Wishing for Wisteria

When I lived in Georgia, I fell in love with wisteria.  We do have it up north, but it's not nearly the prevalent plant that appears so frequently in the south.  Seeing the wisteria and crepe myrtle in bloom in Atlanta was a sign that spring had definitely arrived.

Some people think wisteria is a real pain to grow (and they're right!)  because as a climbing vine it can become invasive and easily out of control.  Especially if you are growing it in a small space.  But it can be 'trained' if you keep it properly pruned; it just takes some work.  Here is wisteria as a tree.

 Source:  Tropical Plants Flowers and Decor

With its long plumes of flowers and wonderful scent, it's a very striking plant.  Maybe some day we'll have scratch and sniff internet, so you can smell it too!

Source:  FindMePlants

However, don't take my word for anything because I decided to plant one a few years ago and it has never bloomed!  Of course, I just stuck it in the ground and haven't taken care of it very well until it got so out of control that I had to cut it back.  Although they say that cutting it back actually helps produce flowers, so maybe I'll have better luck this spring.

There are ten species of wisteria.  As I mentioned, you see wisteria a lot down south which is interesting since the American variety is actually native to the eastern U.S.  There are also varieties from China, Japan and Korea.  You can find wisteria with blooms in shades of purple, violet, pink or white.

Source:  Oregon State

As invasive as it is if you have the space, masses of wisteria make an incredible impact and can be absolutely gorgeous.  The largest known plant is more than an acre in size and weighs 250 tons.  It was planted in 1894 and has 500 foot branches!  The town of Sierra Madre, California where it grows has an entire festival around this plant.

Source:  Apartment Therapy

On Thursday and Friday last week our temperatures were close to 60F (I had my windows open - it was heaven), but alas Saturday and Sunday brought us back to reality.  And in spite of those two days of delicious warmth, we still had snow on the ground.  And Monday we had more snow!  Just a dusting and it melted almost as soon as it fell, but it was just enough to be disheartening.  Is our winter ever going to be over?  Many areas of the country are well on their way to having the snowiest winter on record.  The Northeast is so longing for spring (at least I certainly am) and I imagine other parts of the country that have been hit particularly hard by snow and cold feel the same way.  But I'm afraid hoping for wisteria in February in New England is strictly wishful thinking.  The only saving grace - March is only a week away.