Gardener urges homeowners to rethink popular backyard plant after grueling experience: 'A wolf in sheep's clothing'

This Redditor shared their battle with a familiar yet invasive species.

Wisteria produces desirable, lavender-colored blooms that dangle from the vine like bunches of grapes. It has long been used to decorate porches, gazebos, and arbors. Years ago, this gardener moved into a house with wisteria growing along its fence. They have been trying to remove it ever since. 

"Unmanaged wisteria spread 40 feet underground along a fence line," the original poster wrote. 

Despite its popularity, wisteria is an invasive species that can grow rapidly, quickly getting out of control and choking other plants. It can grow vines around mature trees, killing them. 

"Strangled a stand of mature hemlock trees," the OP added, noting that the vine also "took down the fence."

"After many seasons of battle, I've got it pretty isolated. But still it is trying to take over and strangle everything," the OP continued. 

Without extremely cautious pruning techniques, this form of wisteria can hurt your garden. 

"Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) is able to damage local ecosystems because of its rampant growth and ability to thrive in a number of different conditions," the University of Florida explains.

Fortunately, there is a species of wisteria native to the U.S. that can be safely planted in your garden. It produces similarly beautiful purple flowers and requires little to no pruning. 

"An added bonus, American wisteria is a larval host plant to both the silver-spotted skipper and the long-tailed skipper butterflies," UF notes, pointing out that native species are critical for pollinators.

What is the biggest reason you don't grow food at home? Not enough time ⏳ Not enough space 🤏 It seems too hard 😬 I have a garden already 😎 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

This is the benefit of planting only native species in a garden. They are less work when it comes to pruning. They also require less watering because they are adapted to the climate. This saves the homeowner time and money.

"I battled it for years," wrote one commenter.

"So hard because it's 'soooo pretty' but when unmanaged it's an absolute monster! A wolf in sheep's clothing," added another.

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