| General Description | Wisteria frutescens or American Wisteria is an elegantly clockwise-winding, deciduous, woody vine with beautiful, fragrant, purple flowers. |
| Landscape | Perfect for archways, freestanding frames, any column or post, trellis, fence, wall, patio or veranda. |
| Cultivation | Plant in full sun in deep, moist, well-drained, humusy, moderately fertile, lightly acidic soil. Young vines should be trained. Regular, proper pruning will promote flowering and control size and shape. Aversion to transplanting. |
| Pests | No serious pests or diseases to note. Susceptible to a number of insignificant leaf-chewing insects and fungal diseases. |
| Habitat | Characteristically damp: swampy woods, moist thickets, stream borders and pond peripheries. |
| Leaf Description | Dark green, compound, 20 - 30 cm, odd pinnate, each with 9 - 15 oval-lanceolate leaflets 3 - 6 cm. |
| Flower Description | Showy, gently fragrant, pale purple-lilac, pea-like, up to 2 cm, in drooping racemes up to 15 cm long. Death of buds over winter, insufficient sun, over-fertilization or incorrectly pruned vines may result in a lack of flowers. Young vines, especially seed grown, may take more than 3 years or more to flower. Some flowering may occur in summer. |
| Fruit Description | Smooth, compressed, narrow seed pods, 5 - 10 cm long, develop from flowers. Ripen in summer and break open in autumn. |