Congratulations! I had the same experience; I trained a wisteria into sort-of-tree form and waited, and waited..... Then it got moved, twice, and I waited some more.

After many years went by it finally bloomed a few years ago ... and this year a squirrel started eating the flower buds as I stared horrified out the window!

Probably the same squirrel that ate all the buds off my Percy Wiseman rhododendron.

I chased it a few times and it seems to have stopped - or maybe the buds don't taste as good when they start to open.

Anyway, it seems to be an extra blessing when you wait so long for blooms and they finally actually appear.

Claire

Pictures, pictures!

My wisteria blooms are just beginning to think about opening, and the flowers and leaves look kind of wimpy. It'll be another week or two before they look good enough to photograph, squirrels willing.

Claire

Squirrels eating wisteria buds??? I've never heard of this. Could that be what happened to mine this year? I planted it about five years ago and it is now a 20 foot vine drapped in front of the garage. The last few years it has bloomed magnificently! This year I have ONE blossom! Same full sun exposure, same pruning technique, no fertilizer. I know they can be notoriously difficult to get to start blooming, but I've never heard of one just stopping after it starts.... any other ideas?

I am waiting for the blossoms to open too. I am just thrilled that I actually have flower buds! Hopefully, my cat will be diligent about the squirrels.

My pink wisteria is nearly in full bloom now but my blue and double purple forms are just starting to open.... just LOVE 'em!!

I wish that I could figure out how to post a photo here...

ericofwebster: I just googled "squirrels eating wisteria buds" and found a couple of links concerning the phenomenon :

Death to the squirrels

and even a photo:
ONE FRISKY SQUIRREL, CAUGHT IN THE ACT

Apparently it's more common than we think. Oh great.

Claire

Claire,

Thanks so much for responding and for the links! The little guy was caught, red-handed (pawed?)!

Arrrrghhhh! It is frustrating waiting twelve months for the glorious show and then discovering you'll just have to wait another year. I devote a sunflower feeder to the squirrels (in addition to the several I have for birds), I buy them peanuts, I even make peanut butter sandwiches for them... and this is how they repay me?

I know, I know, we have to co-exist, and I truly enjoy having them around, but I WILL be taking measures next spring to protect the wisteria... the ammonia soaked rags mentioned in the link sounds like a good idea (though that might also discourage the beautiful robin which nested there last year), and I may even try some bird netting around the lower portion to deter them until the buds start to elongate and open.

Still, this is easier to deal with than the family of voracious muskrats I've been battling the past few years. (They're winning.)

ericofwebster: I don't make my squirrels peanut butter sandwiches, but I do spread all sorts of goodies on the ground for all of the groundfeeders - winged or furry. So I was really annoyed a few months ago when I discovered that something was trying to chew into the big (heavy duty plastic) container on the porch that I use to store birdseed. Even now I'll glance out and see a squirrel hopping cheerily up the steps to the porch hoping I'm not watching.

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The wisteria buds they left are half-open now and don't make a big show. The leaves aren't fully open either, but the wisteria is still a pleasure to see out my kitchen window. It's still a gawky youngster and I hope it will get better each year. Part of my squirrel problem is due to my using the wisteria as a suet feeder in the winter, and I haven't figured out yet when and how to end this. I guess the squirrel comes for the suet then goes to the flower buds for dessert.

Half-open (NOT half-eaten) flowers:

Claire

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A single trunk of wisteria grows up and then branches out from the first cut. The blossoms all fall from the upside down umbrella shape. The single trunk may be difficult to see due to the plants in the background.

Beautiful photos! Thanks for posting. I am jealous. I have to wait another year (or more) for mine to bloom :(

Great display evonnestoryteller! You have the classic single trunk standard, and it looks like you've supported it with a trellis structure. A very elegant type of plant.

I went a different route years ago since I was living in NYC and couldn't be around to watch over the plant in MA. I took a couple of vines I found in my parents' yard and shoved them into an obelisk to support them. As they grew, I pruned them for form and whenever a new vine appeared I wrapped it around the originals.

The wisteria is subject to fierce winter winds and the obelisk has since been reinforced by rebars and propped up with a narrow trellis. Not so elegant, but sturdy. I'm hoping the vines will eventually fuse into a trunk-like structure. I don't want to prune off the lower branches to form an umbrella (lower branches hide the rebar) as a result my flowers don't hang below the leaves.

Wisteria are adaptable plants - they'll grow no matter what or how, and flower when they get around to it. All we can do is wait and admire (and fend off squirrels).

Claire

I love Wisteria. Have never had any, but would love to try. What is the best time to plant, and do they just flower in the Spring?

What time of year do they bloom in coastal Massachusetts? There is a place I want visit when they bloom to see the Wisteria.

They bloom sometime between the mid to the end of May here in Plymouth, MA on the coast, but it varies each year. This year the buds are still small and I don't know when they'll get around to it. If I had to guess I'd say around Memorial Day but I'm not really sure.

May 13, 2014

One of these looks like it may open soon.

If it's a public place you might want to call and ask when they expect bloom.

Claire

edit note: A few weeks ago I sprayed the buds with Critter Ridder and the squirrels have stayed away, at least while I was looking.

This post was edited by claire on Tue, May 13, 14 at 10:00