Hello everyone!

This weekend, I was out with my dad and we decided to collect some
wisteria. It has just began to bloom, and the scent was amazing. Anyway, we
found an area that was covered in wisteria....you know how invasive it
is...and I began to look for the "right" one. I was going to simply find a
small one and dig it up. Then I saw a hill of growth and under further
inspection I realized there was a nice looking treelike wisteria plant under
it all. ( Not only was the "hill" produced by the wisteria "branches" but
also by the most exasperating vine of them all....japanese honeysuckle). I
pulled away all of the unwanted growth, chopped the branches some and my dad
helped me get the roots out. It isn't really for bonsai, but I figure if it
works out, I may want to use it in the future. It has a nice shape, not
unlike the familiar mimosa trees with the pink flowers. It is about 3 feet
tall and I have it planted in my yard awaiting this years growth. I plan to
train it like a tree, possibly wiring the new growth to give a nice
appearance and then letting the branches weep. I have seen wisteria being
sold as "tree wisteria" and have seen them in yards lately, so I figured I
would give it a try.

The one thing which worries me is that the buds already had opened,
though no leaves had opened. I know that wisteria is very hardy when it
comes to this stuff and that they come very easily with cuttings. Is there
anything I should/could do to further the chances of the top growth
surviving? Last year I had pulled up some wisteria and plopped it in some
sand, but it already had hardened leaves. The top died, but new growth came
up from the roots. Do you think that my newly collected wisteria will do the
same thing, or have I picked a much better time to collect? I appreciate any
help you may be able to provide me with!

Sam Williams
Central Virginia, USA ( zone 6b-7a)

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