I've changed my decision. I found out that Wisteria only flowers in spring.

I am looking for a vine with beautiful fragrant big blooms and blooms from early summer to frost.

Thanks!

Chinese wisteria, while it has its spectacular show in May, will repeat bloom in summer, especially if the new growth is kept pruned back - mine has just started its summer bloom phase this week. But the secondary bloom is nowhere near as spectacular. It is nice to have the summer flowers on it though.

BUT

You shouldn't plant a wisteria unless you intend to control it by keeping it pruned. We grow ours as a tree, which makes it easier to control. In zone 5, frost damage to flowerbuds in spring is alway a risk. We started a couple of clematises into the tree a couple of years ago in hopes of adding more summer show. So far, we've just got a few flowers from them but have hopes of better things as they mature.

A wisteria in full bloom in spring is a spectacular thing!
Tree from a distance:
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A closer view with 'The Purple Prince':
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This picture is a couple of years old (I need to take a new one soon!) so the tree is smaller, but this is some summer bloom:
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Just to share some info with you. My wisteria was also kept trimmed to keep it a tree shape. I decided it was too much work for the time of bloom, and decided to cut it down.. That is when I discovered that even though we had kept it nicely trimmed, it had put runners underground.

I am in process of trying to dig them up. I have found them as far as 8 feet long, and haven't actually gotten the end of it yet. There are multiple underground thick vines. They are up to 2 inches in diameter. this is going to be a very difficult job, but hopefully, I'll get it all.

I going to to enjoy other people's wisteria...and plant roses and daylilies.
kay

So what's the concensus about runners in terms of headache? Are they really troublesome? The store I talked to told me that wisteria runners can be prevented if we put a housing around the base like 2 ft diameter non-biodegradable plastic.

What do you think folks? I'm reconsidering it because of the shade that it's going to give to the future pergola. :)

Very nice wisteria woodyoak! Are you happy with your wisteria? Are you thinking of keeping it?

We are definitely keeping the wisteria! Yes, the spectacular spring bloom is a short period (7-10 days here) but it's a highlight of the garden. The secordary summer bloom is a small bonus. If you look at the first picture, showing the long, narrow wisteria bed, you will notice a vine being trained to a stake on the near end of the bed - that is a young 'Lawrence' Japanese wisteria, also being trained as a tree. It isn't mature enough yet to bloom, although it now has flowering wood so it should bloom next year if I'm lucky. It should bloom after the Chinese one so will eventually extend the showy wisteria time.

I think it's a lot easier to keep wisteria under control in this zone than in warmer ones. Certainly the roots extend quite a distance although we've only found suckers near the base of the tree(s). We do watch for them and remove them promptly. I'm sure a future owner of this property might curse us for planting them if they are not interested in maintaining them! I would not grow one on a pergola, although that is the often recommeded place. It would be quite difficult the keep it pruned and under control I think just because you'd have to climb up there to do it. I think the ideal place for a wisteria is to grow it as a tree in an open spot where you can mow all around it to keep suckers under control and reach it easily to prune it to the shape and size you wat it to be. Long arm pruners are an invaluable tool! I would never use plastic/landscape fabric around the base. In my opinion those things damage the soil. If you're not prepared to do the work to keep it in control, don't plant it at all.

Here is a link that might be useful: long arm pruners