We live just southeast of Phoenix, and have already wasted a lot of money on star jasmine plants for our trellis. The first pair of plants initially thrived and blossomed...until they were overrun with spider mites. We tried many different techniques to rid the plants of the mites but to no avail. We ordered two more star jasmine plants, this time younger plants, and purchased new large pots for them. However, we decided to hold off on re-potting them until they had a chance to grow a bit. We never got the chance to re-pot them, because, once again, a spider mite infestation killed them. We have other plants that remain untouched by spider mites. We have a beautiful wrought iron trellis that's standing empty right now, and we'd like a fragrant vine for it. We love wisteria, but it looks like it's not an option for us, since we don't want to waste money on more high-risk plants. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

I don't know what cultivar this is, but it has a history. When my husband and I married we lived in a victorian with a huge wisteria over one whole side of the house. I gave a shoot to my mother who planted it in her garden where it did well. Then I airlayered a piece off of it and tried to make it into a bonsai probably 30 years ago. Finally 2 years ago I planted it in the garden and let it grow naturally except for my prunings. I was thrilled the first year it bloomed and last year and this - 3 times!! Penny

First, the answer to your question, "what does wisteria smell like?" To me there is nothing like the smell of wisteria. You have to stop and smell it. It's like a very sweet perfume that one could never get tired of. I am biased though, this smell brings me to a very fond memory as a child. My grandmother, who has passed away many years ago, grew a wisteria near her house. It was in the shape of a small tree. My favorite cousin and I had just finished hunting easter eggs and wanted to enjoy our prizes (the boiled eggs!). So we sat ourselves down underneath the gorgeously blooming wisteria, but little did we know that the bees loved it too. We ran away screaming because there were so many. Now as a professional horticulturalist I will not plant chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) because it is highly invasive. I am in zone 8 myself. At my school there was a Natural Resource Conservation department and they spoke of the problems this plant caused to the natural areas. It is irresponsible to plant it if you know the damage it causes. There are alternatives though. The two most popular are Summer Wisteria (Milletia reticulata) and Amethyst Falls Wisteria (Wister frutescens). The summer wisteria is very very stinky. I was waiting on a customer one day at a nursery I worked for and one was near in full bloom. I thought it was the customer's breath! I felt so bad when I realized the smell was still in that area later. The Amethyst Falls, which is in the same genus has a similar fragrance, but somewhat different bloom, but still very beautiful (I will be planting this one myself). The gardens at the campus I went to grows it. I hope this helps. The wisteria at my grandmother's, even though my grandfather passed a few years ago and the land has been sold, it is still there and blooms every year.

I have HUGE wisteria vines growing up trees down by the creek. They've reached a height of 40 feet. The explosion of flowers are gone now, but for a few weeks they were spectacular. I do NOTHING for them. No fertilizer. I admire them. (Maybe they thrive on admiration?) They just run rampant in the loose soil deposited by the creek. This year they're headed up a willow tree that overhangs the creek. The original ones are at least 30-40 years old, and have trunks at the base that are a few inches in diameter. I collected seeds last year, and grew a few plants. Huge seed pods. Not that my stand needs any more plants, but I thought it would be fun. Yep, they're invasive, but they sure are pretty.