Wisteria Plant Profile

There are plants that are easy-going and hassle-free, and then there are the awkward squad, wayward beauties like wisteria that need understanding and a firm hand. It is a small price to pay for one of spring’s most beautiful sights, a profusion of fragrant, pea-like flowers suspended in long bunches before the greenish bronze leaves have time to fully unfurl. Then, come autumn, and each cluster of flowers is replaced by a single, velvety, bean-like pod that dries well, a handsome addition to dried flower arrangements. But, despite its good looks, wisteria has some quirky traits. Japanese varieties, for example, twine in an anti-clockwise direction whereas Chinese ones travel clock-wise. Then there is the antisocial behaviour — the unlicensed invasion of roof spaces, or toppling of weak supports