Be aware that wisterias can get VERY big, and the roots go down a very long way. I really sorry to say that I don't think a raised bed is going to work for you. If you could plant it in a very large tub, it would possibly work for a few years, but be quite restricted. A wisteria was planted at the ground floor level of our house 20 years ago, and 5 years ago, when the builders were reinforcing the cellar wall, they came across some extremely large roots about 10' down into the earth. You may have to think again. Sorry, Tcb!

Wisteria can successfully be grown in a large container - but it won't reach the 30 feet size it normally would in the ground, and you will need to prune rigorously and frequently to keep it healthy.
Given the situation with the subterranean vaults, a raised bed is not a solution - the roots will penetrate beneath anyway.

I have personally never seen a full size Wisteria tree in the UK, certainly not the amazing 30ft+ ones you see in warmer countries. There are climbing varieties and tree varieties - perhaps a climber is more suitable for a large pot? I have only ever seen climbing varieties in the UK. You can certainly but standard tree Wisteria in a pot, but they are £££ and as Gattina and Bamboo have said, they will outgrow the pot over time.

I'm referring to climbing Wisteria when I say it can be grown in a pot, Kildermorie - as for Wisteria trees, these are nothing more than a climbing wisteria grafted onto a reasonably mature tree trunk to give the tree like effect - but the growth on the top is still just climbing wisteria.

Growing it in a pot (not bought as a grafted tree form) involves staking and training rigorously from the beginning to create a 'tree like' shape, with, usually, one or two main stems cut off at the top, tied on to the support, and rigorous and regular pruning of laterals to maintain shape and keep to size if its to be free standing - if against a wall, the laterals can be trained up a trellis or whatever support is available.

Thank you for your input. I will take another look and see if there's any way I can plant direct into the soil as this is clearly the ideal option! Otherwise I may go for the 'container' option!

maybe if you can dig rite down and put a piece of hard plastic or galvernised metal or perhaps even a wide membrane about a foot from the celler and fill it up you could do it . your advised with climbers to plant 18" from the wall of the house anyway . what you use will direct the bigger roots away from your underground room . im assuming they have plenty of room to grow away from your house . a big planter as well as this made out of nice bricks,natural stone etc will also help keep the thicker roots away to and look nice and be more managable to . youl still get some thinner roots but they shouldnt upset anything . just keep well waterd in summer so the plant doesnt dry and thrink all the soil bye your footings . another idea mite be to get a nice arch away from your back door and grow the wisteria over that .

Tubs are a possibility. Got to Architectural Plants website and got to 'w' for wisteria. They sell them as standards in tubs (quite expensive though). I was at the nursery last year when these were in flower and they looked amazing! They need watering every day when it's warm. And, yes, you would need to prune it rigorously every year to get flowers and limit the new growth when the shape is achieved.

if you can grow giant red woods in little shallow pots i guess anything is possible realy after all theres planters and theres planters . when me and skillen went to the colchester zoo last summer we sore huge conventional terracotta colouyr thick plastic flower pots . i wish id got a photo as they were a good 4-5 feet tall and a good 4 feet acroos at the top . wear they got them from i havnt got a clew .

Yes, Nosey, they have them here, but in proper terracotta - huge things, and they grow olive trees in them. They will cost an absolute fortune!

yes i bet the plastic ones do . if i had room id mould a huge pot out of cement plus if my back worked properly lol xxxx .

Hi,

If you do decide to plat a wisteria make sure you invest in a good one. The best ones to get are the ones which are already in flower at the garden centres otherwise they can take up to ten years to flower. I have 3 wisterias in my garden and 4 years later I am still waiting for flowers!!!

7 years on averadge thow there are ways of forcing them to flower early .