I too have planted a wisteria on the side of my house, and it is taking over! We trim it severely every summer, just to keep it out of the windows. It has destroyed my lovely trellis and has not bloomed once in 8 years.
I read a story about a beautiful old house in a good community that was priced ridiculously low. When a couple looked at the house it was apparent why the price was so low. On both sides were wisteria vines that had torn the house from it's foundation.
Scary.
So my plan is to dig it up and move it to the backyard...or maybe the curb.
Good luck with yours.

thanks for your reply bloomimg. Scary! no kidding, If these are such destructive growers, how do people have them at all at their homes? I know I've seen them growing beautifully over arbors and other structures. would it grow on chain link fence? or would that just be asking for trouble with the neighbors yard? Should I try to grow it as tree? I really don't have a place for that. This was too expensive to just kick to the curb.
Wisteria lovers, can this purchase be turned into something positive? Does anyone have them growing on their homes? I need to hear something from you. I need to make this work somehow.
Cathy

My neighbor has a tree type in his yard. It's trimmed to 5 feet tall and all the branches on the lower half of the main stem are cut off. It looks a lot like a bonsai. I've never heard about them stinking before and the one in my neighbors yards smells so good! I think you might be able to control it with diligent trimming, but I'd definitely keep it away from your house. Better not to risk messing up your foundation.

Good luck,
Diana

I hope you're feeling better after reading the entry above!

I haven't been working with Amethyst Falls for very long, but I think you've made a very wise choice. I'm training mine into a tree form and it's doing very well. Best of luck to you! Enjoy!!

Thank you! Thank you! morz8 and steve, I am feeling better, thanks to your posts. The info. you sent morz8, makes me feel like I make a good choice, thank you for responding :)

steve, I hope you keep posting on you progress with your Amethyst Falls standard. pictures would be great, if you can.

In fact anyone who has wisteria, especially Amethyst Falls or other American versions, that can post pictures, I wish you would. It would be great to see how the average person is growing theirs.
thanks a bunch:)
Cathy

Not to worry! Amethyst Falls is a tame version of wisteria!

So has anyone ever cut down one of the monster wisterias? Do the roots re sprout and come back? I have one that has never bloomed (probably because I cut it back so much I cut off the "old wood") and it has a trunk that is about three inches wide. I'm ready to just try to dig it up or cut it off at the trunk. I have no idea how prolific the root system is on a 6 year old wisteria. Any suggestions on what to do?

Yes, sadly, they resprout like crazy. And the roots go to China. The only way to get rid of it, without a backhoe, is to cut it down as far as possible and cover the cut surface of the stump with undiluted Roundup concentrate (or a generic equivalent). Don't compost the cut vine, or leave it lying on the ground, because that sucker will root. Jeez, this stuff is pernicious.

Similar discussion.

Wisteria trees are a common sight around this area, not hard to do, just takes a lot of attention and trimming the first 3-4 years.

Purpleinopp, those trees are EXACTLY what I was trying to do but after 6 years of no blooms, I don't know what to do. I just took this picture (in the rain). Two weeks ago there were hardly any leaves on it at all. It grows so much that I have to prune it at least monthly or it sticks out into the street. I'm really ready to give up on it and put something else there. But I'm wondering how hard it will be to dig it out.

Wow, it's a great-looking little tree, bibbus! I don't know why it's not blooming, the one my Mom & I did in her yard only took a couple years to start blooming and grow less vigorously, and smaller than that. I hope someone who knows more will chime in!

About the smell thing, I can never remember which is which, but some Wisteria smells great, some stinks very bad, enough to waft if it's a big vine, on par with Bradford pear.

Wisteria trees are a common sight around this area, not hard to do, just takes a lot of attention and trimming the first 3-4 years.

Hi purpleinopp,

I got so curious about your post above. :)

After 4 years, do they behave well? From my 2 years of monitoring a 8-10 yrs old wisteria vine planted near Algonqun's library, they aren't really that scary.

We chainsaw pruned one out here last year, and yes, it's tried to regrow ever since. Luckily (?) for us, it was planted where we can mow it down every time we mow the lawn, and I pull the runners whenever I find them in the garden.

My grandparents had one they chain saw pruned as well then pulled out with heavy equipment because it was trying it's best to get into the house via the mortar between the bricks (brick house). Knowing this, I was already keeping an eye on the one we inherited when we bought the Cottage, and when the runners kept appearing in the garden and it failed to bloom it was nearly a forgone conclusion that it was on it's way out. The last straw was finding it covered in japanese beetles.