Sierra Madre : Wisteria Vine Event Set

The city’s 500-foot-long Wisteria Vine, logged in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest flowering plant, will be the focus of a celebration in 1994 during the Centennial Year of the Wisteria.

On Tuesday, the City Council passed a centennial proclamation to give volunteer groups time to prepare for the event. Sierra Madre is known as Wisteria City and its city seal is decorated with a drawing of the vine.

The city’s landmark plant was placed by the side of a two-story house in 1894 by William F. Brugman. Over time, the vine, with its lavender flowers, grew so large that it crushed the house. Now, the vine spans two back yards in the 500 block of North Hermosa Avenue. A tentative Wisteria Fete is planned this year for March 25, if the vine is blooming.