Wisteria sinensis Amethyst is a wonderful twining climbing plant producing red-tinged violet/blue flowers in May before the leaves appear. It has a strong sweet perfume, perfect for planting next to a seated area. Its growth is very vigorous and so it needs a sturdy support to support its weight. The new growth can be tinged bronze, gradually fading as the leaves age. It can also be trained as a specimen, on a frame in a large pot or planter, perfect for an entrance or in a sitting area.
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It will need sturdy support and so a pergola, pillar or wall with vine eyes and wires, spaced at 12" distances, will work well. It will also grow over established trees as long as it is kept in check.
It is fully hardy, but strong winds will damage the leaves and flowers, so a sheltered site is best. It will need a fertile, moist but well-drained soil and prefers sun, but dappled shade is fine.
Amethyst crystals are a variant of quartz, silicon dioxide, that develops a purple-violet colour due to a combination of radiation and traces of other elements. In Europe, it used to be one of the five precious, cardinal gems along with diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and emeralds, but in the 1700's it turned out that it is very common in other regions, especially South America, so much so that even the highest grade of amethyst, Deep Russian, is nowhere near as valuable as the lower grades of other precious gems.
The name is derived from the Greek word for drunkenness or intoxication, methustos, and the Greek negating prefix a- (not the Old or Middle English prefix a-, which can mean several things depending on the word, for example alive, "in life", akin "of a kind" or "ashamed", which essentially emphasizes the verb to shame), in reference to the time that the Titaness Rhea, sister of Cronus and mother of the main Olympian gods, gave Dionysus a piece of Amethyst to help him with his drinking problem.