How to Get Wisteria Seed From the Tree or Vine

Mature wisteria vines produce abundant flowers.

Wisterias produce a show of drooping, sweet-smelling lilac-like flowers in early spring. The vine is woody enough that it will grow as a free-standing tree or bush, if given a little support and pruned to prevent it from spreading. Native species grow wild in North America, sometimes overtaking and shading out trees, while gardeners plant Chinese and Japanese species as ornamentals. After the blooms fade, both Asian and native species produce pods 4 to 6 inches long, containing poisonous, bean-like seeds.

Things You'll Need

• Spade
• Pruning shears
• Tray
• Cheesecloth (optional)

Instructions

1. Encourage a mature wisteria vine or tree to bloom so it will set seed, if it didn't bloom last year. Prune the roots by thrusting a spade into the soil in a circle 2 to 3 feet away from the base of the plant. If you've been fertilizing it with nitrogen, fertilize it with phosphorus only instead. In early spring, prune last year's new branches, cutting them off so that you leave only three to five buds on each branch. Any of these methods may help the wisteria put its energy into blooms rather than new branches, if it's old enough to bloom.

2. Pick the seed pods in late summer or fall, just before they're fully dry. Once they dry, they'll pop open noisily, scattering their seeds, so collect them while they still contain seeds.

3. Spread the seed pods on a tray in a warm, dry place to let them finish drying. Cover them with cheesecloth to contain the seeds or crack the pods partially open by hand to remove the tension of the sealed pods and keep the seeds from popping out when they dry.

4. Pull the seeds from the pods by hand when the pods are brittle and dry. Store the seeds in a cool, dark, dry place over the winter for spring planting or plant them in fall.

Tips & Warnings

• Wisteria vines or trees started from seeds may take 7 to 10 years or more before they mature enough to bloom. Nurseries and gardeners who want new plants to bloom sooner usually propagate them by taking cuttings from mature vines or trees.

• Seed-grown wisteria plants will be similar to the plants that bore the seed but may not be identical, unlike plants propagated from cuttings.

• Wisteria seeds are poisonous if swallowed. Keep them away from children and pets or anyone who might eat them by mistake.

References

• New Mexico State University: Wisteria Doesn't Bloom
• "The Complete Burke's Backyard"; Don Burke; 2005
• "Identifying and Harvesting Medicinal Plants"; Steve Brill, Evelyn Dean; 1994