It seems like the previous owner of your home had a liking for potentially invasive species (those that can spread by seed into areas where they aren't wanted, including wild areas.) Both the ornamental pear and the Asian wisteria fit that category.

Chinese wisteria has 9-11 narrower leaflets, while native wisterias have 9-15, somewhat broader leaflets. You can do an image web search to confirm, but it looks like none of your plant's leaves have more than is more than 11 leaflets.

Here's how to change your zone:

Go to Your Houzz in upper right of every page, click Edit Profile, and on the left side click advanced settings. Well down the advanced settings page is a blank labeled Climate Zone for Garden Forums.

If you add info on your state or the nearest large city you will get even better information since zone only relates to average coldest winter temperatures.

Then return to the top of the page and click Done Editing.

Another couple of ID notes - Chinese wisteria vines counter clockwise; Japanese wisteria vines clockwise. American/Kentucky wisteria (W. frutescens) also vines counter clockwise but is a far shorer, more compact vine. It also offers much smaller flower racemes and little to no fragrance. But you need it to flower to make that sort of determination ;-)

Thank you, everybody. The vines are going counter clockwise and the leaves appear to have 7-9 lines on them.

I was reading that some wisteria takes 3-5 years to flower. So not knowing how long the plants have been there, I'm not sure when they'll flower.

That could be true for transplanted wisteria - it does pout a bit after moving. But seed grown wisteria can take a very long time before developing the proper maturity to flower - as much as 10-20 years. Most plants sold in nurseries are grafted forms that bypass that long delay before flowering.

"the leaves appear to have 7-9 lines on them" . . . I think you misunderstood me. Each leaf actually has a bunch of leaflets as part of it (not lines), looking sort of like a feather with all the little side wisps. So the things you are most likely considering leaves are actually leaflets. Your second photo has one large leaf right down the middle of the photo with 9 visible leaflets. I count 9 or 11 leaflets on each leaf I can see. Here's a web search for 'Pinnate compound leaf' showing photos and drawings of whole leaves that are pinnately compound.

I went outside and counted a few branches and each one had 13 leaflets.

KILL IT! lol Not kidding!

I once thought it was pretty. I even enjoyed it when it started to get out-of-hand...then it started coming into the house. Not so pretty then. Now, I spend many, many hours attempting to get rid of it. I am not a chemical user normally, but that is the only option when trying to get rid of this plant :-(

When you're getting rid of the remains of these invasive plants, don't forget that the stems, and especially the roots, need to be destroyed, so the pest isn't just carried elsewhere. I pulled up a major amount of virginia creeper recently. The roots run en masses just below the sod, looking like garden hoses. Once I had these up, I left them to dry for a couple of weeks, then burned them. Tossed in a land fill....guess what? ;-)

Rick in CT

By definition, invasive plants aren't native, they are non-native plants that spread into wild areas by animals, wind, or water carrying seed far from where they have been planted. So while Virginia creeper may be an annoying weed, it isn't invasive since it is native. In the right place it is just fine and provides food for a variety of birds as well as beautiful foliage at this time of year. That doesn't mean that it shouldn't be removed if it is growing somewhere in your yard that you don't want it, just that it doesn't fit the definition of invasive the way ornamental pears, Asian wisteria, Japanese barberry, Norway maples, ivy, and Euonymus alata/burning bush do in various parts of the country.

While this is true, it's difficult not to regard it as invasive as it cascades over your trees and fences, obscuring everything in its path. I think it was featured in 'Jumanji'...lol

Rick

Carla - not wishing to nit-pick, but you still don't seem to be quite clear on the difference between a leaf and a branch, as NHBabs described above. What you have in the last photo is not a branch but a leaf. It is a compound leaf of the type known as 'pinnate'. Pinnate means 'like a feather' i.e. there is a central stalk and there are leaflets coming off it. But it is still just one leaf and in the Autumn the whole thing, including the central stem, will fall. If it were a branch the central stem would not not fall. This may seem a fuss over nomenclature but it is an important distinction for plant description and will really help if you need to identify anything else. Other examples of pinnate leaves are ash, walnut and tree of heaven.

rredbbeard - I refer to those as garden thugs since it lessens confusion with true invasives.

Before we get carried away recommending removal of invasive species, we have yet to determine if this vine really IS invasive. American wisteria, Wisteria frutescens and macrostachya, are not considered to be invasive. Their manner of growth is much more restrained than the Asian species, they do not take over natural areas and they do not proliferate by seeds or root shoots in the same way as the Asian species,

Since the plant vines counter clockwise and each leaflet contains 13 rather broadish leaves, it is very likely that this is one of the native, non-invasive species. But we won't know for sure until it blooms.

Either way it's going to need a bigger supporting structure than two poles.

I've looked up some information on American wisteria and it appears to be common in the eastern half of the U.S. I live in Nevada's high desert. My concern is that the vines it puts out might damage the wooden fence and potentially choke an adjacent tree. I've never seen these wisteria flower.

Sorry if I seem confused with the terminology. I've lived here 16 months and my previous "gardening" experience was growing stuff like tomatoes and flowers in containers. So I guess you can consider me a newbie. I don't mind being corrected at all :)

Any wisteria needs a big, sturdy support system. The vines grow by twisting their stems around whatever happens to be handy - fence posts, deck railings, other trees. The torque or pressure this can create is pretty strong - I've seen wisteria take down entire decks and uproot metal posts. I generally suggest nothing smaller than a 4x4 set in concrete as an upright......6x6 is better.

Both Asian and American wisteria are sold at nurseries so it still could be either. And neither type is inclined to flower easily or early if grown from seed. And in your climate I wouldn't expect the Asians to be very invasive either.