There were a few things that we did not bear in mind. Wisteria grows and grows and grows. If something is in the way it just strangles it, like choking and twining around metal bars that support the flower arrangement until they bend. They also like to conquer unobtainable places, making them obtainable, such as my neighbour’s balcony upstairs. Actually she was very happy with it and found it a wonderful flower to have growing through the metal construction of her balcony. Imagine her disappointment when I cut it down as I realised it would soon strangle her balcony and that would be somewhat expensive for us to replace.
Naturally when we bought it we got the best. Not a simple average Chinese version, but a Japanese Wisteria. They flower twice a year and twine in another direction. They are also quite indestructable. Not only to they take over all vacant spaces above but spread in the underground. We had wisteria plants growing all over the place. Twice a year, sometimes more, Mr. Swiss would attack the growth with the largest sharpest garden clippers that we had. Mr. Swiss usually won the battle, although as the years went by he found his strength was no longer sufficient. He also had problems climbing the ladder and back again. I had given up a long while ago, however being tall I could pull the branches down and chop away. By the way did you know that wisteria are deciduous, meaning they throw their thousands of leaves on the ground in Autumn. If it rains they tend to stick to the floor which makes the job of sweeping them together more difficult.
After about 10 years of battle we found enough was enough and the death sentence was passed on the Wisteria. We decided it was not a battle we wanted to carry out ourselves, who knows where the roots had reached to, so the gardener was called. He arrived with his truck and I must say in thirty minutes the wisteria was a pile of leaves and branches. We also demolished the wires which were constructed to achieve the perfect growth. The gardener did suggest we could plant another climbing plant, perhaps a climbing rose, or a clematis, but we answered in the negative, thinking perhaps sunflowers or Cosmos would do the job nicely.
We physically erased the wisteria from our past, a decision we should never have made.
Here it is in all its climbing glory
And here are the remains after we murdered it.
Yes, they are a beautiful plant when in full bloom, but as you quite rightly pointed out, also a menace when left to it's own devices.
ReplyDeleteWe have a climbing red one at the cottage, it hides the ugly wall and the dust bins very nicely, but we have to trim it twice a year, to keep tidy.
ReplyDeleteNow when I saw your title and first sentence a lot of things came to mind, if I had to write it, but I would never have been able to publish those thoughts. Suppose it all makes me who I am in the end *sigh*
Hugs you