Hi albertine, my daughter has Violacea plena Black Dragon, it's a beauty, her's must be about 20+ years old by now, it has never suckered. The only thing that's bad about it is the 20 years. It makes me realize how darn old I'm getting :o(.

A......

Thanks for the positive words, aftermidnight. It's a drag about the age thing - my boy is graduating from college this spring - strange to think of all that time passing.

albertine, on your Wisteria do the stems twine clockwise or anti-clockwise, from what I've read my Wisteria is a sinensis, the trunk has climbed anti-clockwise. I haven't taken notice of which way my daughter's Wisteria twines, but I have read Black Dragon is a sinensis as well.
I don't know the name of the one I have, when I bought it the label said it was pink, I wanted a mauve but when you see a Wisteria in a one gallon pot, only two feet tall with ten flower buds you say what the heck. Sometimes you don't get what the labels say, I lucked out, when it opened it had very fragrant mauve flowers. My bonus is, after the first flush of flowers it throws flowers once or sometimes twice more during the summer.
I think it takes at least 7-10 years for a Wisteria to bloom from seed, don't know about grafted types, once you have your framework it's a matter of pruning twice a year, lay off the nitrogen and patience.

A......

Grafted ones bloom small, often while still at the garden center.

'Black Dragon' is a translation into English of 'Kokuryu', the latter a name which is used by itself or in combination with other words for more than one wisteria (including 'Violacea Plena') in Japan. See Valder, Wisterias (Timber Press).

bboy, have I got this right, I believe Violacea Plena is a floribunda, twines clockwise, it is called Black Dragon as well? How confusing can it get, apparently you can't go by the clockwise, anti-clockwise either, the clone 'Isis' is described as having stems that spiral in both directions. Does it still hold true the Japanese Wisteria leafs out and flowers at the same time and the Chinese Wisteria flowers before it leafs out or has that gone down the tubes too. I think I'm going to stop trying to figure this one out and just enjoy the one I have :0).

A......

aftermidnight, some of your well-founded confusion can be attributed to the contention that 'Black Dragon' (Violacea Plena) and 'Issai' (not Isis) are both hybrids between W. sinensis and floribunda. That would account for them displaying characteristics common to both species, including vining patterns and bloom habits. And also that Black Dragon is often listed as a culitvar of sinensis.

My Black Dragon twines counterclockwise, despite it being listed in the Greer catalogue under floribunda.
What do you think is the cause of the suckering tendency that is being cited? Do you think it's a characteristic of a species, or from planting seedlings, or a reaction to severe pruning?

Here is a link that might be useful: wisteria among the roses

Thanks gardengal, for clearing this up for me, I meant to type Issai, my fingers got away from me, at least I'm going to use that excuse this time LOL. I didn't know that Black Dragon was used by both floribunda and sinensis, that alone creates a lot of confusion. I'm learning something new every day, thanks again.

A......

If you look at the reference I cited 'Black Dragon' is a translation of a Japanese name used for more then one cultivar and not a cultivar name itself - and not applicable to a single cultivar only. 'Violacea Plena' is but one of these, distinctive for having double flowers. The matter is sufficiently complicated that some concentrated study of this one source's commentary alone would be required to begin to understand what the situation is. An important factor is names being used in Japan vs. what western nurseries have called ones introduced from there.

Valder has all of the names involved assigned either to Chinese or Japanese wisteria, without mention of hybrids being part of this particular topic.

Well I don't know if any of us have helped albertine with her question, if her Wisteria is surrounded by sidewalk, I would think she should root prune in from the edge of her sidewalk at least once a year with a good sharp spade.
My 15+ year old Wisteria is growing on a 4X4 post, not near the house but I have my Aster bed right beside it, this bed is rototilled every 3 years, haven't had any serious problems with the Wisteria roots yet. Everybody seems to be saying Wisteria is such a thug, I had, an overgrown Clematis tangutica that almost smothered part of my Wisteria.

A......

I'm not at all sure there is a definitive resource on wisteria.....a good many horticulturists specializing in this plant are of the opinion that many common cultivars are in fact hybrids of sinensis and floribunda and are designated as x formosa. Apparently these two species will hybridize quite readily and the distinctions of the hybrids compared to the species are very slight, at least to the non-specialized or untrained eye. One can find various cultivars listed as either sinensis, floribunda or x formosa, depending on who is doing the classifying.

Regardless, root pruning can't hurt and is often recommended to encourage a recalcitrant vine into blooming. I've encountered a lot of mature wisteria vines over the years and only one produced any significant shooting, so while possible, I'd have to say it is not very probable. IME, the thuggishness associated with wisteria in our area is due to its extremely rapid growth in season and the fact that it produces such a heavy structure and top growth that easily swamps or uproots too small support systems.

Is Wisteria floribunda 'violacea plena' sterile, meaning that it produces flowers but no seed? This would be great in that it wouldn't seed around the garden or into natural areas.

Is Wisteria floribunda 'violacea plena' sterile, meaning that it produces flowers but no seed? This would be great in that it wouldn't seed around the garden or into natural areas.

Hi, I recently planted my wisteria black dragon and it now appears to be infected or possibly dying. Some of the leaves have gone really crispy and shrivelled up. Some of the leaves are still ok.

As it was only planted about a month ago I have yet to see any flowers but I can't help but feel exasperated at the fact that I have watered it well since planting and it is positioned in full south facing sun.

Please help, where am I going wrong??

Regards, M