The plant of passion

Traditionally native to China, Korea and Japan, wisteria was introduced to Britain in 1816.

In the Victorian language of flowers, wisteria symbolises ‘over-passionate love or obsession,’ referring to the choking nature of the vine.

Wisteria – a genus of plants in the legume family – grows flowers before leaves, making it particularly attractive.

Gardeners recommend pruning twice a year, in January or February to encourage flowering, and then again in late summer or early autumn to tame it.

Pruning is essential because wisteria can become invasive.

A 200-year-old vine at Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, west London, is cited as England’s oldest living wisteria plant.