Wisteria Seeds: Newbie Question

I'm totally a newbie at this. My husband and I just moved into a house with an amazing wisteria growing over the patio. The seed pods are just forming and ripening. Can someone tell me when to harvest the seeds and what to do with them after that? How hard are wisteria to grow from seed? I bet I know some people who would love some, if they might have some success!

Thanks!
Dana

Dana it takes from anywhere from 7- 20 years to bloom from seed.

the seeds pod will turn greyish brown when ready if i remeber right.

Seed pods do indeed turn a brownish color...And if you get them to germinate....It does take at least 5 to 7 years to start bloom if you are lucky.

I started 5 from seeds this year, of which 4 germinated. I started them about 2 months ago. They have about 5 or 6 leaf "stems" on them now with several leaves on each "leaf stem." My seeds were brought back from France, customs would probably be quite unhappy with me. There was no soil on them though. Anyhow, they are coming along well and I think you could easily germinate the seed, but as others have pointed out, it would take a long time before they would bloom.

Wow, that is a long time! Can I plant seeds now, or shall I store them somehow until spring?

Our house was built in 1992 and has the huge wisteria covering the entire patio. I figured that since our house is relatively new, that a fifteen-year-old wisteria was quite mature! Apparently it must have been a good-sized plant when it was planted here. :)

Thanks for the info!
--Dana

I think it probably depends on your zone. I started mine in pots. I will take them in for the winter because I don't trust that they will make it through as small plants. I have grow lights in the basement under which they will hopefully thrive. If you are in a warmer zone, maybe more than 6, then they might be alright. Seems that different varieties have different zone requirements but I am 5a and most wisteria seem to be hardy in zones 5-9, so I am right on the edge and don't want to take chances. If they make it to a large and sturdy-looking size by next winter (2006) I will probably plant them outside and mulch them in the winter.

I entered the 98503 zip code (which I found online as being a central zip code for Lacey, WA) into another online site that lets you enter your zip code and gives you a hardiness zone. It appears that you are in zone 8, so I'd say you could probably plant them into the ground, although you might want to start them in pots anyway just so as they don't get lost under other plants or stressed when they're very young.