I have a Wisteria, but took the vines as they matured and twisted them around each other. This formed a trunk, I then fashioned a round topiary which I wired to the trunk and the vines have grown around the ball. It is now easy to contain and prune and absolutely beautiful when it blooms
Joanne

I have seen a flowering wisteria about 1/2 a mile from our Manhattan communityy garden and it is growing up a steel cable hung from a roof. I would like to do the same, can i get a cutting? or should i ask them for a shoot or something? How can I do the same, any advice?

Michael
NYC

To the lady who said her Wisteria probably wouldn't harm the tree - just give it time! LOL.

I grew up in an old house that had a wonderful wisteria vine. One end of it wound around a heavy pergola outside my bedroom window (the scent still takes me back to my childhood) and the other end wound around a tall pine. It eventually killed the pine.

I have a wisteria that I planted at the base of a pear tree about 8 years ago. The pear tree gets fewer and fewer blossoms each year and I expect that eventually the tree will die. When that happens, we will built a pergola for it.

By the way, I knew this pear tree would be "toast" when I planted the wisteria - but its a very old tree and the pears - which you cannot eat (Keifers) - were prolific and a nuisance when they fell in great numbers in my garden. The only time they ever got used was when my son was younger and lobbed them against the shed wall.

Another thing, my wisteria bloomed the first year. I do not prune it except to cut off the lower suckers for appearance. I'm sorry I cannot tell you the name of it. But I do wish I could post a picture right now (but I can't) - the w. is 30 feet high and prolific with blooms at the moment.

Anyone know if the suckers can be rooted? I've got a neighbor who has the most fabulous (meticulously maintained) Wisteria growing up one of the posts near their front door and spread the vine out to either side of their long front porch; it's gorgeous and since I know theirs is routinely trimmed of suckers and it blooms I thought I'd ask them for theirs, but only if they'll grow. . . . anyone?

Cris

I have two wisteria trees. They are free standing and I love them although it took a long time to get them to bloom, but It was my fault. I was over pruning. For many years I reserched the wisteria because I lve their looks and because the blooms are like no other. They are breathtaking. When you prune --prune hard in the fall counting back from the tip prune back 2-3 buds. If you havent had any luck with blooming-try high phosphorus every other year or digging a circle around the trunk with a shovel about a foot all the way around to cut edges of the roots this puts all the nutrients back into the tree and forces it to bloom. Also roll up a thick magazine and tap the trunk a couple of good times. I was told to do this by a nursery expert and while I was doing it my husband came home and saw me and thought I was going crazy!!!! But my blooms have been beautiful ever since! Good Luck

Is my Wisteria probably dead?

I planted a Texas purple Wisteria last Summer. It still shows no sign of growth, and I am afraid it didn't survive our hard winter. We even had an ice storm at the end of April and the iced stayed on the plants for several days.

Do you think there is any hope here, or should I start looking for a replacement.

My first wisteria tree got eaten up by wild rabbits--I thought it was gone, but it came back the following year, they are hardier than you think- I live in Michigan so it has survived many harsh winters and frosts.

I was 'gifted' with two tiny (3") wisteria sprouts by a neighbor and they've done little to nothing in the way of growth in two seasons. They're about 10" tall now and have taken forever to get any leaves this year but are just now finally greening up. The neighbors have been done blooming for a few weeks now so up until a few days ago I was sure both of mine were dead. I did put them in pots, though, at the recommendation of the gift giver who advised me the @$#@% things will take over the whole yard if you just willy-nilly put 'em in the ground. I'm beginning to fear this may not have been as great a gift as I thought in the beginning. . .

My neighbor had a Wisteria planted on the side of his house for 15+ years and it never bloomed. Their friends teased him by hanging silk Wisteria flowers from the vine every spring. LOL Poor guy! While visiting a very old bed & breakfast in SE Missouri, I spoke to the owner who had a gigantic Wisteria growning all over everything on the property. I told her about my poor neighbor and his flowerless Wisteria. She asked me to pass on some advice to him. She said to be very careful when pruning as he may be pruning the next years growth of flowers. Also, as Gillean mentioned in an earlier post... she said to shock the roots by taking a long spade shovel and slicing straight down 3 feet from the vine and continue doing this
in a circle all the way around the trunk of the plant. She explained that it wouldn't bloom that year, but should the following spring. I hadn't realized at the time that my neighbor had already given up on his Wisteria and chopped it down. I can't say if it would've worked for him, but it's worth a try if your vine has been bloomless. I sure wish I had the room and support to grow one! Good luck!

I watched that HGTV episode of Kathy Renwald's The Gardening Journal re the Wisteria at RBG. They recommended a variety called Lawrence because it DOESN'T require 10 years to bloom. But it is very vigorous and it was trained as an espallier.

Ianna

I found this article on another forum by Bob May from the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, ON. He is known as scisserhands there and is known for his skill at pruning.

The subject of wisteria is fraught with frustration for many Canadian gardeners. There are plenty of arbours and pergolas festooned with healthy-looking wisterias that simply refuse to bloom. So whats the secret to getting the magnificent show of fragrant blossoms that are on view each spring at Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, Ontario? Gardener Bob May says thereÂs not much to it: donÂt let your wisteria grow out of control and give it two good prunings a yearÂonce in midsummer and the other in mid-September, or when vigorous growth has ceased. Every three years or so, your wisteria will need a radical renewal pruning to keep it in shape. Wisteria responds best to stress. Be sparing with fertilizer and wary of high-nitrogen formulas, which will result in too much vigorous growth and foliage. And donÂt overwater. The phenomenally healthy wisterias that strut their stuff on RBGÂs pergola pretty much look after themselves and only get watered during extreme drought. WhatÂs the most floriferous wisteria on the RBG pergola? ItÂs ÂLawrence Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda ÂLawrenceÂ, Zone 5). Wisteria primer - ItÂs easy when you know how 1 After flowering is finished, prune entire plant back, thinning it out well and leaving just one or two buds or nodes per branch. Keep vigorous, strong shoots that have set buds or nodes at their bases. Get rid of any branches that hang down and spoil the shape of the plant. To force the plant to branch more horizontally, make your cuts on a down-facing bud (even if you cut below this bud you will get new branches). 2 By midsummer, wisterias have put on a great deal of new growth that can tangle into a big, shapeless blob, encroach on nearby plants or weigh down supports. DonÂt be timid with the pruners: prune entire plant back hard to the desired size and shape and cut thin, overcrowded stems out completely. By summerÂs end, new shoots will appear and replace most of whatÂs been cut off. This is the time to select vigorous new shoots for training along wires, a trellis or even up a tree.3 In mid-September (or when vigorous growth has ceased), cut wisteria back again, though not as ruthlessly, to its desired shape for the following spring. This time, leave four or five nodes or buds per branch; these will form next yearÂs flowers and branches. If you see something resembling a witchÂs broom at the ends of the branches (several short, dense shoots clustered together), donÂt remove it allÂitÂs full of buds, so just shape carefully and thin out weaker stems and dead tips (about one-third in total). Cut back any split panicles (flower heads) and seed pods so they donÂt rob energy from flower production. 4 Wisterias usually bloom on the lower 30 centimetres or so of last yearÂs stems. By pruning these back several times a season, a flowering, multi-branched stemÂmuch like an apple spurÂcan be created. Every three years or so, when these stems have grown out too far from the main structural stem, give the plant a renewal pruning right after flowering, severely cutting back mature wood to within 7.5 centimetres of the main stem. This will open up the plant and allow in light to help stimulate new growth.

I HAVE A WISTERIA IN THE BACK YARD THAT I WANT TO MOVE TO THE FRONT YARD, CAN ANYONE SUGGEST THE BEST WAY TO DO THIS, AND IF I NEED TO DO ANYTHING SPECIAL TO BE SURE IT SURVIVES!!?? I PLAN TO PLANT IT IN FRONT OF THE GARAGE, IN HOPES THAT IS WILL CLIMB...

I've read your posts with interest! I would like to get a (free standing) wisteria tree as a wedding gift for a couple living in Indianapolis (Zone 5/6?). Can anyone suggest a resource for purchasing? I've found plenty of resources for wisteria vines, however, I can't locate anything for trees. I could have sworn I've seen free-standing wisteria trees mentioned in magazines -- and even in this forum. Am I mistaken? And can anyone tell me, if free standing wisteria trees do exist, would Indianapolis make a good home for such a tree? Many thanks!

I ordered two Japanese Wisteria vines this spring. So far they have sprouted leaves but have not grown upwards at all. My question is--- will it grow faster if it's supported?? They are only about a foot tall now so size wise they don't need it yet.

Barley,

directgardening.com sells wisteria trees. I just ordered one. Is this tree as invasive as the vine? Does it require massive pruning each year? see link for species details.

if you get a cutting off of an established vine do you still have to wait the 7-10 years for it to bloom or will it bloom sooner?
Kathy

Hi Guys!
I just recived some wisteria seeds from a trade. . .just wondering what time of year I should plant them????? I live in z5 thanks! I cn't wait to get started!

The original Aunt Dee wisteria is still growing by the Minnesota River bottom near Minneapolis. (Not wild.) Zone 4a

I have a Japanese Wisteria which is trained to go over a pergola over my deck. It bloomed when it was 3 years old (1999) and except for last year has bloomed steadily each spring. It is stunning! I make a point NOT to fertilize it so that it will keep blooming! One year my husband put fertilizer on it and the blooms were substantially less! Last spring we had a very late freeze and I thought that I had lost the entire plant. It eventually did grow back and I fertilized it to keep it from dying. By fall it had grown back about 1/4 of its size but I'll have to wait until spring to see how it does. So I do think that it is important Not to fertilize it. (this was recommended by a horticulturist). Hope this helps!
ann

So, will wisteria grow here on Merritt Island, FL (Zone 9B)? I'm about 6 feet above sea level and anything with long roots gets plenty of water. Here on the island we get no temps. below 40F and none above 90F, but if I put it out in the yard, it will get FULL SUN for a major part of the year. I've heard of wisteria, but I don't know that I've ever seen it around here. Most people here, to my observation, are not too adventurous and only plant what Home Depot offers.

I have wisteria growing from both bases of a set of old steel monkey bars behind my house. Nothing will kill this plant--even burning with gasoline. The wisteria requires absolutely no care--not even watering with temps over 100 for weeks at a time. Buds form fully in less than two weeks and the entire plant is in bloom for about a month (it's about 15 feet high, 20 feet long and about 8 feet in depth). This plant is amazing. The base of each side is about 14" in diameter--last year my black lab puppy chewed one of the bases totally in half and in one season it has grown back to cover its side of the monkey bars. Drop me a message if anyone is interested in seeds from this beautiful monster.

I have a wisteria in a planter with a trellis that a friend of mine was digging up. (I put it in a pot because he was getting rid of it because of invasiveness.) It bloomed at his house (they had 2). I've had it a few years in a plastic planter. It does fine but around this time of year it gets yellowed and spotty and not so nice looking. I took one of the vines out and started it in another pot because I read you need two plants to get flowers. Do they hate being in pots? Does it need to be more wet or dry? Should I fertilize more or move it into a bigger pot? I've tried pinching it back to encourage flowering but I'm wondering if being in a pot is preventing it from flowering and generally doing too well.

Ellamay, I can tell you that I bought a *huge* wisteria in a tiny 2-gallon pot -- it was in full, gorgeous bloom when I bought it. So, I think leaving it in a pot should be fine. (I've also read that this is fine.)

As for the pot size, it seems that the plant produces more plants when it's feeling that its survival is a little bit "threatened" -- so don't give it a gigantic pot, I'd say.

Over and over, I keep hearing that it's a BAD idea to fertilize wisterias, as this will encourage more leaves, and discourage flower production.

I hope this helps.

Thanks stellagord, I've been reading too that fertilizer is a no-no. I probably planted it originally in some pretty rich soil so I will pass on the fertilizer from now on. From what I can tell over the last few weeks, they are enjoying being a bit moist too. But now I'm wondering if my original planter has good drainage, can't remember if I was good about putting rocks in the bottom. I'll investigate, maybe the new one is so happy because of it's well draining pot. Thanks again! Hopefully someday I'll get some flowers!

Can someone tell me why my wisterias stalled out this summer. We have 2 blue wisterias planted in well drained moist soil with a graveley component planted over a pergola. We bought these both in flower and our good fortune continues with splendid flowers. However in mid July for the last 2 years, they both turn yellow and lose leaves. This summer although they did not lose leaves, they completely stopped their growing and the ends of the vines turned brown and shrivelled. They have begun to push new growth now but I am very curious if anyone else has seen this in their wisterias.

I would like to share with you my experience. I grew up in a home which had a huge wisteria covering one side of the house. I adored it. For many years I tried to purchase one but I could not find any. I even went back to the old house but the new owners cut it down. So while I was riding on the highway on a motorcycle with my husband what do I see up on a cliff on the side of the highway - a flowering wisteria. I franticly signaled my husband to pull over, scaring him to death and despite his ranting and yelling I climbed up on the cliff, pulled it out of the ground, which was extremely difficult but I was determined. I brought the plant home about 1 hour away on the back of the motorcycle. Can you imagine the site. The plant was about 3 feet wide and tall. It suffered from windburn but it survived. Many years have past. It grew in a pot for some time on the balcony and when we bought a home I planted it. It grew quite big. The point is - even though it was flowering when I got it, it still took many years to flower for me. I guess it had to get even for the trauma it suffered being pulled out of its happy home and wind burned on top of that. It still only had a few flowers not even as many as it did when I got it. I was considering buying another one but I cant decide which one. Does anyone have a Japanese longiflora that you had good luck with?

The hardiest wisteria, so far, is Wisteria 'Blue Moon' introduced by Rice Creek Gardens in Blaine, MN. Rice Creek sells this plant for $50.00. There is another local nursery that sells the plant for $12.00. 'Blue Moon' is hardier than 'Aunt Dee'.

There are a few nurseries carrying this plant and I know that the plant is being propagated by a few wholesale nurseries so this plant should be readily available in a few years.
Good luck,
Mike

I and 2 of my friends built a rock garden 2 years ago. We put up 3 sections of privacy fence and I put two Chinese Wisteria on it. To my amazement and my neighbors disguist it bloomed!!!!!!!! He has had his planted for 9 years and it bloomed for the first time last year. He was not happy. I think the soil mixture is everything. To make the soil we put in one whellbarrow of horse manure to two wheelbarrows of black dirt. We tilled and tilled to mix and everything has grown like a weed. But I am having a hard time getting it to stay on the fence, it has runners out in the lawn and throughout the garden. I cut them off instead of trying to get them back on the fence as they seem to have a mind of their own. Does this hurt the plants or is it ok to keep up the wayward pruning?
Miriah

Hello,
I transplanted (twice) a wisteria from my Mother's home near St. Charles, MO. I am in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We have finally built a structure for the wisteria to grow on. it is about five feet tall now, single thick vine. I have never trimmed it pruned it; it has never bloomed. Can someone advise me as to a book or video so I can see how to prune? Or should I not worry about it at all? I would like it to bloom.

thanks for any help, I have no idea of the variety. My mother passed away four years ago and I cannot ask her.
Her's bloomed. I remember it smelled like heaven when it bloomed and hope to get mine to bloom.

O.K. I'm eating my words now. I had no idea there were so many different types of wisteria vines available. My last message in the previous thread was meant to say that you may not see blooms for 5 years not 50. It wouldn't let me put in another message but after reading all these comments I can see that I was completely wrong. Now I think I will consider a wisteria vine. They sure look nice and apparently they smell really nice also.

I found this site that answered a lot of my questions about wisteria. http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1246.html

Wisteria is such a fascinating vine! I'm determined that mine will eventually bloom when it's supposed to! Mine has been planted in its current location since late summer 2001. I'm trying to train it as a free-standing 'tree'. So far, it has bloomed every late July/early August but never in spring - so I know it's capable of blooming but is not a bud-hardy variety. If I was doing it again, I'd buy 'Lawrence' - I just bought what the nursery had at the time - 'Blue'. The picture below is of it in August. It has filled out a lot since then and is much taller - well over 8' now I think. It needs a drastic shaping but I'm going to leave it until late next spring/early next summer in the hopes that the extra branches might offer some winter protection to the buds. Whether or not it blooms next spring, I will give it a good shaping prune next year. Currently, I cut back all the long, whipy growths by about half once they get to 3' or so. It has started sending out suckers from below the graft union the past two summers so I rip those out when I see them. I keep a small area at the base mulched so I can see the suckers more easily.
{{gwi:867627}}

Is there a particular way to face wisteria? We just moved last April, and our wisteria is still in a pot as we're not quite certain where we want it....well, we *do* know where we want it but we're not certain it will do well there.....any suggestions? This thread has certainly been informative to this point!

TIA !

Help. If I can figure out how to use this forum maybe I can figure out how to plant wisteria. My question is: do the roots and base of the wisteria need to be in the sun or just the top of the plant? We are building an extension to our fence and it will be creating a natural arbour (this is to cut out the unsightly Pepsi sign from the restaurant behind us which is brightly lit day and night and takes away from the beauty of our garden). My back yard is shady, but as it grows, it will get more sun... Is it hopeless? Thanks for any thoughts.

Wisteria will grow in the shade and seek sun. Wisterias are very hardy plants.

3yr old japanese Wisteria trained as tree form

Response to raveng...

My girlfriend has a house in No. Illinois and we planted a wisteria (I have no idea what variety) about 9 years ago in her backyard about 3 to 4 feet away from her cedar fence. She wanted it to grow up like a tree, but, I had seen wisteria in Santa Barbara, CA that was beautifully trained along the top of a fence, so, remembering that, I convinced her not to cut the long vines, but, rather, train them onto the top of the fence. Each year in the fall, I would trim back the suckers and vines that were NOT leaning toward the fence and the plant eventually got the idea (after a few years. We were patient, and, after the 6th year we finally had blooms (violet/white, clusters 6 to 12 inches in length), once in the spring and once in the late summer. Ever since then we have always had blooms (this is the 11th year since planting it. Now, When we planted, the root ball was about 8 or 10 inches in diameter and the plant was about 3 or 4 ft. tall. I dug the hole down to where the stem was covered over by about 3 inches of dirt. We have always used wood chip mulch, replacing every 2 or 3 years, and kept the lawn from invading using a plastic border (6 in.) about 3 ft. from the center. Any suckers that started out at ground level were cut from the source and/or mowed off when they appeared in the lawn. The 6 ft. fence is now supporting the plant and the vines span an area of the fence that exceeds 20 ft. across. The area beneath the plant is now devoid of any grass and we are allowed to mow around the plant at the drip line with ease. If you have other questions, I am not a plant expert, but, I have the experience on this plant in Illinois. Good luck!

That is beautiful, greenhummer. I would love to have a plant that rich looking. I love the shape. Thanks for sharing.

My wisty took off the first year grew about 7 feet, this year nothing, has not bloomed yet and any new growth has been real pale then get the brown crinkle edge thing just won't grow this year,has been our wettest monsoon on record so temps haven't been to high ,plenty of water and some 18-13-15 or somewhere in that range, basic tree fertilizer, any help will be examined and put to the test ....Thanks

i came by this site by googling wisteria bloom time in southern ontario. i live in hamilton, which is on lake ontario and is sheltered by the niagara escarpment. i took lots of seed pods from a w this fall--it was growing not too far from my house, over a fence. i have no idea what specific wisteria species it is. the seeds took, and now i have about 15 baby w's (some are for friends/family). i have a few places i want to try them. i am sure one will take off in my front yard as it faces south and is hot and sunny, but i also wanted to try some in my shadier back yard, along a fence and up a jungle-gym type of a structure (i currently have a grape vine growing along both but it isnt doing it for me). which leads me to a few questions:

#1) when exactly do they bloom here?

#2) i have more sun in the backyard until the trees put out leaves, which is around mid-may. will the w get enough sun to bloom in this time or does it require sun all season long for prolific blooms?

#3) all of the seeds came from one vine. most of the baby w's are green, but 2 out of the 15 are pale and yellow. i have read in the thread that some w's are male and some are female. does this colour difference indicate different sex?

My parents neighbor has a Goliath Wisteria in tree form, and My father in law just moved out of a house that had wisteria vine on a huge patio for shade. I just built my patio and have spent about 2 months researching Wisteria for my arbor over my walkway. I HAVE THIS VERY IMPORTANT PEICE of advice: There are 3 major categories of wisteria -- American , Japanese , Chinese. If you want something that smells good STAY AWAY FROM THE AMERICAN kinds. My wife and I were looking for some good deals and realized that at the stores in Missouri and Kansas the American kinds were significantly cheaper than the japanese or chinese varieties. We had made up our minds, we were going to get the american variety. According to the experts it blooms earlier and its cheaper.

Then one day We were driving around looking at landscaping, we came across a subdivision that had put an arbor at the entrance with about 20 wisteria plants on it. They were all blooming, so i picked off a bloom. with it in our car about 10 minutes later the interior of our car smelled like Cat Pee. So i researched it and apparently the majority of wisteria owners of american variety either have no scent on the blooms or a very musky scent. Almost all the japanese or chinese varietys have a very sweet smelling blooms. I have bought 1 of each and planted them together to get the best of all worlds. dont know if it will work but I will keep you informed.

I purchased a "Kentucky" Wisteria 2 years ago. It is planted in full sun, very "clay" like soil. The 1st year, we allowed it to grow without pruning (hate to cut away something living). This year, there is a lot of growth (although supported, much of it is twining around each other) but...the leaves have a light green almost yellowish cast and appears to have small holes is several of the leaves. I did put some dust on it although I could not find any bugs and since it has been a dry summer, I try to water every week or so. There has been no improvement, it looks like it is dying. I have not fertilized, would this help? If so, what formula? Any assistance would be appreciated

Jan,
It sounds to me like your plant is showing signs of overwatering. I would let it dry out for a while. From my experience with my Wisteria and everything I have read about them, is that they respond very well to stress. Water your Wisteria less frequently if at all, and see how it responds after a month of this.

I have been told that the double flowered wisteria is sterile in that it flowers but does not set seed. This would be a boon for those of us who dislike invasive wisteria seedlings coming up all over our yards. Does anyone know if this is true?

My wisteria was grown from a seed collected from my Grandfathers plant back in the early 1960's. It bloomed spactacularly every year I can remember, and got all of those seed pods on it. My plant only took a few years to grow large enough to vine all over the front of my parents house and start blooming as well. It had some winter die off and sort of became a small shrub after many years of neglect??? but never died. Unfortunately that house was destroyed, and in the aftermath I was able to locate a piece of root and one green leaf. I dug it out and now it is in a bucket and has revived itself and is showing a lot of new growth. It will be planted in a new place, and I expect in a few years be blooming again. Not bad for a very old wisteria grown from a seed when I was just a little kid!
Grandpa would be proud! One of his favorite plants is still surviving.

I've had a grape wisteria plant in the ground that has done beautifully on the railing of my deck for over 10 years. This year, it flowered nicely. Since then it has dropped every single one of its leaves and looks as though it might have died. I have cut it back so it doesn't have to support all the dead limbs.

What I'm wondering is, with the horrendously wet summer the northeast has experienced (I'm in northern Connecticut), did the wet summer with next to no 80 degree days do the plant in? What would cause the vine to completely go dead by mid-July? It has always done well where I have it with direct late-day sun.

No other plants have taken any kind of hit (it's planted near bleeding heart, iris and forsythia, where it's been since I planted it, so no new introduction has been made). In fact, the rest of the garden is doing very well, in spite of the wet summer.

Should I give it until next year to see if it recovers, or is all lost?

Find an article on the Royal Botanical Gardens website by 'scissor hands' or something similar.
I followed his tips, ruthless trimming, and my baby wisteria flowered after 1 year in the ground! (in full sun)
D

I was told at a nursery that if a person buys a wisteria when they are not currently flowering that there is only a 50% chance that the wisteria will ever flower again.
Is there any truth to this?

I have had 3 kinds of wisteria living in florida zone 9b for 3 years now. Wisteria Reticulata which is an evergreen wisteria that gets dark purple fragrant flowers. I also have had wisteria sinensis and wisteria floribunda successfully growing in florida. Has anyone else been successfull growing this as far south as Vero Beach?

I just acquired three whips about 5 feet long. They have "roots" growing in two to three clusters in the bottom 12-18" of each whip. I don't know how to plant them. I can't really plant each root cluster under the earth without planting the part of the whip between each cluster. Each whip also has about 6-8" of whip left on the short end...do I plant that under the earth too? Should I do any trimming to the remaining 3 1/2-4 feet of whip? Any idea how quickly this will grow into something I can train? Thank you for your help!

When should I be seeing green on the vine here in Toronto. This is about my wisteria