WISTERIA 



WISTERIA 



3517 



Those who wish to give a young wisteria an extra- 

 good start may sink a bottomless tub in the ground and 

 fill it with good soil. If a wisteria is to be trained to a 

 tree, choose an old tree, if possible, which is past the 

 height of its vigor; but good results are to be expected 

 only when sunlight and opportunity are ample, and 

 these can rarely be secured under a living tree-head. 



The Japanese wisteria (W. floribunda) is one of the 

 best and commonest of hardy climbers. It has pale 

 green pinnate foliage and bears profusely of 

 dense droop "ng clusters of purplish pea-shaped 

 flowers. Th'e clusters are about a foot long. 

 This is the commonest and best form. The 

 variations furnish the connoisseur with variety 

 in habit, color, and season .of bloom, but they 

 are not as prolific, and doubling adds nothing to 

 the beauty of the flowers. Moreover, the double 

 flowers decay quickly in wet weather. 



The wisterias bloom in May and usually 

 give a smaller crop of flowers in August or 

 September. The spring crop is borne on spurs, 

 while the autumn crop is borne on terminal 

 shoots of the season. There are several ideas 

 about training a wisteria. A good way is to let 

 it alone. This produces rugged twisted and 

 picturesque branches and gives a certain 

 oriental effect, but it is not the best method for 

 covering a wall-space solidly or for making the 

 best display of bloom. To cover a wall com- 

 pletely it is necessary to keep the leaders taut 

 and to train outside branches wherever they are 

 needed. If quantity of bloom is the first con- 

 sideration, the vines should be pruned back every 

 year to spurs, a common method in Japan. The 

 low one-storied Japanese building will have a 

 wisteria so trained that the vine follows the 

 eaves all around the house. The foliage is all 

 above, and the yard-long clusters of purple 

 blossoms depend therefrom in solid unbroken 

 linear masses two or three ranks deep. When 

 trained as a standard, the wisteria requires much 

 care. A fine standard is figured in G.F. 6:256 

 and Gng. 1 :321, where directions may be found. 

 "When young plants of wisteria are cut back to 

 a height of 6 or 8 feet and pruned in for some 

 years, the stem will stiffen until it is able to stand 

 alone, and the top will spread out into a broad head." 



densely covered with straight appressed hairs, but 

 foliage soon glabrous; Ifts. 7-9 pairs, ovate-elliptic, 

 rather abruptly acuminate, acute, rounded at base: 

 fls. violet or violet-blue, rather small, in moderately long 

 racemes (or sometimes in short racemes, particularly 

 later in the season, whence the name brachybotrys); 

 standard oblong-orbicular, subcordate at base and 

 auriculate, with a short stipe-like claw; calyx hairy, 

 the 2 upper teeth very short and broad. Common on 



rier 



. -**- 



alba, 1, 2, 4, 5. 

 albiflara, 2. 

 brachybotrys, 1, 5. 

 cttintnsif, 1, 2. 

 constquana, 2. 

 florc-pleno, 1. 

 floribunda, 1. 

 frutescens, 4. 



INDEX. 



fjrandiflara, 1. 

 japonica, 6. 

 macrobotrys, 1. 

 macroetacnys, 3. 

 magnifies, 4. 

 muHijuga, 1. 

 plena, 5. 



rosea, 1. 

 RussfUiana, 1. 

 sinensis, 2. 

 spcciosa, 4. 

 variegata. 1. 

 venusta, 5. 

 violaceo-plena, 1. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



A. Standard of the fl.. with distinct callosi- 

 ties or appendages at base (Wisteria 

 proper). 



3. Lfte. 7-9 pairs 1. floribunda 



BB. Lfts. usually less than 7 pairs. 



c. Lrs. smooth or nearly so on both 



surfaces at maturity. 

 D. Racemes long, 6-12 in. or more. 

 E. Fls. large (more than 1 in. 

 across at full expansion): 



Chinese 2. sinensis 



EE. Fls. small (less than 1 in. 



across): American 3. macrostachys 



DD. Racemes short, Jf-5 in. or less: 



American 4. frutescens 



cc. LTS. persistently velvety at maturity 5. venusta 

 AA. Standard lacking auricles at base 



(transition to Millettia) 6. japonica 



1. floribunda, DC. (Glycine floribunda, Willd. Wis- 

 teria brachybotrys, Sieb. & Zucc. Kraunhia brachy- 

 botrys, Greene). JAPANESE WISTERIA. Young Ivs. 



4004. Wisteria covering for a porch. 



the margins of woods and along streams in Japan; 

 much cult, there in temple grounds, parks, and gar- 

 dens; also grown in this country. F.S. 9:880. From 

 the Chinese wisteria (W. sinensis) it is distinguished by 

 more numerous Ifts. which are shed earlier in autumn, 

 much smaller, and 2-3-weeks-later fls., and greater 

 hardiness. It runs into several marked forms. Var. 

 alba (forma alba, Rehd. & Wils. W. multijuga var. 

 dJba, Carr.) has white fls. R.H. 1891, p. 421. Var. 

 rdsea (forma rosea, Rehd. & Wils.) has rose-colored or 

 pale pink fls. with wings and tip of keel purple. Var. 

 variegata (iorma rariegata, Rehd. & Wils. W. chinensis 

 var. iwriegdta, Nichols.) has variegated foliage. Var. 

 violaceo-plena (forma violaceo-plena, Rehd. & Wils. W. 

 chinensis var. flore-pleno, Mill.) is a double-fld. form. 

 R.H. 1887:564. Gn. 17, p. 105. F. 1882:557. Var. 

 macrobdtrys (forma macrobotrys, Rehd. & Wils. W. 

 macrobotrys, Sieb. TT. multijuga, Van Houtte. W. 

 grandiflora, Hort.) has very long racemes, sometimes 

 2-3 ft.: much prized. F.S. 19:2002. R.H. 1891, p. 176. 

 Under the name W. multijuga Russelliana, a slender- 

 racemed form is shown in Gn. W. 21, suppl. Apr. 2, 

 although the Ifts. are not more than 5 pairs. This 

 variety is described as haying a purple calyx, soft 

 purple standard deepening in color with age on both 

 faces and a creamy white eye-like blotch on the inner 

 face; wings and keel dark blue, the tip of the keel 

 violet; racemes reach 2% ft. in length. Named for 

 John Russell, Richmond, Surrey. 



2. sinensis, Sweet (Glydne sinensis, Sims. Wisteria 

 chinensis, DC. W. consequdna, Loud. Kraunhia 



