I wrote on New Year’s Day about a hike to a spot in southwestern New York where there used to be an orphanage. Now, only the foundations of the buildings remain. There is a plant growing all around the site that I haven’t been able to identify. We took a few cuttings and I put them in water to force them. Here’s what came out:
Three compound leaves all came out from the end of one of the cuttings.
Here’s the leaf:
Be sure to click back to the New Year’s Day hike to see the thick twisting vines that grow up and completely engulf the trees. Every new shoot coming up through the snow was this plant.
The name that keeps popping into my head is wisteria. But is there a variety of wisteria that can withstand our western New York winters?
Advertisements
It looks like deadly nightshade to me.
Yes, some varieties are rated zone 4. There used to be a beautiful one along Rt 20 near Canandaigua but my guess is it was removed for some building project. The leaves do look like they could be Wisteria as do the vines.
Thanks! Others on Facebook agree with you. I also read from a friend that it may not bloom, unless it is stressed. Hmm…
I lived in Bath, ME, for 8 years and had a very hardy wisteria vine growing all over the front porch all those years (something planted by the former owners, I guess). It bloomed most years (I did bash its roots with a shovel sometimes, as prescribed). That was USDA zone 4b or 5a.
I think it might be trumpet vine, aka trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans.) It’s a native vine that will climb just about anything and can reach 30 feet. The only thing that bothers me is that trumpet creeper leaves are more serrated than those in the photo, but it could be because they’re so young.