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spage1_gw

Wisteria Vine Not Growing

spage1
18 years ago

I purchased a wisteria vine two years ago. It has yet to bloom. It has grown well and has beautiful foliage, just doesnt bloom. It is in the middle of a flower bed and I have trained it into a umbrella/mushroom shape without any pruning. I do fertilize the flower bed with miracle grow on a regular basis throughout the flowering season. It is planted in good, well draining soil and gets about 6 hours of sun a day. Just wondering if any of you could give me any ideas as to why this is?

Comments (12)

  • kayjones
    18 years ago

    I guess I don't understand what you wish to know - sorry. Wisteria takes years to bloom in most cases. You said it has been growing well with beautiful foliage, which doesn't follow your subject line. If you are wondering about blooming, it will bloom in its own good time/when the root system is mature enough - that could be in two years or ten years. You have to have a lot of faith and patience with this plant or it will drive you buggy!

  • Ina Plassa_travis
    18 years ago

    where did you purchase it from, how big was it, and was it flowering when you purchased it?

    Kay's got it about right- wisteria is an investment plant, one that takes a decade or more to mature- so unless you purchased one with a central stem the diameter of a broom handle, you have a ways to go yet.

  • spage1
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Sorry, I guess my subject line should have read Not Blooming instead of Not Growing. Thanks Kay, you answered my question. I had no idea it took so long for one to bloom. I bought it from a reputable garden shop here in Atlanta. It was about 4 foot tall. The stem was about the size of pinkie finger and it did have 3-4 smaller ones growing off the main one. So, if it is time I need then I will wait, dont plan on going anywhere for the next ten years at least. Thanks for your replies.

  • kayjones
    18 years ago

    Spagel, I bought a standard wisteria in a 10" pot, with a trunk the size of my middle finger, about three years ago. It started producing from the stem and roots as well, but I keep them pruned so I can maintain the standard look. It had one bloom on it when I bought it, but hasn't grown much nor bloomed since. I know it takes a long time for one to bloom, but I am enjoying the structure of it in my garden, and will bide my time - they are well worth it! This vine is liken to a significant other - it takes forever, it seems, for them to 'mature' and 'bloom', but once they do, they are a sight to behold! LOL

  • pattygrow5
    18 years ago

    I dug a few pieces of wisteria up on a hillside 5 years ago the first 3 years it barely grew 6 inches left it alone last year it grew about 18 inches and started to branch out this year I couldn't tell you how much it grew the section of fence is covered no blooms yet maybe next year I heard it takes 8 years.Patty

  • indylars
    18 years ago

    Next spring give it a good root pruning. Dig out about a couple feet from the main stem. Any roots you find clip them. This has worked for me. Also keeps the roots from taking over your bed.

  • plowshares
    18 years ago

    No need to wait 8-10 years. I think you just need to buy a native wisteria. I collected seeds from an old estate in Missouri, planted the seeds. The vines grew about 3-5 feet the first year, then about 15 the next, then bloomed the following spring. The blooms are a light blue - almost white - to dark blue. Even now, in its third year the vine is not any thicker than a pencil, but it grows lie mad.

  • KAHP
    18 years ago

    I have a wisteria vine- an evergreen- whose leaves are turning yellow and falling off. I have given plenty of water and still struggle with why it is not doing well. Any ideas? I appreciate all help I can get.

  • luciacaprina
    16 years ago

    Trace your green branch down to the brown woody part..once you get to the brown.. count three to four off shoots of new green growth and right after that prune it back..this encourages flowering to produce. This is exactly what I was told when I purchased my plant and it has been fail safe for my blooming period

  • brian_swift
    16 years ago

    I planted wisteria a couple of summers ago to cover a bare south wall, and it has been doing fantastically. Another poster said wisteria is an "investment plant" which is so true! They are only beautiful if you manage them. Some tips based on what I have read and experienced...

    -Buds for next spring's flowers are set at the end of this summer, and these are some of the first to sprout in the spring. This means that if there are no flowers in the spring there is nothing you can do about it at the time. What you do over the summer will pay off the following spring!

    -Flower buds do not set on "runner" shoots. This is not the correct terminology, but you have probably seen what I am talking about - Shoots that grow longer very vigorously during hot days. These don't produce flowers, so if you just let them grow, all it will do is spread vines everywhere.

    -Pruning the "runner" shoots encourages flowering ones. If you prune the runners by pinching the end off after they are six or eight nodes long, they will produce side shoots that do flower. I know I just said you won't get a payoff until next spring, but sometimes pruning the early runners will produce a new second round of flowering shoots. Just be sure you don't pinch any flowering ends!

    -Here in Chicago, mine does not get going until well after other plants - usually it waits until May when days are consistently 75 or 80 degrees - and blossoms in two sets until about July. After that it is just green.

    -Like tomatoes or any other plant, nitrogen makes them grow leaves, not flowers. All the articles I've read say to use "bloom food" type fertilizer if any at all. Wisteria, like a few other plants, have root nodes that contain symbiotic bacteria that fix nitrogen from the air and water. This means they supply their own nitrogen.

    -Plants flower when they are challenged, or they think they are going to die. I guess this is where the more drastic root-pruning technique comes from. I have never needed to do that, partly because the main plant started only three feet long, and I have a two-story brick wall to cover!

    I actually have two different vines. One was three years old and flowering when I bought it in a gallon container. It is now 25 feet tall, 10 feet wide and flowers consistently. The other was very young and came in a 2" pot. It has grown from six inches to 20 feet! It hasn't flowered yet, but I have not pruned it at all so it can grow out more.

  • Von Holt
    3 years ago

    Austin Texas we just went through some of the coldest weather in 40 years with snow and ice for 5 days with temperature around 9-17. My wisteria is around 12 years old with most trunks 2-4" around. I trim off the long shoots every two years in the fall after all leaves have dropped because it it so heavy for the arbor. This year only 3 out of 11 product leaves or minor blooms.

    should i assume they are dead? Freeze damage?