FNPS Plant Database

Wisteria frutescens

American wisteria
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Roger Hammer, Dade Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

American wisteria

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Wisteria frutescens

Family:

Fabaceae (Leguminosae)

Plant Specifics

Form:

vine

Size:

15-30 ft tall by 4-8 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white,purple,lavender

Fruit Color:

Phenology:

Deciduous. Blooms mid-spring to summer.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Good trellis, post or fence vine. It's a legume, so it can grow in poor soils, but blooms much better with a richer soil mixture.

Considerations:

Availability:

Native Nurseries, FNPS Plant Sales

Propagation:

Bare root, container, seed (It can take years before a seedling will mature enough to bloom.)

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Usually moist, occasional inundation ---to--- Not wet but not extremely dry

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Loam

Soil pH:

Slightly acidic to neutral

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.



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Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Butterflies, Caterpillars

Attracts pollinators.





Larval host for silver spotted skipper ( Epargyreus clarus ) and long-tailer skipper ( Urbanus proteus ).

Foliage palatable to deer.

Native Habitats:

Floodplains, gum swamps, upland thickets.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

Less aggressive growth than similar Asian species. Blooms only on new wood. At least one cultivar has white flowers.

Citations:

Huegel, Craig, N.  2012.  Native wildflowers and other ground covers for Florida landscapes. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.



Minno, Marc and Maria Minno.  1999.  Florida butterfly gardening.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville.



Tras, Pamela.  2001.  Gardening for Florida's butterflies.  Great Outdoors Publishing, St. Petersburg, FL.



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants (http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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