Garden Projects #6

I was just reading an article about them fpund this interesting.......

The Wisteria Has A Dark Side - The Wisteria tree is especially attractive when supported by a trellis or growing along a porch or patio roof. Most varieties grow quite rapidly, almost too rapidly in some cases, and one has to be careful not to plant a Wisteria too near another plant or tree which it could easily smother or strangle. The Wisteria in fact is can be a rather deadly beauty. As lovely and as fragrant as the blossoms are, they are poisonous. In fact, all parts of the plant are toxic, which should be taken into account when deciding whether to plant one, or where to plant one.

The other not-so-lovely feature if the Wisteria tree is that it not only can become rather invasive, but can be difficult to get rid of if you decide you don't want it in the yard or garden any more. If it is cut to the ground it will usually grow right back. If you dig up the root ball, but leave pieces of root, they have an excellent chance of sprouting. And the seed pods, which enter the picture as the blossoms face, contain a number of seeds, which have a fair rate of germination. If you have a Wisteria tree, you can expect to have little Wisteria seedlings popping up from time to time, which should be removed if you don't want vines all over your yard

ugg.Thanks Celest.
Thats a plant I will take a pass on. I had no idea it was poisonus.

Neither did I until i read that.

Its dark Celest !!! I have been awake since 2:30 ,up since 3:45. I hear the screechowles. Its kind of neat.

wow Jo, sorry you can't sleep
so many plants are poisonous

Geez Jo, we on the same wave length today? Woke up @ 2:45 and couldn't go back to sleep....have alot on my mind.

Hi Debbi.
I thought I had a handle on the early wakeing when a few weeks ago I slept til 5:00 .
Getting old is krappy.I have said it before.

I too did not know they were poisonous.. hugs to Celeste & JoAnn.. our non sleepers!!

Its a curse Allison.
I cant start eating until 5 or 6. There is nothing good on TV and not many up on the web.
Its a long lonely time until sun up.
I work on files and delete things I think are unnecessary. Two days later I need the file.

that is why the recycle bin is there

;)

I copy on to a disc then delete the file. :)

Ohhh yes,many trips to recycle bin.

Many, MANY popular garden plants are poisonous. Who eats them?!!

The neighbors goat...but thats not my problem ^_^

LOL

Wild animals seem to know what's poisonous!

tried to link a video from Facebook.
Gimme a minute.
This is Binghamton NY. south of me by about 2 hours.

This message was edited Sep 9, 2011 8:22 AM

Says its gone

Binghamton U. cannot hold any more evacuees!

Oh NO! This is so sad. :(

trying this, just play the video,its not long. This is near Watkins Glen which is at the south end of Seneca lake and near the southern route to Penn.
https://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/photo.php?v=2446797688986

Sorry you cannot sleep....it's maddening when that happens! As for the wisteria, our 2 airedale pups, who were housed in the fenced in garden area until their dog fence was installed, ate the wisteria down to the ground....it was the 1st year the wicked thing had flowered....they showed no ill effects, but airedales are a cast-iron breed!

scary video. Horses are great about eating things that they should not. Then they get colic as they can't vomit. Or worse, it is fatal.

i think i am going to show this thread to my better half and get rid of two wisteria's - i do have one down back that i am just training so i can leave that one there.

Sounds like a plan, Bill.....my aunt planted one about 60 years ago.....it's at the top of many tall trees on the the property where my cousin now lives....he would love to get rid of it.....

Oh geez, now you guys are making me question what I wanted to do...Can I leave it in a container?

I read about wisteria in containers in a bonsai book at the library. Sorry I don't recall the reference. It was pretty limited information anyway but it did say that bonsai isn't just about little tiny plants, and it recommended root pruning and burying barriers as a specific technique for wisteria. The book kept saying to join a bonsai club or organization.

WOW
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Great_wisteria_blossom_Ashikaga_Tochigi_(Japan).png

maybe you could control it like we do with running bamboo, with a barrier???? just a thought.

Jan

Reading up on it last night, the Japanese and Chinese ones can get carried away the American one doesn't but it doesn't have the great fragrance in fact everyone says it smells like cat pee...YUCK...I have to find out what variety I received at the swap at Teri's house

Jen, I have my wisteria being trained as a standard. I have a huge (about 10' tall) metal pipe cemented into the ground at the base of the wisteria. I will keep branches and stems trimmed off up to 5' I think. I did not know wisteria was poisonous either. I have many poisonous plants. Not my daylilies, though. I would keep the wisteria, Jen. Just put it where it won't be a problem with the roots and keep it well pruned. In the mean time, check out this article on the 115 year old wisteria vine in Sierra Madre, CA.

Karen

Here's what we did this weekend: DH and DS uncovered and moved a boulder that is heavier than both of them. We planted: corlyopsis spicata select, cornus mas flava, and 'aphrodite' winterhazel for trees. Rhodis and azaleas now planted are: 'Bluenose,' 'purple gem,' 'Northern starburst,' 'cornell's pink,'; hydrangeas: little lime, cityline moonlight and starlight,and Rio. The top of our hill as pictured a ways back no longer looks like Gettysburg, since the pots aren't lined up there anymore.

Wow...that's a lot of work!I have a City Line hydrangea that I love, but can't remember which one it is....the color is a deep violet.....

Planted our last iris which had been inside waiting for a space. I might put a rock on top of the rhizome to keep it from heaving. The roots had been cut quite short.

lots going on there rosemary - i have a few cornell azeleas i really like them.

finished a big weeding here and spent the afternoon chipping away at a very hard piece of granite to make a birdbath - hole is made now just need a few hours of touching up the sides and make it a tad deeper - did i mention i like my hammerdrill with chisel?

I think you MAY have mentioned that before, Bill☺

Can't wait to get back outside to finish up my planting....I think we're going to have some dry weather over the next few days

Bill loves hammering his chisel.

Jen, I must have forgotten to post that link yesterday on the 115 year old wisteria. Very interesting article. In Guinness World Records as the largest flowering plant in the world. http://www.sierramadrechamber.com/wistaria/history.pdf

Rosemary, you are busy, busy.

Bill, I did a big weeding today, too. Tomorrow more weeding and daylily digging.

Karen

Covers an acre!!!! How crazy is that???

Oops. I mis-wrote my hydrangeas. Cityline Rio has a violent bloom with a green center. Is that yours Marilyn? Starlight and Moonlight are in the Let's Dance series, not Cityline. Too tired to make much sense here.