Wisteria floribunda, Japanese wisteria seeds

 

Wisteria floribunda belongs to the family of the Fabaceae, the legumes. W. floribunda is native to Japan and is also known as Japanese wisteria. In the garden art in Asia W. floribunda is known for a long time and very popular. In 1860 W. floribunda was introduced to America and Europe. The Japanese wisteria is a perennial climbing plant. The shoots get woody with the time. All in all the shoots can reach a length of about 10 to 15 m. W. floribunda needs something to entwind around. The leaves of the Japanese wisteria are light green and unpaired pinnate. The pinnate leaf gets 30 cm long. The single leaflets are simple, oblong and reach a length of 4 cm. The leaves get yellow in fall and fall down. The inflorescences of the Japanese Wisteria are spectacularly. The zygomorphic, hermaphrodite, bluish to violet colored flowers are clustered in inflorescences that get half a meter long. The single flowers are just 2 cm long. The inflorescences hang down. During blooming time in May it seems like it is raining flowers. One plant has several inflorescences and transforms every garden into a sea of flowers. The flowers have a very pleasant odor that is more intensive than the odor of the related Chinese wisteria. The Japanese wisteria can be also cultivated on the balcony; it takes everything it can find to entwind around. The shoot looks like a corkscrew. The fruit is a pod that gets 10 cm long. It is poisonous and should not be eaten. The natives eat the flowers, leaves and seeds of the Japanese wisteria. In our regions W. floribunda is mainly used for ornamental reasons.

 

Cultivation of Wisteria seeds

The seeds of the Japanese wisteria need a cold period to germinate. Therefore the seeds in the moist substrate should be put for 3 to 5 weeks into the fridge. At a temperature of about 23°C and constantly moist substrate germination occurs after 4 to 8 weeks. The Japanese wisteria is winter hardy. However a late frost can destroy early blooming flowers.