Monday, January 10, 2011

American Wisteria Amethyst Falls


American Wisteria
Wisteria frutescens 'Amethyst Falls'
(wis-TEER-ee-uh) (froo-TESS-enz)
Synonyms: Wisteria macrostachya

You will pretty much never find me recommending Wisteria as I have had a couple nasty bouts with its rampant growth. At one house we have been fighting a Wisteria for several years as it pops up all the time. 'Amethyst Falls' seems to be answer for people who want a Wisteria but don’t want it taking over their garden. The growth rate is about half as fast as the Asian Wisteria selections.

The flowers are quite similar to the ‘regular’ type of Wisteria but they do exude a less than fresh smell. If you like Wisteria and only have a small space or don’t want a lot of work keeping it in check than 'Amethyst Falls' is for you.

I took this next picture near Herald Square in Manhattan. I thought I would post it before the spring.

9 comments:

i beati said...

we cannot grow it here. I vciew it as an old fashioned flower from all my elder relatives..sk

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

We have a friend whose parents' house had it growing under the foundation....Asian Wisteria.
I keep pondering putting in the Amethyst Falls, certainly have lots of room.

kris at Blithewold said...

I planted this wisteria at home a year ago and waited all summer for it to grow with any of the vigor of its Asian cousin, which seems to grow about 15' a week into my garden from my neighbor's... Sadly my Amethyst Falls on the other hand hardly grew at all. But then it's not established yet and it was a drought year and the dog dug it up once... It's a trooper, I'll give it that! And I'm looking forward to watching it cover my arbor maybe this year.

Rosie Gan said...

Perfect picture.

Anonymous said...

The flowers are so pretty especially how they spiral in a downward motion.

Herald Towers said...

Such a beautiful shot of Macy's in Herald Square. They always do the store up beautifully for the holidays!

Big Dave T said...

Thanks for visiting my blog. I don't know much about flowers though. I planted a super petunia in the side yard last year and it did great. But I don't do much beyond petunias.

I did have a "Sloppy Rita" when I was in Key West. It's like a Margarita but with some extra liquor flavors added in.

Kathy said...

Thanks for your nice comment on my site (FKH Photo Journal ~ since I have two!). Re your remarks about the Old Pot and the story of my grandmother: She had a beautiful wisteria vine like this one that grew along the back fence (barbed wire) and in the summer it so very beautifully hid that ugly old rusty wire fence! That memory from over 60 years ago has always made wisteria one of my favorites!

Unknown said...

I know nothing about flowers so your post is extremely informative ...plus the pics are beautiful.

thanks for stopping by my blog!

Best,
Li
@LaLicenciada
@HerDeepThoughts