The Long Wait

  The arbor in the back of the house was in need of some major repairs or perhaps complete demolition.  It is a "walk-through" type arbor that is maybe covers ten feet or so of the pathway.  Three of the posts on the north side had met their demise due to termites that just happen to love "treated" lumber.  In fact, the only thing holding the whole shebang together was the huge Wisteria vine.  I would cringe with trepidation each time I wandered under it.  Was it going to come crashing down on my head?  So I got busy and replaced two of the rotted posts.  The third (middle) one was completely covered with the massive vine so I left it be for the moment.   While I was digging the post holes, I noticed a ton of seed pods dangling from the vines!  Bright idea!  I need to harvest the seeds to plant! I really need another Wisteria vine!  Who am I kidding with that one?  I definitely do NOT need another vine.  They are everywhere! Seriously, I plan to grow these in pots.  I can give them to folks who would like a Wisteria vine of their very own!

  Since the arbor is tall (and I am not so tall), I would need the stepladder to pick the pods.  That ended that idea as Michael is still building on my greenhouse and uses the stepladder constantly.  If I want a completed greenhouse, I have to forego the use of the ladder in any way, shape or form.  Hmmm...what to do? What to do?  Then, out of the clear blue, the answer came to me!  Plop!  A seed smacked me in the head!  One of the pods burst open and spewed a couple of seeds at me. This got me to thinking.  No need for that ladder!  I would just "harvest" my seeds from the ground! Every day now, I pick up another dozen or so seeds.  No, I do not need nor want that many Wisteria vines but that, in itself, is another reason to pick up the seeds.  When cleaning the area, vines were everywhere!  Those seeds tend to sprout right where they drop.  I had just pulled out probably two hundred small vines.  (Yep, now I want to grow some more.)  

  There is one sad thing about growing Wisteria from seeds versus digging up an already well established vine. Growing from seed is a very long, drawn-out ordeal.  The seeds do best when their surface is scratched a bit before planting.  Presoaking is also helpful.  Even after doing this, the seeds take several weeks to sprout. Then the saplings are slow to grow for the first season.  Afterwards, the vine may seem to be growing by leaps and bounds but still will not bloom.  It can sometimes take up to fifteen years for a vine to get to a point where it will bloom profusely but to some folks, the beauty is well worth the wait.  My Wisteria vine is probably nigh on twenty-five years old.  It does bloom gorgeously each spring filling the arbor with the sweetest-smelling, lavender clusters of flowers!  My point in sprouting and growing a few vines in pots is to maybe make that wait a bit shorter for the recipients of my gifted vines.  Perhaps their wait will not be so miserably long!  Besides, the more seeds I gather, the less vines will be entwining my Nandina bushes!  The pictures below are of the arbor when it was in full bloom this past year.  The view is from my upstairs window!

*Word of warning to those who wish to grow a Wisteria vine in their yard.  The seeds are not to be eaten!  The seeds of the Wisteria are toxic and it has been said that as little as two seeds can kill a child.  Please be careful!  Keep the seeds out of the reach of children and pets!*