Evergreen Wisteria – An Excellent Alternative for Chinese Wisteria

Evergreen Wisteria – An Excellent Alternative for Chinese Wisteria

Are you looking for a way to jazz up a fence, trellis, or arbor? Are you looking for year-round color in your garden? Are you looking for wonderful, fragrant blooms in the summer? Than evergreen wisteria (Millettia reticulata) may be the right plant for your place!

Evergreen wisteria growing on a fence. Photo: University of Florida/IFAS

Evergreen wisteria growing on a fence. Photo: University of Florida/IFAS

Evergreen wisteria is not only a beautiful vine, but it is an excellent alternative to that pesky, invasive Chinese wisteria. Sometimes referred to as summer wisteria, this plant is native to China and Taiwan. As you may have noticed by its scientific name, Millettia reticulata, is not a true wisteria but it is in the same plant family, Legumaceae or the bean family.

Evergreen wisteria in bloom. Credit: University of Florida/IFAS

Evergreen wisteria in bloom. Credit: University of Florida/IFAS

Evergreen wisteria is a woody vine that has glossy, thick green leaves and clusters of small, fragrant, purple flowers. The plant can reach a height of up to 30 feet, but can easily be controlled with pruning. It blooms in the summer, and often into the fall, with deep purple, pea shaped blooms. Although its common name states it is evergreen, it is often semi-evergreen in the Panhandle. Evergreen wisteria grows best in full sun, but can tolerate partial shade.

Evergreen wisteria can tolerate a wide range of soil pH as long as the soil is well-drained. It is a twining vine and may need a little help to start growing on a structure. It can be left alone to climb tall structures like pergolas and arbors, but you may want to selectively prune the plant to encourage it to leaf out at its base when training on a trellis or fence. Deadheading (removing spent blooms) will encourage an elongated bloom season.

Evergreen wisteria can help add an additional visual dimension to your landscape and it won’t invade your space like its distant cousin.

Just Say No to Chinese Wisteria

Just Say No to Chinese Wisteria

chinese wisteriaMaybe you have been seeing the Chinese wisteria, Wisteria chinensis, sporting its lavender blooms along the roadways this time of year. This vine may add a pleasant splash of color to the green leafy backdrop, but this is an invasive vine that has escaped our yards and gardens and is spreading on its own in natural communities.

The University of Florida Assessment of Invasive Plants determined that this vine has caused long-term alterations in ecosystem processes and displaces native vegetation. According to the non-profit Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council (FLEPPC), Chinese wisteria is a category II invasive which means that the species has escaped cultivation and is spreading on its own into other unintended areas.

wisteria_frutescens_native

American Wisteria ‘Amethyst Falls’ at GCREC Teaching Gardens. Photo credit: UF/IFAS Extension.

Fortunately, there are several great alternatives to Chinese wisteria. A native vine, American wisteria, Wisteria frutescens,  is a great alternative. The native cultivar ‘Amethyst Falls’  displays lovely fragrant lavender blooms in the spring and summer.

Evergreen Wisteria at the GCREC Teaching Garden. Photo credit: UF/IFAS Extension.

Evergreen Wisteria at the GCREC Teaching Garden. Photo credit: UF/IFAS Extension.

Another alternative is evergreen wisteria, Millettia reticulata, a twining vine (the stems twist around upright supports) that is semi-evergreen in the Florida panhandle. The deep mauve blooms appear throughout the summer months and persist often into the autumn.

So how do you get rid of the invasive Chinese wisteria? The vine can be severed at ground level and the stump immediately treated with a 25% solution of triclopyr or glysophate. There may be some resprouting of the vine from unaffected roots that would require retreating. Please click here for more details. The best time to control this vine is in the spring or summer when it is actively growing so that it will transport the herbicide to the roots and kill the plant.

For further information:

UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants: Chinese Wisteria

UF/IFAS Assessment of Invasive Plants: Chinese Wisteria

FLEPPC: 2013 List of Invasive Plants

UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions: American Wisteria ‘Amethyst Falls’

UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions: Evergreen Wisteria

Wild Wisteria

Wild Wisteria

Making cut before herbicide application Photo Credits: Larry Williams & Sheila Dunning, Okaloosa County Extension Agents

Making cut before herbicide application Photo Credits: Larry Williams & Sheila Dunning, Okaloosa County Extension Agents

Question: We planted Wisteria for its beautiful spring flowers and it grew and grew and took over everything. Now we’re trying to get rid of it. New plants are sprouting everywhere – up to ten feet away from the original plant. Is there a way to rid our landscape of this now wild plant?

Answer: Chinese Wisteria, Wisteria sinensis, can be a big problem to control. I’ve seen entire fields taken over by it. Yet, many people wonder why you would want to kill a beautiful plant like Wisteria. It’s possible to keep it in bounds for a while (possibly years) in the middle of a lawn with its new shoots arising from roots being routinely mowed. But in many cases, given enough time, shoots coming from roots will escape and then begin to take over – growing on adjacent property, climbing trees, etc.

Application of triclopyr herbicide to cut stump Photo Credits: Larry Williams & Sheila Dunning, Okaloosa County Extension Agents

Application of triclopyr herbicide to cut stump Photo Credits: Larry Williams & Sheila Dunning, Okaloosa County Extension Agents

In order to control an established vine, you must be persistent. Your best bet, outside of moving, is to use a “cut stump” treatment on the main plant and every shoot that sprouts. Use a herbicide that contains triclopyr. Some brand names include Enforcer Brush Killer, Ortho Brush-B-Gon, Ferti-lome Brush Killer-Stump Killer. Cut the main stem (trunk) as close to the ground as possible and as level as possible to facilitate application of the herbicide to prevent sprouting. It is critical to immediately apply the product to the freshly cut “stump.” Stumps that are not treated with the herbicide will sprout. Always follow label directions and precautions and be very careful to not get the product on adjacent desirable plants, including their roots.

Other invasive, undesirable woody plants can be controlled using this method such as Chinese tallow (popcorn tree), Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinensis) and Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). For more information, view “Herbicide Techniques for Woody Plant Control”, from UF IFAS Extension .