World's Largest Blossoming Plant Ready to Wow

It's a "one day only" kind of thing, if you want to see this true wonder, in Sierra Madre.

What to Know

  • Sunday, March 17
  • Sierra Madre
  • $7-$12 shuttle ride from the village; festival entry is free

There's going to be a lot of Guinness action on Sunday, March 17, in terms of the foamy libation filling people's pint glasses.

But another Guinness angle will also share the local stage on that very day, thanks to the once-a-year appearance of the World's Largest Blossoming Plant, a delightful designation granted by none other than the "Guinness Book of Records."

Truly now, though: Does the World's Largest Blossoming Plant actually grow right here, in Southern California, inch by inch, as we go about our daily lives?

It does. It's a ginormous, utterly impressive wistaria vine weaving above not one but two sizable backyards in Sierra Madre.

The superstar flower-producer has indeed made the "Guinness Book of World Records," but, unlike many entries in that fabled tome, it isn't always available to admire.

The "backyards" part probably led you to that correct conclusion. This wondrous wistaria is, in fact, on private property, and off-view, save for one special, come-be-agog day of the year.

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That day in 2019 is, yes, March 17, and given the prodigious amount of precipitation we've experienced, those purple blossoms may be at peak purpledom (fingers crossed).

There's also a super-sweet festival flourishing simultaneously around the village of Sierra Madre, should you want an ice cream cone or new earrings or to pet a dog wearing a flower collar or chat up an artist. 

Also? There's a beer garden, too, so stop by for your St. Pat's cheer.

Note that the houses that the vine is growing behind are up, up, up the hill from the village, so you'll likely want to secure a shuttle ticket. Prices and more information may be found here.

So now you're thinking that you're obsessed with flowers and you'd love to plant something that can compete with this purple behemoth for the record of World's Largest Blossoming Plant?

Best get started: The world-famous Sierra Madre wistaria is marking its 125th birthday in 2019, meaning that, yes, it has vibrantly lived, and flourished, within three centuries.

And you do know your Sierra Madre spellings well, if you spell "wisteria" as "wistaria" when talking about the adorable, mountain-adjacent town: It's always wistaria, with an "a," and not wisteria, with an "e," when discussing Wistaria City.

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