Overcoming Wisteria Woes

This wisteria support structure, drilled into the house, runs up from the ground to where it meets the horizontal bars. ANDREW MESSINGER

This building was constructed around 1928 and fully renovated in 2001, which added two new wisterias to the original pair. Above the doors, a massive steel structure runs the length of the house to support the heavy vines. If they are not regularly pruned, they would easily find their way in through the doors and second-story windows. ANDREW MESSINGER

The entire weight of this Depression-era wisteria, which dates back to 1928, is supported by pillars and a painted frame attached to the building. The vines, which stretch 8 feet back, are so dense that rain rarely reaches the patio below. ANDREW MESSINGER

Five-gallon potted wisteria will arrive in just a few weeks and, since they are pruned and trained on bamboo stakes, all that’s needed is planting. New and permanent stakes can be added once the plant is installed, and the vines are still young and pliable enough to be easily transferred to the new structure. ANDREW MESSINGER

A pair of parallel, square steel tubes form the horizontal support for the vines. ANDREW MESSINGER