Evening star., 1952-05-11
By W. n. Youngmon

Most OF the W1StarlaS to be seen
in the Washington area are of the
short clustered Chinese with vio-
let-blue flowers. However, there
are others, with paler blue flowers,
a white, and for the experimenter
the long-cluStered Japanese varie-
ties. Then there are the natives
which are seldom good enough for
the home gardener.
Nurserymen generally offer the
Chinese and the White kinds. both
as vines and as trees. While the
wistaria seeds freely, it is seldom
desirable to plant them because OF
the uncertainty of when they will
flower, as well as the quality of
the bloom. Rooted cuttings,
layers, or grated plants are the
most certain to produce the bloom
desired.
Because the wistaria has a deep
growing tap root and very little
fibrous root. it should be brought
as young plant, preferably as a
potted plant to insure good start.
Normally spring is the preferred
time to plant a wistaria, but 1t
may be set out in the fall without
too much risk of loss.
Come Into Bloom Slowly.
Wistarias have a reputation OF
coming into bloom very slowly.
This habit is easy to correct by
summer pruning. And summer
pruning of the wistaria should be
practiced if it is to be kept with
in bounds. Any injury or shock
tends to force it into flower, as
many stories about the wistaria
testify. Most of them relate how
a disgusted gardener tried to dig
out a non-bloomer in order to
get rid of it, but tiring of the
job gave up. The next spring the
vine was loaded with bloom.
That is a rather laborious way
to give a plant a shock-cutting
a shallow ring about the trunk
will have the same effect and
with much less effort.
Tree wistaries may be grown
from small plants by tieing a
cane to a strong stake. Remove
all side shoots and top the cane
when it reaches a height of 6
feet or more. Within a few years
the cane will be heavy enough
to support the top. All shoots
that emerge near the top should
be shortened to keep them within
a reasonable radius, 4 or 5
feet. This regular pruning (after
the Towering season. is one of
the main reasons why tree wis
tarais flower so freely.
The wistarias seem to be sin
gularly free of insects and dis
eases. However, that is because
they are not so widely planted.
They do have insect enemies and
diseases in other areas. And,
should any of them appear they
may be easily controlled through
spraying or busting with any of
the commonly available all-pur-
pose mixtures.
Strong Climbers.
Wistarias are strong climbers,
but they also twist and twine to
such a degree that they may in
jure themselves. Certainly the
young shoots. if two or more are
allowed to climb. should be kept
from starngling eah other.
The trellis or arbor to support
a wistaria must be well made, for
the vine not only makes heavy
load but also eXerts a pull. The
pull may be avoided by preventing
the new shoots as they go over the
edge, from resting directly on the
support. Raise them above the
beam or pipe 4 to inches with a
Temporary block. After the vine
has gained some size the block
may be removed and no further
may be expected.
Wistarias allowed to climb into
trees usually adversely affect the
tree by cutting off sunlight, or
by reducing air circulation. For
these reasons it is not desirable
to allow a wistaria vine to grow
into a desirable shade or fruit tree.
So far. mention has been made
of only two methods of supporting
the wistaria -trellis and growing
as a standard or tree. However.
some Of the most attractive plant
pictures are of wistaria edging a
wall. such as illustrated here. An
other method observed in the
South is to grow as a mound upon
the ground without any support.
Occasionally wistaria is allowed
to grow over the roof of a house.
This is likely to lead to complica-
tions and is not suggested, even
though it does create an unusual
picture. Generally speaking, the
support shoulc permit the long
flower recemes to hang down
where they make the most pleas
ing display.