Kathy - most of the Chinese ones do rebloom - but the second bloom is more sporadic than the first spectacular show. Mine reblooms in July, which is nice to have. I'm hoping the clematises that have been growing into it might put on a good show this year. I can see why one would be concerned with a wisteria run ranmpant on a smaller property but if you had the acres of open space that Celtic Dream has, the wisteria, while rampant, was very nice. There was a lot of big shrubs and bushy trees (viburnums and willows and I'm not sure what else) that provided the main climbing frames for the wisterias. Those shrubs/small trees didn't seem to be bothered by the wisteria, perhaps because it would be harder for the wisteria to strangle a multi-stemmed tree than it would a single-trunked one. So I think it's another case of right plant; right place. gb - appaently some of the American or Kentucky wisterias should grow in your area - but 'musk' is not a nice fragrance! 'Lawrence' is supposed to be the hardiest Japanese wisteria and would be worth trying in a sheltered spot. It was originally found growing near Ottawa and that area is at least as cold, if not colder, than your area.

I JUST PURCHASED ONE OF THESE BEAUTIES FROM MY LOCAL NURSERY. FORTUNATELY THEY HAVE A PROFESSIONAL WORKING THERE, (they have a weekly radio program on gardening & have written several books), AND I GOT QUITE AN EDUCATION. THE REALLY COOL PART IS THAT THEY HAVE BOTH TYPES GROWING NEXT TO A DRIVEWAY AROUND THE NURSERY. THE ASIAN WAS OUT OF CONTROL TO SAY THE LEAST. IT HAD TAKEN OCER TELEPHONE POLS, TREES, POWER LINES. I AM NOT SURE THERE WEREN'T A COUPLE OF PEOPLE AND PETS IN THAT MESS! THE AMETHYST FALLS AMERICAN WISTERIA WAS QUITE CONTROLABLE AND LOOKED QUITE NICE, LESS THAT ONE THIRD THE SIZE AND THE SAME AGE. THEY TOLD ME TO EXPECT IT TO BLOOM FROM LATE SPRING REPEATEDLY UNTIL FALL. IT WAS HOT( FOR HERE) ABOUT 80 DEGREES AND I FOUND NO PEE SMELL, AND AFTER THE EARLIER POSTINGS I STUCK MY FACE RIGHT IN IT. I PLANTED IT IN THE MIDDLE OF AN ARBOR ABOUT 6 FEET WIDE AND TALL. I WAS TOLD THAT WITH MINIMAL ANNUAL TRIMMING, (LATE WINTER), IT SHOULD BE QUITE HAPPY THERE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. AFTER THAT I DON'T REALLY CARE). I HAVE PUT BIRD FEEDERS INCLUDING HUMMING BIRD, ON AND AROUND THE ARBOR, AND SO FAR EVERYBODY SEEMS HAPPY. I WAS WARNED TO WATER IT REGULARLY TO KEEP IT MOIST, ESPECIALLY THE FIRST YEAR SO THE ROOTS BECOME WELL ESTABLISHED AND TO FEED IT WEEKLY THE FIRST YEAR THEN MONTHLY DURING THE GROWING SEASON AFTER THAT. SO FAR, SO GOOD, BUT MY NEIGHBORS CAT IS VERY INTERESTED IN IT ALL. I AM GETTING MY AIR HORN OUT FOR THAT ISSUE. ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS OR WAS I GIVEN BAD INFORMATION?

Actually, it can be as much as 20 years before a seed grown wisteria blooms, although Wisteria frutescens and 'Amethyst Falls' in particular are likely to bloom at a much younger stage of development compared to the Asian species. And American wisteria is a big, vigorous vine much like the Asian species......it just grows slower and doesn't have similar invasive tendencies. It needs a substantial support system - simple wood trellises or arbors are generally not going to be strong enough. 4x4 uprights are typically the minimum size recommended and make sure they have very solid footings. The strength of the vining 'trunk' can easily bend metal pipes, so I'd avoid metal arbors unless they are very sturdy and strong. And too, this vine can extend as much as 30' so a large support is typically called for. However, this vine will be marginal in your zone, tolerating temps only above around -3F to -5F, so winter dieback could be commonplace, resulting in a much smaller vine if it survives. Here, even tree-form or standard wisterias are sold as 'vines'. Training a wisteria in this manner is an extended project taking several years, which is why standard wisterias generally command hefty price tags. For a DYI project, get a young vine and stake the primary leading vine to a height of 3-6 feet, removing all basal shoots below this point and cutting back laterals at the top to 2-3 feet. Plan on somewhere in the 3-5 year range before it looks like a real wisteria "tree" :-) And don't remove that support stake until the trunk enlarges to about a 3" diameter, if at all! Pruning and training will be an ongoing project, but it can be very rewarding to know that you did that all by yourself :-) 'Amethyst Falls' is a good candidate for this process as it is a much smaller and more compact form of wisteria than most others. 'Amethyst Falls' IS fragrant - not to the same extent as the Asian species - but many consider the aroma rather musky and unpleasant. And it does have much smaller, less showy flower racemes as well.

So glad you finally got some blooms on that wisteria (was it the one that was barren for years?). Not sure what variety mine is (wasn't aware that there were quite a few!) but it has lovely dark blue flowers & heavenly aroma!! I have one I have trained as a tree form (it is about 50 yrs. old), a newer one I trained to grow across the top of the chain link fence. The other tree form was next to a porch post & had grown around & twisted the post so had to cut it down. It was the neighborhood beauty when the top was in full bloom! The cut base now is trying to put out more shoots so we have kept just one to train -away from the post- & let it grow away from the house & up the trunk of a near-by tree!(we may find THAT a mistake later on though?!). Seems wisterias do well with little care... & sometimes with no care at all ... or being ignored! Can be trained to different styles too.