Starting wisteria from seed????????

I have collected a ton of wisteria seeds, and am baffled on how to start planting them. They are as hard as beans -- Do I need to soak them or scrape them before planting? Or, do I just pop them into some good starting mix? Can someone help?

I am in zone 5b, also - if you just let them fall to the ground, nature will sprout them for you when the time is right. Also, you should have a ton of runners growing around the original vine. I can't imagine anyone would want more than one of these monsters! LOL I finally was able to kill mine off - it went crazy in just five short years.

Can attest to the growth! My neighbor has this vine growing on his side of the fence, and makes for a nice border for the top! But we are both continually pruning it back. Buy hey, it's better than a plain ol'fence I guess!

I sprouted some a few years ago by putting them in a damp paper towel, then inside a ziploc bag. They sprouted right away and grew quickly. Unfortunately they did not make through the winter outside in my zone 6. If I do it again, I would bring them in under lights for the winter and put them out the second winter. I do have baby pods forming on mine, which just flowered for the first time!

I sprouted some this spring too. I sawed a little nick in the bean with a steak knife and then soaked them for 2 days. They came up and are now about 4 inches tall

the pod will pop open when it is fully ripe. the buggers are hard as rocks and you can destroy the seed if you hit it with a hammer. You can read lots of stories of people saying they hear gun fire in their back yard only to find that it was wisteria popping!!

Thanks for all the help everyone! I have about 30 seeds, and 40 or so people that want a chinese wisteria in their yard. I've got two in my yard, but they were started from root cuttings. My dad lives in Old Forge, PA, (the Pocono Mountains) and he has got one in his yard, but his neighbor had three. His neighbor wanted to get rid of one of them because he never staked it, and it was getting a little top heavy and starting to lie down. They dug and cut, and cut and dug until they finally were able to get the majority of the root ball out. My dad took two root cuttings and placed them in 2 gallon pots, and gave them to me this year (note they cut this thing down 2 years ago). I put them in about 1 month ago, and they are starting to show life (little leaf sets sprouting off the root). I have mine growing up both sides of an arbor. If they were mature enough, I'd post a pic, but just a plain arbor right now.

I will try both methods above to start the seeds, and see which ones works best! Again, thank you everyone for the help.

Dave

This message was edited Saturday, Jun 7th 12:05 PM

I got a couple of kinds of wisteria seeds in trade this spring ... and since I found this thread, I was wondering if anyone can help me identify these two different wisteria seeds. The little note that came with them is all I know about them. Anyone?

Edited: The red seeds on the left are round, and the brown seeds on the right are really flat.

This message was edited Saturday, Jun 7th 12:44 PM

i have sprouted them many times. i just sow them in trays in the green house and keep moist. mine usual;ly sprouted in about 2 weeks.

Glad I found this thread. I sprouted some wiseria this year from seed. Think I'll follow the advice and not plant outside until next year. They are doing really well and I did sprout them in moist paper towel. ALL germinated. I thought that was amazing!

Jumping in here, I had heard that if you grow them from seed, they take years and years before they bloom. I think cuttings bloom sooner than that though. Just thought I'd throw this in to all that have the growing or plan to grow them from seed.
I have decided since it takes soo long from seed, I'd rather do cuttings. I have enough green around here now I just want color LOL

I do not want to discourage anybody growing Wisteria from seeds, but I was told they could take some 12 years before blooming and that they should always be propagated from layers or root cuttings. Has anybody else heard the same thing?

12 years ... or longer. I met a horticulturist who planted some as a teen, even though he'd been told it wasn't the way to go. We met last year - he's in his mid-40's, I'd guess, and he was in the middle of tearing it all out. Others alonside it bloomed but the vines he started from seeds ... great foliage, change of seassons ... no blooms. :o(

Judith

I have 2 that I started from seed about 5 years ago and they bloomed for the first time last year. Maybe I was lucky!

That is GREAT!

We inherited tons of wisteria at our new place - LOVE it!

:o) Judith