leaves could be caused by overfertilization, or too much water could also be the culprit. Is it in a well-draining spot?

Worried after planting next to shed

I have been in awe of Wisteria and happened upon one the other day and had to buy it. The tag says Japanese Wisteria, and after reading this article I am worried that it will take over everything. Why suggest compost and mulch if it is so vigorous? Does it take a while to establish? Is it a slow grower? I'm wondering if there is an average growth rate per year. Should I dig the plant back up and return to the nursery?

Wire fence wisteria

Can a wisteria flourish on a fence? I have an ugly chain link fence surrounding my home & a wisteria would hide it nicely.
Thank you!

wisteria on a fence

Wisteria can be grown on a chain link fence, as long as the fence is sturdy, and it gets full sun. The weight of these heavy (and enthusiastic) vines have been known to topple certain types of fences, but usually chain link types do well (versus wooden ones, etc.). You might want to keep up with pruning to keep the vine in control, but it can look beautiful on the fence with a little attention.

Wisteria

I have a common question we bought a house in our back porch is tiled with a pergola and on the tile they have two huge cement planters I was wondering could I plant my wisteria vine and couldn't climb up the pole of the pergola but the question is would that wisteria vine come back every year in this cement planter urn like because it's too heavy to bring in??
And my second question is could I plant my wisteria vine off the porch which is tiled but it has a a long way to get to the pergola Pole?

Wisteria plant

Last year we got hit with an ice storn early spring my wisteria plant looked sick no blooms no green leaves help I don't know if it will come back this spring still no green coming out of branches

Check for Green

To see if the plant is still alive, peel a small piece of the bark off with a knife and look for green tissue in the wound. If you see no sign of life, try once again closer to the base of the plant. If still nothing, then your plant likely succumbed to the storm, unfortunately.

Wisteria

I have a single seed brought back from Spain that I have had in water to soften to sprout. No luck. Whay next?

...or may I cut and put in

...or may I cut and put in water and will roots form for planting that way ???

Transplanting ?

I have a huge and beautiful every traveling wisteria in t

he back yard, which I love. I wanted to know if I could either grow new ones from the seed pods or

Wisteria

I live in Georgia and wisteria, when it is blooming, is indeed gorgeous. Georgia has got to have the most beautiful plants, trees and shrubs in America. No matter how beautiful I would NEVER plant any kind of Wisteria. I am always trying to kill it in my 1 acre yard (impossible) and at best control the spread. I probably have the Asian type and it spreads by underground runners and seeds. It will/does take over hundreds/thousands of acres of land doing a lot of damage to trees and there is nothing anyone can do about it in the wild. You have probably heard of another horrible Asian vine we have in Georgia, Kudzu. One way to control most vines you want to get rid of is to cut the vine and dip the ends in weed killer. Control (barely) is all you can do.

seeds

can I grow a wisteria from seeds

Wisteria from Seeds

It may be possible, but it is not recommended. Assuming you get a healthy sprout, it will be many, many, many years before you see any flowers. It would be better to get a young wisteria from a nursery or a cutting from a friend!

Can wisteria be planted in pots

I live in a first floor maisonette and would like to plant wisteria in my front porch and back yard. I dont have a lot of space but was thinking to grow the vines in a pergola around my door and window. However i can only grow plants in pots or big planters due to limited space. Is this possible at all? Also something else...will wisteria attract grasshopers? I have fields around me and these pests are my biggest phobia, I am worried that by planting Wisteria it will attract them. I am new at this plant so any suggestions are more than welcome. Thanks you for taking the time to read through my questions :).

Wisteria in Pots

Yes, you could grow wisteria in a large planter! It can take a while to get established, so it should do fine in a container for quite a few years. Bear in mind that it will eventually outgrow the container and wisteria don’t take to being transplanted very well, so consider it to be a temporary resident of your garden.

Something to consider is that planting it so close to your building can be risky, as the wisteria’s vines have a tendency to damage siding if they are left to grow and spread unchecked. Once the plant becomes big enough to reach the walls of your home, you’ll want to keep an eye on the vines and trim back any that stray from the pergola.

Wisteria isn’t known to attract grasshoppers in particular, though hungry grasshoppers are not picky and will likely find their way onto any vegetation in your yard!

controlling westeria.

I have 3 westeria plants in my yard. Eighteen months ago I cut the plant down and applied raw roundup to the stump. after leaving the stumps for a few weeks I dug the stumps out and applied more roundup to all roots showing. Since then I have root plants cropping up in my yard and the neighbours and again I have sprayed them with pure roundup and also blackberry killer, but these actions dont seem to kill off the plant as they come back again and again. What do I use next to snuff the life out of this pest plant.

Controlling Wisteria

I learned a very simple and non-toxic way of dealing with vines and trees for good from a Ukrainian woman who lived on a farm.
1) Drill deep holes into the stump or roots. 2) Dissolve two cups of rock salt or sea salt in a teapot of scalding hot water. 3) Pour this scalding salt water mixture onto the stump or roots. 4) Repeat 1 x week for the next month or two.
Although the treatments can take up to a couple of months, the results are permanent.

In fact, during the second Punic war(c.149 BC) Carthage was destroyed utterly by the Romans for breaking a peace treaty. The Roman commander, Scipio Aemilianus ordered Carthage to be plowed under and heavily salted by his army so that nothing could ever grow back again. The surviving Carthaginians were sold into slavery and the city was never reoccupied.

Every tree and vine that I have treated in this way has dried up and died for good.

You don’t say how big to make the holes; you don’t say how deep

How big are the holes, What diameter drill bit
What’s a deep hole, is at the full length of a quarter inch drill bit or the full length of quarter inch speed bore? Or are we talking 3/4Three-quarter inch diameter holes

Useage of Roundup

I beg and implore you or anyone else reading this post......PLEASE NEVER USE ROUNDUP! Under any circumstances because this product is a proven carcinogen with lawsuits galore attacking the manufacturer.....You place yourself, family, friends, pets and wandering wildlife at extremely hazardous life threatening risk using this product.......Just saying.....

ROUNDUP

Please don't believe everything you read. My family has been in agriculture all of my life and has used roundup forever, the concentrated kind you can't get at the store. Lawyers are the worst at starting lawsuits for any kind of panic, and the EPA of course. Look at all of the commercials on TV for lawyers wanting your business to sue pharmaceutical companies. Educate yourselves before spreading false rumors.

DIY stump killer

Drill holes in stump fill with 100% Epsom salts follow with water and wait up to a month stump will decompose on its own

wisteria pods

what do i do with them i have 6 on my plant? i live in southern england

Wisteria

I myself have tried to grow ( if intended) from the seeds produced... I've never been successful .... but if you can find a fito certified supplier of seed from China you will find these easy to grow but generally need to be in a warm position over winter

Wisteria died in container over winter

How can I keep my wisteria vines alive over the winter? I live in central Virginia. I have several vines that I’m training to grow up to then pergola above my garage. They are in two huge planters on either side. Last year, they died during the winter. How can I keep the new plants alive this winter? They have reached about 6 feet so far but are very delicate.

overwintering wisteria in a container

For starters, wisteria floribunda (Japanese wisteria) is more cold tolerant that Chinese wisteria (and there are other types). As for protecting it, there is no easy solution. Your challenge is the size of the pots. A common idea is to bury the pot in a protected area in the landscape, then lift it in spring. Or move it to a garage or basement. In place, you might consider wrapping the pot and all in a large piece of chicken wire and fill the wire with leaves and mulch. Then mound leaves or other mulch on the surface soil and wrapping the plant in newspaper or burlap (you may have seen this on shrubs), and then wrapping it all with plastic.