Wisteria question

On another forum I asked:

I've been wanting to plant wisteria for a while and finally have the bed set up to do so. Now, which do I want? I've noticed that there is a wisteria florabunda and a wisteria macrostachya among others. I'm wanting my wisteria to grow as tall as it wants, but not too much width, and I want blue or lavender. I know these can be real barn eaters, but I've got good height in this particular spot. What are the differences and what variety are you all growing? Also, the exposure descriptions for wisteria usually just says "sun". Now by that do they mean Midwest sun or Texas sun (mostly sun, but some shade at mid-day will be the exposure I have in mind)?

And to introduce myself to this forum:

I've not been on this forum before, but I should probably be lurking so I can learn more as I have quite a few opportunities to add vines and climbers to my landscape. I am located in NE Texas, lots of heat in the summer with humidity if we are having a normal summer. We do get the occasional freezing temps in winter but not usually anything below 15 - 20 degrees. I moved from Chicago area to NE Texas about six years ago and to our new house about five years ago. All veg and landscape beds are new as our new house is in the middle of a hay pasture. Mostly I grow roses and veggies and starting with fruit trees and shrubs, but I am starting to branch out as I am exploring what new things I can grow in my new Texas garden. Oh, I should mention that I get a lot of wind in my microclimate and around 35 - 40 inches of rain during a normal year. The past year was a 100 year drought, I am told, so we won't count that just yet.

I will enjoy reading what you all have to say....

Terri

I have three Wisteria frutescens 'Amethyst Falls' vines, which I love - they are so beautiful and bloom a long time. I also have the old fashioned Wisteria vine, and although its blooms only last a short while, and it can be invasive, I love its fragrance, too. I don't find W. frutescens to be invasive at all in my yard.

W. floribunda and W. sinensis are the ones that grow the most aggressively, so I'd probably stay away from those if you want something you can control a little better. W. frutescens is a US native and is better behaved so my vote goes for it as well.

I've found a source for Wisteria frutescens "Amethist Falls". That one would suit my purposes. I also see Wisteria macrostachya 'Blue Moon'. Does anyone know anything about that one? It is a more intense blue.

W. macrostachya is also a well-behaved one (I've seen some places macrostachya as a synonym for frutescens, so they may actually be the same species). So if you like the flowers better on 'Blue Moon' it should be a good option too (at least from the standpoint of being more manageable and not eating your house)

Thank you very much! Spring is such fun, isn't it? I'm always coming up with one more thing I can add......