Wisteria in containers??

Hi guys.....I am thinking of putting a wisteria vine in a large container on each side of my arbor swing. I would rather put it in
the ground, but my husband is throwing a fit about it's invasivness. Is this a good idea? Has anyone grown one in a container before? I'm also wondering if the roots would be protected enough in the winter. (zone8b) Please let me know what you think.
Thanks, Angie

i had chinese wisteria in a pot all of last year. vined out and looked great but never bloomed. this year i stuck it in the ground but too cold yet to see if it does better in the ground.

mine has new buds and i just stuck it in the ground last week so the roots were well protected in the pot. i put pine straw in the pot forr winter.

hers a link i had when i tried mine in a pot but then i didnt have room like do now.

http://www.gardenmama.com/askmamaarchive.html?id=284

Thanks for the advice and the link. Did you fertilize it at all while in the pot? I keep reading that
may be responsible for the lack of blooms.

i did with miracle grow. i dont think it liked it. hehe it may be i just have a young plant too. it can take forever for some to bloom i hear.

I have many wisterias growing in containers. They do fine in containers and in fact are used in bonsai because they do so well in containers. Never fertilize wisterias. They have nitrogen nodules in their roots, and added fertilizer will only encourage growth, not flowers. My Chinese wisteria, Wisteria Sinensis, is just about finished blooming, but my Japense wisteria, Wisteria floribunda, is just starting to bloom. Here is an excellent book on wisterias by Peter Valder if you are interested: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0881923184/qid=1111090888/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-1956466-2963162

Here a picture of a couple of my biggest ones. They didn't bloom this year because I had them in too much shade. Lack of full sun is the number one reason why some wisterias don't bloom.

Thanks a bunch Clare......What about the fertilizer that is in the potting soil? What should I put in the pot? Thanks

Angie, any good potting soil will do. If there is already fertilizer in the mix, that's okay. Eventually, it will be used up, and it won't hurt the wisteria at all.

The root system will be fine in your zone. Wisteria is very cold hardy down to about -30 degrees F. If you want to plant some wisteria which is considered less invasive, American/Kentucky wisteria is a good choice: http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1351/index.html