Wisteria plant is taking over

Renee Porter
by Renee Porter
My unending battle with a beautiful flowering vine. This gorgeous plant is threatening to take over my acre of land, from the fences to the house. If I cut it back, I end up with two times more than I started with.
Wisteria from my home.
  9 answers
  • Susan Barlow Holmes Susan Barlow Holmes on Feb 08, 2016
    I'm still trying to get them all dug out of my yard! They are beautiful, but very invasive. Mine were from the wild, there may be a variety from the nursery that will not be so invasive.
  • Joanne Johnson Joanne Johnson on Feb 08, 2016
    If you drive a barrier into the ground where you want them to stop, like the plastic edging, you can stop them
  • Pat Pat on Feb 08, 2016
    I spent YEARS battling the wisteria on my fence! THEN I found out the all you have to do is spray weed killer on the green leaves and it will KILL it all! Just spray any re appearing leaves! The more I had cut it down the more it grew back. When the wood has petrified just saw it off after the vines are dead. SO easy!
    • Renee Porter Renee Porter on Feb 08, 2016
      @Pat Thanks for your reply. I don't use weed killer or any insecticides because my vegetable garden is too close to the wisteria. I sometimes wish I did so I didn't have to stand and pick potato bugs off my potato plants. :)
  • Angela Angela on Feb 08, 2016
    Call your county extension service. They (should have) a horticulturalist who can answer this. Brush killer would probable do it.
  • Renee Porter Renee Porter on Feb 08, 2016
    Call recommendation to local county extension service.
  • Lynn Palmatier Lynn Palmatier on Feb 09, 2016
    Wisteria is a creeping vine. I had one in my yard for many years and we keep the yard fairly much grass by cutting and pulling the surface runners. They the runners seek out trees or other stable bases to vine onto. Did you call your county extension service? If they can't help, try to find a Botanical/horticultural group that could possibly help. We have a local college that has gardens that is our local group. Have you tried looking online? http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/vines/wisteria/controlling-or-getting-rid-of-wisteria.htm
  • J.Chapman J.Chapman on Feb 20, 2016
    Try rock salt,it will kill it out to the point where you put down the salt,it will take a year or so before you can get anything to grow there though.
  • Chloe Crabtree Chloe Crabtree on Sep 19, 2022

    You will probably continue to battle it. It will send runners out many feet from the plant. Other than totally digging up the plant and removing it and then continuing to kill any runners that pop up from the roots that have already spread, you will not be able to get rid of it. We had one that sent up a new plant some 40 feet from the original one. I am glad I sold that home and moved away - now it is someone else's problem!

  • Mogie Mogie on Sep 20, 2022

    We have been battling this for over 15 years. The only way to sucessfully stop this is to find the main root and severe that.

    Of course any runners need to be removed also. It will probably take several years of doing this but you will win in the end. Be patient.