A gardening expert has given a homeowner some unwanted news about a tree they bought on Facebook Marketplace, but their initial disappointment may be overshadowed by gratitude.
“You Can Do It Gardening,” a Facebook account with more than 225,000 followers, posted a video warning about Chinese wisteria, an invasive species first brought to the U.S. as an ornamental plant in the 1800s.
“I'm going to ruin your day by telling you you can't have this. You'll regret it.” [it]”This is awful,” warns You Can Do It Gardening, describing wisteria as a high-maintenance “nightmare” that can easily spread into non-native ecosystems and damage structures.
Commenters agreed with this assessment, with some sharing their own stories of battling unwanted wisteria growth.
“We have people who have been trying to eradicate wisteria for four generations!” one person wrote, saying the threat of having to pull out the wisteria vines was enough motivation for him to get a college degree.
“Four years later, I'm still pulling roots from my garden. I've pulled two 'white flowering tree' versions,” said another. “Don't plant it anywhere but in a pot.”
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In the video, You Can Do It Gardening assures wisteria buyers that the plant will do fine in a pot, but as Gardening Know-How emphasizes, keeping the plant confined takes a lot of time and effort.
Otherwise, the invasive species could begin to take over the area, competing with beneficial native plants for resources and impacting biodiversity, again creating a huge amount of effort.
“If you're potting it, don't put it on top of the soil!” warned another commenter. “Knowing its reputation, I planted one in a pot. The roots (1/2 inch thick!) grew through the bottom and into the soil. When I tried to move it, the pot broke. 2 years later and I'm still fighting the roots.”
Luckily, Boston-area horticulture experts have good news for wisteria buyers, explaining that there are similar native plants that are just as beautiful.
Because these species are naturally adapted to local ecosystems, they require significantly less maintenance, saving homeowners hundreds of dollars in water, pesticides and fertilizer. Plus, these species support pollinators that play a vital role in our food supply.
People can also start helping themselves and the environment by gradually moving towards more natural lawns, such as xeriscaping and clover seeding.
“I wish I could buy you one,” You Can Do It Gardening told the wisteria buyer, “You want either Amethyst Falls or something from Kentucky, which are heirloom varieties.”
“I didn't even know there was an American variety of wisteria so this is super helpful,” one grateful commenter wrote.
“I own Kentucky Blue Moon and love it,” declared another user.
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