I lost all of my Mums last winter...weird, I didn't think it was that bad of a winter...

Sometimes I think Mums just get tired and go away.

I think you're right...

My mums started blooming in late July this year -- it's been HAWT in GA this summer, but they're out there blooming away, confusing me. LOL

And my wisteria. Blooms its heart out during April.
It has a couple of blooms right now.
Confusing me, too.

I *want* your wisteria.... LOL

Can they be controlled? i.e., if I planted one (native, not exotic) in a spot in my yard with a trellis or soemthing for it to hang onto, would it stay there, or would I be forever fighting it?

You sure???





The first one is in the backyard, the second is in the front.

They have runners, but I just keep wrapping the runners around the 'trunk' which soon forms its own support. You might be better able to see the 'self wrapped trunk' here.

You need to do a wisteria post, so I can ask all my questions without feeling like i"m off-topic in the mums thread.

I never wanted wisteria in my yard until I saw a picture of yours. Since then, I can't get it out of my mind (that's been a few months, now). How deep do the roots go? Are the runners above ground so they're easy to find and wrap around the trunk? What critters do they attract?

The runners are usually above ground, though i've found some appearing several feet away because they snuck underground to get there.

The one I have in the back yard was started against a clothesline post, good strong support. The one in the front yard was started on broom handle, which rotted away into oblivion, so it now supports itself, albeit crookedly. When we had the ice storm 2 years ago, I thought I'd lost it, but no, it just leaned a little to the right. I propped it up again with rocks beneath the leaning part. So yes, it's best to start with a support then keep the support there while you continue to wrap the runners. I'll try to remember to get a picture of that trunk today, the one that has embedded itself within the clothesline pole.

Thanks

What a beautiful story for winter Sharon - to remember when our gardens were in full bloom

Our wisteria vines are so wicked that one time, when I ran the mower over one of them, it wrapped around the blade and stopped it

I love how you keep yours in check and controlled

I love your stories too. If your books were in my library, I would check one out every week