Don’t be fooled by these pretty purple flowers that you see climbing all over the treetops these days.
Chinese Wisteria may be a lovely mantle to gaze at in the springtime, but lookout! These vines are designed to tangle themselves around trees and choke them until they cannot support themselves anymore, eventually dying and rotting away.
Wisteria was introduced much the same way as Kudzu was in the 1800s, and much like it’s cousin, Chinese Wisteria is ruthless when it comes to strangling it’s victims. Not good, right?
However, for the gardener who wishes Wisteria to be a part of their garden, we suggest choosing the much less-invasive American Wisteria cultivar, which delivers all of the showy blooms and a greatly reduced risk of invasive growth.
NOTE: Because wisteria is still an fast grower, make sure that you trim and contain the shape of your planted wisteria to help ensure that you keep it under control.