Wisteria

Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) and Japanese wisteria (W. floribunda) are deciduous high climbing, twining, or trailing leguminous woody vines with long pinnately compound leaves and showy dangling clusters of spring flowers that appear before leaves. Chinese and Japanese wisterias are difficult to distinguish due to hybridization. Both colonize by vines twining and covering shrubs and trees and by runners that root at nodes when vines ar ecovered by leaflitter. Seeds are water dispersed along with riparian areas, but the large size of the seeds is a deterrent to animal dispersal. Still sold and planted with many cultivars. Resemble native or naturalized American wisteria (W. frutescens), which occurs in wet forests and edges and sometimes forms large entanglements but flowers in June to August after leaves develop.

Management Strategies:

• DO NOT PLANT NON-NATIVE WISTERIA. Remove prior plantings, and control sprouts and seedlings. Bag and dispose of plants and fruit in a dumpster or burn.
• Treat when new plants are young to prevent seed formation.
• Pull, cut, and treat when pods are not present.
• Anticipate wider occupation when plants are present before disturbance.
• Manually pull new seedlings when soil is moist, ensuring removal of all roots.
• Prescribed burning in spring can clear debris, sever climbing vines, and reveal hazards before summer applications. Repeated burning will not control.