The best part of growing Wisteria is undoubtedly the luscious, blue-purple flower clusters that grace the garden every spring, but Wisteria seed pods are fun too! These pods show up a few weeks after the vine has finished blooming and contain seeds that, if left alone, will burst out to self-seed as they dry. The long, dangling pods appear on Wisteria vines in the late summer or fall.
Green or brown, Wisteria seed pods resemble large beans or pea pods (like peas and beans, Wisteria is part of the legume family), but Wisteria seed pods are NOT edible. Once the pods dry out in the late autumn, they explode, spreading seeds to start the next generation of Wisteria.
Some gardeners remove their Wisteria’s seed pods; others enjoy the aesthetic. There are pros and cons to allowing the seed pods to develop and eventually explode. Keep reading and you’ll learn everything you need to know about these unique looking pods.
What are the Pods on Wisteria Plants?
Like other flowering plants, Wisteria reproduces itself via seeds. As the scented flowers eventually fade, they give way to long pods that hold the seeds that then, quite literally, explode to the ground and grow into new Wisteria plants.
Late summer or early fall is usually when you’ll notice pods that resemble oversized green beans or snow peas appearing on your Wisteria. Like these vegetables, Wisteria is a member of the Fabaceae family, also called the legume family. However, Wisteria is poisonous. You should never allow children or pets (or any animal) to eat any part of the Wisteria plant, especially the seed pods.
Wisteria seed pods start out green and then turn brown as they dry out in the fall. American Wisteria has smooth seed pods, while the pods on Asian varieties are fuzzy or velvety. Chinese Wisteria often doesn’t produce any seed pods at all.
When and Why do Wisteria Pods Explode?
First-time Wisteria growers may get a surprise in the fall when Wisteria seed pods start exploding. You may notice a sound like popcorn popping, the seeds flying through the air, or your dog or cat going nuts at the window.
So why does Wisteria have these wacky exploding pods? It’s how the plant distributes its seeds in nature. If they just dropped straight to the ground, the new seedlings would be in competition with each other (and the parent vine) and wouldn’t be able to reach new places to grow.
Getting seeds to new locations is a common need among plants, and exploding seed pods is just one of the creative ways nature takes care of itself. Some plants, such as Maple Trees, Cottonwoods, and Dandelions, have seeds designed to blow away in the wind. Other plants enclose their seeds in tasty fruit for animals to eat and deposit wherever they go, and sticky seeds like burs attach themselves to people or animals and get carried off to new places that way.
So, Wisteria pods pop, and the seeds shoot out into the air, landing a few feet from where they would have fallen had they just dropped straight down. Wisteria seed pods don’t start to pop until after they’ve dried out. After that, a warm fall day will trigger the pods to explode. Taking the pods inside your warm house can also trigger this.
Should I Remove Wisteria Seed Pods?
It’s up to you whether to remove the seed pods or leave them on your Wisteria. On the one hand, the seed pods have aesthetic appeal, the popping is fun, and you save time by not removing them. However, the seeds may sprout all over your yard, and kids or pets may try to eat the seeds, which are poisonous.
Some gardeners like to leave Wisteria seed pods on the vine because they add visual interest in the late summer, fall, and winter. In the spring, though, the pods could block your view of the flowers, so you may wish to remove them before bloom time. In that case, I recommend removing the seed pods when you do your winter pruning (learn more about pruning Wisteria here).
Removing all of the seed pods from your Wisteria can be a bit of a mission if your vine is large. Just as with pruning or deadheading, you’ll probably need to get the ladder to get at all of the seed pods and snip them off. So leaving the pods on your Wisteria can definitely be a time saver.
I think the exploding seed pods are unique and fun, but some people find them annoying. The seeds ping against nearby windows and walls, and they can also make a bit of a mess underfoot if the Wisteria is growing above a porch, patio, or sidewalk. However, it doesn’t take that long for all of the pods to pop. If you’re not at home on the warm afternoon that triggers the exploding to start, you might miss it.
Depending on the Wisteria variety you have and the growing conditions in your yard, you could get a lot of Wisteria seedlings coming up from all of those seeds. Asian Wisteria varieties can be extremely invasive in some environments. Unless you want a Wisteria forest, preventing self-seeding is a good reason to remove the seed pods before they pop. But some people find that their Wisteria seeds don’t sprout in their yard, so it may not be an issue for you.
If you have small children or animals of any kind sharing your yard, it’s a good idea to get rid of your Wisteria’s seed pods so that nobody tries to eat one. The whole Wisteria plant is poisonous, but the pods and seeds are the most potent part, and kids and pets sometimes make themselves sick by eating them.
Remember, you won’t get seed pods if you deadheaded your Wisteria after blooming. If you don’t want the pods, deadheading is a good choice since it prevents them from growing in the first place.
Can Wisteria Be Grown from Seed?
You can grow new Wisteria plants from seeds, but it’s not the best way to propagate. Wisteria vines that you buy at a plant nursery are usually grafted, and the seeds they produce aren’t really intended for growing new Wisteria vines. Your plants grown from seed may turn out to be very different from the parent.
Also, Wisteria takes a long time to mature, which is important to know if you want to try your hand at starting a new plant from seed. It can take as many as 20 years for Wisteria grown from seeds to start blooming, and some never bloom at all. If you’re lucky, you might start to get flowers after about seven years.
If you want to propagate your Wisteria, you have other options besides planting seeds. Wisteria can easily be grown from cuttings, or you can try air layering. You may choose to grow seedlings as rootstock for grafting.
How to Harvest Wisteria Seeds
If you want to grow Wisteria from seed, the first step is to collect some seeds. It’s best to harvest seed pods before they explode. Otherwise, you’ll have to hunt around on the ground for individual seeds.
Wisteria seed pods are ready to pick once they have dried out and turned brown. This is usually around the time the leaves fall from the Wisteria in the autumn.
Once you’ve collected your seed pods, store them in a closed paper bag or cardboard box so that when they explode, the seeds will be caught in the container. Keep them warm and dry so that the seed pods will finish drying out and pop. You can also break the seeds out of the pods, but exploding is a good indicator that the seeds are ready.
How to Grow Wisteria from Seed
You’ll harvest your Wisteria seeds in the fall, and you can either plant them right away or wait until spring. If you wait to plant your seeds, store them in a cool, dry place. Some people like to keep their Wisteria seeds in the refrigerator (just make sure no one gets confused and eats them).
In the fall, you can start your seeds indoors and take care of the plants inside over the winter, or you can sow the seeds directly in the ground (provided it’s already pretty chilly), though they won’t germinate until spring. If you wait until spring to plant, you can still sow your seeds in the ground or start them in containers.
If you start your seeds inside in the fall, they’ll be ready to plant outside as soon as it’s warm enough come spring. If you start the seeds in spring, it may be summer by the time they’re ready to be transplanted to the garden. Either way is fine as long as the seedlings have at least a month and a half to get established in the ground before the first frost day.
To plant your seedlings outside in the spring, wait until the last frost day has passed and the soil has warmed up. Your Wisteria seedlings won’t like nights below 55° Fahrenheit.
How to Start Wisteria Seeds Indoors
Step 1: Prepare the Seeds
Wisteria seeds have tough hulls. To help the seeds sprout, start by either nicking the hull with a sharp blade or scraping it with a nail file. Then, soak the seeds in warm water for 24 hours.
Step 2: Prepare the Pots
Use large seed starting containers for Wisteria, such as three-inch pots with drainage holes. Fill the containers with seed starting medium (such as coir) or potting soil. Thoroughly moisten the soil or sprouting medium.
Step 3: Plant the Seeds
Push each seed one-half to one inch deep and cover lightly with the soil or seed sprouting medium. Plant one seed in each container.
Step 4: Water and Wait
Water often to keep the soil moist while you wait for the seeds to sprout. Wisteria seeds take between 10 and 30 days to germinate. Make sure your seedlings get plenty of sunshine. Room temperature is ideal for germination.
Step 5: Harden Off and Transplant Seedlings
Once your seedlings have two sets of true leaves and are about five inches tall, it’s time to transplant them to give them more space to grow. If you planted them in a seed starting medium, they’d also need to be transplanted to soil in order to get the nutrients they need to keep growing.
You can transplant your seedlings to the garden or into bigger pots filled with potting soil. If you’re planting your seedlings outside at this stage, be sure to select an appropriate spot with room to grow and plenty of sunshine. Allow at least six inches of space between seedlings (you’ll thin them more later).
If you’re planting your seedlings outside, be sure to harden them off first. Start by moving the seedlings outside for about an hour on a mild day that isn’t windy. Gradually increase exposure to outdoor conditions until your seedlings are used to being outside all day and exposed to wind and direct sun.
How to Sow Wisteria Seeds Outside
If you want to skip the indoor portion of the growing process, you can always sow seeds directly into the ground. First, think through where you want your Wisteria to grow. It will need lots of space, something to climb up, and full or nearly full sun. Then, prepare the soil by loosening it and, optionally, amending it with some organic matter.
To plant seeds directly outside in the fall, simply push each one an inch deep into the ground and cover it with soil. Leave at least three inches of space between seeds.
If you’re planting in spring, follow the nicking/scratching and soaking process you would for germinating the seeds indoors before planting them in the ground. Then water regularly to keep the soil moist.
As your seedlings grow, thin them out so that they have plenty of space. Eventually, you may want to choose just one to be your new Wisteria plant. If you want to grow several Wisteria vines, allow at least ten feet of space between them. You can plant your seedlings ten feet apart to start with, but it’s better to create the space by thinning as your seedlings grow because some of them may not survive.
Key Takeaways
Unless you deadhead, your Wisteria will most likely produce seed pods, depending on the variety, the weather, and your pollinators. Deadheading will prevent seed pods from forming in the first place.
Wisteria seed pods really do explode! The seeds make a popping noise and come flying out and land a few feet away, which is how Wisteria naturally spreads its seeds. The popping usually happens on a warm day in late fall. But if you don’t want Wisteria seeds all over your yard, you can simply remove the seed pods before they turn brown or totally dry out. And remember– Wisteria pods and seeds are poisonous.
Many gardeners love to keep the seed pods because of the aesthetics in the fall and winter months when so many gardens are dull and brown. There’s also the fun of seeing the pods pop, the option to collect seeds to grow.
On the other hand, you may want to remove the seed pods because they’re poisonous if eaten. Removing them also prevents seeds from sprouting on their own all over the yard. Getting the pods out of the way now will provide extra room for next year’s buds to grow in and give you a better view of their cascading petals.
You can grow Wisteria from seeds, but your plants may take many years to bloom and won’t necessarily resemble the Wisteria you got the seeds from. If you want to plant Wisteria seeds, the best time to collect them is in the fall, after the pods dry up and turn brown but before they pop. Wisteria seeds should be planted in either spring or fall.