Is this arch okay for wisteria

I rushed into a decision to buy an arch for growing two wisteria vines, one either side, and now I'm not so sure if it will be adequate or a sensible choice.

Elegance Gothic Arch

They also sell vine arches and because of the lead time of over a month to shipment I can still change my order and upgrade.

Vine Arch

Will the smaller gothic arch make it much more difficult to prune the plants and does it look strong enough to hold two vines in the long term?

The vine arch is quite a bit bigger and I would prefer the smaller arch but I could make the vine arch work in the space I have if I had to.

 

I'd go for the vine arch, two wisteria will take up lots of space and when in flower,the flower will hang down a long way, depending on variety.
So you need height as well.

 

Thinking a year or two ahead and from a strength point of view, the gothic arch looks as if it will buckle under the weight. The vine arch looks stronger, but may not be large enough. We have a single (mature) Wisteria with a hefty trunk diameter of approx 25cm, and fully spans a 10m x 1.5m solid wood pergola.

 

I'm assuming if the wisteria is pruned regularly it can be managed in terms of weight and size?

 

Yes, you'll definitely need to manage the plant to fit your space. I was just out walking and passed a pretty cottage with Wisteria arched across the front door. Couldn't have been larger than the gothic arch, but was tied into a neat series of tensioned training wires.

 

I've seem massive ones and I've seen ones kept small, it is possible with careful pruning.
Just wonder if you really need two.

 

I already bought two without really doing my homework first.

They are sat there in pots waiting for the arch to come before I plant them in the ground. They already look daunting in terms of the late summer prune. Maybe it will all become a little bit more obvious when I untie them from their cane structure that the nursery had them trussed up with.

 

In the end I decided that the two wisteria had such a potential for problems in the short and long term that I asked the nursery if I could take them back and swap them. They allowed me to exchange the two for a beautiful Kilmarnock willow, which I have just planted in my mums front garden and it really is a case of it looking like the perfect plant in the perfect place.

I can also now leave my original order for the gothic arch and when it gets delivered in a month (touch wood) I can grow something I'm more comfortable I will be able to control, like a clematis or a jasmine.

 

The arch I ordered was going to be another 6 weeks before delivery so I bought a second hand one off ebay and I'm so glad I did.

I think it's lovely, and so much better than the one I had ordered, which I have now cancelled.

It took 4 of us to lift it into place, it really is very heavy. Just need to concrete it in and tidy up the area and job done.

Any suggestions of what to grow up the arch? Not sure if I want to cover it as I think it looks that nice.

 

Have no idea what to grow on it but just wanted to say how lovely it looks!

 

It's a very nice arch. I'd grow a 1 or 2 climbling rose or a rambling rose along with some clematis probably the viticella group they can be cut back hard so you can see the arch still over long periods. They aee also others like jasmine honeysuckle passionflower and lots of annual climbers and many others to pick from. I am thinking of adding a acontiun hemasleyium to my pergola.