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| I am in zone 5a and have always wanted a wisteria. I just read that Blue Moon is hardy to zone 4 so I'm thinking of getting the vine to cover a trellis on my deck but then I read online that it can grow up to 25' at it's maturity of 10 years.
How on earth does someone support something so big? I have an arbor but it's only 10' high. Does it no longer need support once it's bigger? Or is it always a vine in need of support? And does anyone have any suggestions? Also, if I prune it back so it never reaches more than 8 or 10 feet, how many would I need at the base of the fence if the fence runs 12 - 16 feet long? It's lattice that we are using to cover the underside of our 8' high deck. thanks in advance! |
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| The gardener's motto: the first year it sleeps, the second year it creeps and the third year it LEAPS! With that in mind, a fence that long would probably be filled in about 5 years, using about two vines. Wisteria will tear down almost any 'trellis' or structure you try to grow it on. In the wild, it is supported by trees, shrubs, telephone poles and wires - ie MAJORLY strong structures. You can keep it trimmed to whatever size suits your setting, but the circumference of the vines will eventually get as big as your arm, so plan accordingly. |
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- Posted by barbara_muret ctr OK (My Page) on Sat, Feb 21, 09 at 15:00
| you can also train it to support itself! Very pretty to arch over the opening to the arbor...two ways: as it suckers up from the base, braid it loosely and stake it with a tall piece of bamboo (which can eventually deteriorate, or a u-post that is to the side and be sure to remove it before it becomes part of the vine; then you can also train it to arbor into/onto itself, about the same way...tying it with jute or green cotton "kitchen crochet yarn", something that will naturally dispose of itself. The important thing to know is that wisteria always wants to grow up, it does get massive and can get extremely heavy...heavy enough to crush lattice work |
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- Posted by trillium15 z5a Ontario (My Page) on Sat, Feb 21, 09 at 18:23
| Thank you for the suggestions. I guess even if the lattice is attached to the 4x4 beams it will still try to hang off it to the point of tearing it away from the framework? Perhaps I can grow it and train it to grow horizontally through the lattice, weaving it's way back and forth from left to right and so on . But then again, I'll probably end up having to trim it back still. Hmm...perhaps another annual vine is better. Would it grow up another tree? Or would you still need to support it? Would it smother the other tree? |
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