Wisteria

• While many wisteria are grown next to porches where they can climb up a post and trail along railings and the roof, they can also be grown on a sturdy trellis in any sunny and protected spot in your landscape.
  A favorite support for either Chinese or Japanese wisteria is an overhead trellis, which allows the heavy, fragrant lavender flower clusters to hang down in the spring and summer and the seed pods in the winter.
  
  

Trellis

• A heavy-duty trellis requires sturdy 2-by-4 posts. These should be redwood, cedar or cypress, recommends Cass Turnbull of Plant Amnesty, as these woods resist underground rot, pests and disease. You can also use pressure-treated lumber. If you use other wood above ground, give it two coats of exterior paint.
  Build a four-sided frame in the dimensions you want your overhead canopy. Attach preconstructed lattice to the frame with galvanized nails (or weave half-inch laths between the frame posts). Reinforce the corners with galvanized steel corner brackets.
  Anchor four 2-by-4 outside posts at least 2 feet into the ground, spacing them to fit the corners of your canopy. A common height is 6 to 8 feet, but wisteria can grow higher than a house. Use a ladder to set the frame on top of these posts and attach it securely with galvanized nails.
  The canopy can arch over a path in the garden, span a flowerbed or frame and shade a window. Regular pruning will train the wisteria to grow up one of the posts and spread across the canopy, dangling its flower clusters through the lattice.
  
  

Budget Trellis

• For a sturdy, low-budget wisteria trellis, attach panels of welded wire mesh (sold at hardware stores for concrete reinforcing) or chicken wire to an existing fence.
  The wire mesh is sold in 4-foot by 6-foot panels with 4-inch square holes (which cost about $5 each). Secure the panels to horizontal and vertical wooden fence posts with half-inch staples. Or wire the panels securely to a wrought iron or chain link fence.
  As a bonus, the wisteria will turn your fence into a colorful and fragrant feature of your landscape.