Chinese wisteria is an aggressive vine! A few that have gone wild near here have climbed high into redwoods, or spread over large areas of forest, or both. Some may have been planted intentionally, and then been abandoned. Some may be feral. Japanese wisteria may have potential to do the same, and perhaps some have already done so without being recognized as a different species from more common Chinese wisteria. Both species are spectacular while blooming within refined landscapes, but can be difficult to accommodate within the often neglected or partially forested landscapes here. That is why I am so pleased to try the much more docile American wisteria, Wisteria frutescens. I do not remember the name of this particular cultivar, but it blooms with bluish lavender floral color that is comparable to that of the more traditional Chinese wisteria. Like Chinese wisteria, other cultivars can bloom white or more purplish, and supposedly even pink, although I have yet to see even pictures of it blooming pink. It is not as spectacular, primarily because it is so much more docile, so does not grow nearly as large. Also, the floral trusses are relatively short, stout, and cylindrical in form, so protrude more rigidly outward like bottlebrush bloom, rather than more pendulously like the familiarly elongated and conical floral trusses of Chinese wisteria, or the more elegantly elongated floral trusses of Japanese wisteria. Kentucky wisteria, Wisteria macrostachya, is supposedly quite similar, but blooms later with more bluish color, rather than lavender. ‘Clara Mack’ is a cultivar that blooms white. After I see how American wisteria performs here, with its traditional wisteria colored bloom, I would also like to see how ‘Clara Mack’ Kentucky wisteria performs here. It could be a delightfully docile alternative to traditional Chinese wisteria for the White Garden.