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Which wisteria?

Elizabeth Morgan asked:

>   Is there much difference between Wisteria florabunda and W. sinensis?
>How many of either type would it take to cover an arbour of this size?
>Does one have a much longer blooming season than the other?  Which one has
>flowers which are bluer (rather than more mauve)?  These are the questions
>which I think are most important to me in choosing which wisteria to plant,
>but if anyone has some other suggestions I would appreciate hearing them.

Having grown both, in several of their varieties, there is in my mind,
no contest.  W. floribunda - the Japanese Wisteria wins by a very long
way.  Good forms of both species will provide rich colour - more
'mauve' in sinensis and more blue in floribunda, but the racemes of W.
floribunda can be up to nearly 1 metre long - three times the length
of its Chinese counterpart and it is truly spectacular when in full
flower.  Excellent white forms of both species exist and an
established plant of W. floribunda 'Alba' in full bloom can only be
described as a avalanche of flower.

The only drawback is that, whereas it is perfectly feasible to expect
a decent nursery raised specimen of W. sinensis to start producing
flowers within 3-4 years or even less, you will have to wait for 8 or
even 10 years for those of floribunda.  The wait is without a doubt,
well worth it.  If you have a fair bit of room, you could plant both -
the Chinese sp. giving you a good show for the earlier years, while
the other is building up to its glorious potential.  

My experience of both species is based upon growing conditions in the
UK and I suspect that light conditions in Tasmania are slightly
greater than those in the greater part of Britain.  It may be that
flowering could take place at an earlier stage in their development,
in your part of the world.  Both plants will need full sun and a well
prepared soil to give of their best.

HTH

David Poole
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