Wisteria: good idea or bad?

[Paul W. Foster]

So here is the question. next year starts construction of the big pond. It will be an in-ground with a EPDM liner. My question is this, How invasive are the roots of a Wisteria plant? I know from experience, from a friends pond, that bamboo close to a liner pond is a really bad idea. The bamboo will drive roots right through the liner. but are Wistera ok? I know people have trees and other larger plants near ponds and they seem to do fine, but I don't want to plant the Wisteria, have it take off and then find out that it will eventually destroy my liner.

So any one with any experience with Wisteria near a pond? or knowledge of the plants root system? Thanks guys?

 

[Mmathis]

First of all, let me say that I LOVE Wisteria! And having one close to a pond sounds lovely!

What I know of it is that the roots are very invasive. We had one in our yard way back when, and that was the first time I had ever heard about "root pruning" a plant. I would be leery of having one TOO close to the pond. Maybe there are cultivars that are less invasive.....

 

[j.w]

I keep my Wisteria wayyyyyyyyyyyy far away from everything. It lives all by itself climbing up an old steel clothesline T. I am afraid of it taking over my world from the stories I have heard. I have a gun ready just in case

 

[sissy]

No plant like that will ever come into my yard .I have been trying for 4 years to get rid of a wisteria and a passion flower

 

[R.Rose]

I have a wisteria tree in the front. If it is not pruned it will revert back to being a vine. I have to prune it monthly otherwise it looks like Cousin IT from Adams Family. It is a Japanese beetle magnet and gets the tattered look. Trimming it would most likely put leaves into your pond. Also do you know that wisterias dont bloom every year which maybe a disappointment for the artistic look at pondside. A petite cut leaf red maple tree placed near your pond would be pretty. Plant it with the the main tap roots pointed away from your pond. Since the roots cant sense your pond water thru the liner you should be OK. When doing a clean out pull back your liner and look or you may be able to see the outline of roots behind your liner with a partial water drain. It matters that any flowering plant/tree near the pond edge with draw butterflies, bees and hummingbirds which is a sure snack for your frogs. Please spare the good insects and hummers.
I might have the exception to a huge root. A pretty little plant was growing on the backside of my pond. I shaped it into a nice round bush but each year it kept growing. I couldn't ID it. Turned out to be a mulberry tree. The leaves change shape as it grows. Lucky it is a male tree. Male pollen things are easier to scoop up from the pond than berries falling in. One of its main roots have grown toward the pond and then made a right turn and grew along the outside of the pond liner. Perhaps the pressure of all the water repelled the root so it changed direction? I had folded up excess pond liner and put the walking slabs over it so there extra liner for give. It is a lovely shaped adult tree now.

 

[Paul W. Foster]

sounding like Wisteria near the pond is just not a problem I want to take on. think I will put it in the opposite corner of the yard.

 

[sissy]

I put maples in my yard and what a root problem they are .All maples seem to have aggressive roots .I just cut the wisteria down to the truck and pulled the passion flower a month ago and it needs done again as it took over .The growing season is so long here things like that take over fast .I had mulberry trees in my yard in NJ and loved them but they were planted all the way down at the end of the property almost 300 ft from the house .

 

[Litzi1964]

Check on the USDA website or with your state dept of agriculture to see if it's been declared an invasive plant in your area. Here in Illinois you can get water hyacinth and water lettuce, because in this climate they're annuals. But I know they can't be shipped to some states because of invasiveness.

 

[Nepen]

I hate wisteria with a passion now since we closed on the new house and the whole property (~5 acres) are covered with Wisteria. They took down some trees and are so tall and to get them taken out would cost me about $3000 an acre.... I wont have any smaller trees left because wisteria covered them and they look like a stick instead of tree.

Anybody have suggestion as to how to get rid of them?

 

[j.w]

@Nepen You must move again, I'm sorry

 

[Nepen]

@j.w we are thinking goats now... it will take a long time to get rid of it. My new neighbors are happy though, they've been battling with it for a long time (our property has been vacant for 5 years)
I'm not moving in until the house id done with renovation.

 

[j.w]

Wonder if Wisteria is poisonous to goats?