Who Wrecked the Wisteria?

My sister gave me some wisteria seedlings a few years ago.  She has a beautiful specimen that completely covers her patio cover.  In spring the blossoms are breath-taking.  The plant is over 20 years old and is almost like one of the family.

The initial pot of seedlings didn't fare too well.  I lost 2 of the 3 seedlings fairly quickly and the third seedling grew very slowly.  Last year it finally seemed to pick up speed.  It looked healthy with some lovely foliage.  But the next time I looked, the leaves had been chewed to bits.  I didn't see any insects.

At that point, I admit it, I gave up.  I chucked the plant along the back wall in the back yard, thinking I would probably reuse the pot soon.  It didn't get any care or watering from me. I completely forgot about it.

This spring I was completely surprised to see the little plant growing again.  I put him into a bigger pot and he really took off. He had lovely green leaves and vines.  I decided to try and turn him into a cascading wisteria tree, so I made a few snips to accomplish that end. Things were going swimmingly. 

Then some chewed leaves started appearing.  I hit the books but all the pests listed for wisteria were insects with sucking mouthparts.  That just wasn't the type of damage I was seeing.

Then I decided that maybe it wasn't chewing damage but tattering from the wind.  I moved the wisteria to a more protected location.  Things seemed to improve so I thought I had solved the problem.

But then the chewing damage began to appear again.  I began to check the plant frequently, and at different times of the day.  Finally I spotted a cucumber beetle nestled in the chewed leaves.  I removed him.  Some of my Master Gardener friends were not convinced.  They thought perhaps the cucumber beetle was just resting there on his way to my vegetable garden.

I agreed to keep an open mind and continue observing.  But then a few days later I saw another cucumber beetle amidst the chewed leaves.  I think he is definitely the culprit.  At this point since there doesn't seem to be a huge infestation, I am going to observe and hand pick any beetles off.

Wisteria damage (photos by Karen Metz)

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