Wisteria floribunda explained

Wisteria floribunda, common name, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to Japan.^[1] (Wisteriopsis japonica, synonym Wisteria japonica, is a different species.) Growing to, Wisteria floribunda is a woody, deciduous twining climber. It was first brought from Japan to the United States in the 1830s.^{[2] [3]} It is a common subject for bonsai, along with Wisteria sinensis (Chinese wisteria).

Japanese wisteria sports the longest flower racemes of any wisteria; Some of those cultivars can reach in length.^[4] These racemes burst into clustered white, pink, violet, or blue flowers in early- to mid-spring. The flowers carry a fragrance similar to that of grapes. The early flowering time of Japanese wisteria can cause problems in temperate climates, where early frosts can destroy the coming years' flowers. It will also flower only after passing from juvenile to adult stage, a transition that may take many years just like its cousin Chinese wisteria.

Japanese wisteria can grow over long over many supports via powerful clockwise-twining stems. The foliage consists of shiny, dark-green, pinnately compound leaves 10– in length. The leaves bear about 15-19 oblong leaflets that are each 2– long. It also bears poisonous, brown, velvety, bean-like seed pods 5– long that mature in summer and persist until winter. Japanese wisteria prefers moist soils and full sun in USDA plant hardiness zones 5–9.^[5] The plant often lives over 50 years.

Cultivars

Those marked have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

• 'Burford' ^[6] – pale violet with purple keel
• 'Domino' ^[7] – pale lilac
• or 'Rosea' ^[8] – pale rose flowers tipped purple, long
• ' Perfect' – light lavender flowers
• or 'Royal Purple' – dark blue or violet flowers, lightly scented, long clustered bunches, long
• 'Jako' or 'Ivory Tower'
• 'Kimono' ^[9]
• ^[10] – violet, scented
• or 'Carnea' – pink flower
• 'Lawrence' ^[11] – pale violet flowers, deeper violet keel and wings
• 'Longissima – mauve-purple flowers on a raceme up to ^[12] or even 7feet^[13] in length. means '9 ', referring to an archaic Japanese unit of measurement; in the International System of Units, 9 translates to a length of . The origin of this cultivar is a 1200 year-old wisteria tree in Ushijima, Kasukabe City, which had racemes about long in the Meiji period. Also known as or .^{[14] [15]}
• 'Macrobotrys' or 'Longissima' – reddish-violet flower clusters or longer
• 'Macrobotrys Cascade' – white and pinkish-purple flowers, vigorous grower
• 'Nana Richins Purple' – purple flowers
• – variegated foliage
• 'Plena' or 'Violaceae Plena' – double blue flowers in dense clusters
• 'Praecox' or 'Domino' – purple flowers
• 'Purpurea' – unknown; may be Wisteria sinensis 'Consequa', sometimes labeled purpurea
• 'Rubra' – unknown; may be 'Honbeni' – sometimes labeled as Rubrum – deep pink to red flowers
• (W. floribunda f' alba) ^[16] – long white flower clusters
• 'Texas Purple' – may be a sinensis or a hybrid, short racemes, purple flowers, produced while the plant is still young
• 'Violacea Plena' – double violet flowers, rosette-shaped
• 'White with Blue Eye' – also known as 'Sekines Blue' – very fragrant^[17]
• ^[18]

External links

• Japanese Wisteria at MSU
• Japanese Wisteria as a pest
• University of Ohio fact sheet for Wisteria family

Notes and References

1. Web site: Japanese wisteria. Britannica. April 25, 2021.
2. Web site: Wisteria floribunda, W. sinensis. United States Forest Service. December 12, 2014.
3. Web site: Japanese Wisteria. National Park Service. December 12, 2014.
4. Web site: Japanese wistaria, Wisteria floribunda (Willd.) DC.. https://web.archive.org/web/20210515023557/https://japanknowledge.com/introduction/keyword.html?i=1823. Japan knowledge.com. 15 May 2021.
5. https://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/plants/3803/purple-patches-japanese-wisteria/ Purple Patches Japanese Wisteria (includes some growth conditions and US region map)
6. Web site: Wisteria × valderi 'Burford' . RHS . 5 March 2021.
7. Web site: Wisteria floribunda 'Domino' . RHS . 18 February 2019.
8. Web site: RHS Plant Selector - Wisteria floribunda 'Hon-beni'. 17 March 2021.
9. Web site: Wisteria floribunda 'Kimono' . RHS . 5 March 2021.
10. Web site: 'Wisteria floribunda' 'Kokuryu' . RHS . 18 February 2019.
11. Web site: Wisteria floribunda 'Lawrence' . RHS . 18 February 2019.
12. Web site: Creator's Palette- pictures of Wisteria floribunda Longissima . www.creatorspalette.com . January 10, 2017.
13. . December 7, 1929 . . Gardener's Chronicle . 86 (3rd series) . 4641 . 446–447.
14. Web site: https://www.jataff.or.jp/monument/30.html. https://web.archive.org/web/20220425073255/https://www.jataff.or.jp/monument/30.html#gsc.tab=0. ja:牛島のフジ. ja. Japan Association for Techno-innovation in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. 25 April 2022.
15. Web site: https://tabi-mag.jp/sa0314/. https://web.archive.org/web/20220305040918/https://tabi-mag.jp/sa0314/. ja:牛島のフジ（藤花園). ja. General Incorporated Association Pressmen's Union. 5 March 2022. 4 March 2022 .
16. Web site: Wisteria floribunda f. alba 'Shiro-noda' . RHS . 5 March 2021.
17. Book: Peter, Valder . Wisterias: a comprehensive guide . 1995 . Timber Press . 0881923184 . Portland . 32647814.
18. Web site: Wisteria floribunda 'Yae-kokuryu' . RHS . 5 March 2021.