Wisteria tree training
Jeff C (Zone 9b, CA)
3 years ago
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
3 years agobtydrvn
3 years agoRelated Discussions
Does anyone have a standard-trained wisteria?
Comments (7)Cindy, good call....they thought they had a potential customer for an expensive plant :) I bought one many years ago, and it's lovely in bloom...strangers will stop and ask questions about it. This vine does not want to be a tree. (although they could be better behaved in less mild climates, I don't know). From the time it stops blooming until several frosts render it dormant again, it needs attention. It sends up shoots from several feet away from the base underground, growth from mid trunk, long whips from the tops...all of which have to be removed on a regular basis. It's not a plant it and forget 'tree'. Mine has bloomed from the first year it was planted, the fragrance is wonderful...But don't buy it without expecting to give it regular consistent maintenance. Other than the pruning/nipping/tucking, it's been disease and insect free in organic clay and regular water. No fertilizing....See MoreHow to train Wisteria to tree?
Comments (3)That's an issue I've been curious about. Certainly the stems have the potenial to choke another plant. When you look at wisteria trees or older vines on pergolas, the stems can be tightly wound around each other. Interestingly, the tightly wound stems merge into one to make very attractve gnarly branches and trunks. But that merging which clearly doesn't result in choking, would only happen with the wisteria itself I'm sure. But, in its native habitats, wisteria grows scrambling over rocks and up trees and shrubs. And it apparently does it without killing the plants it uses for supports. There's a large 'wild' garden in the Niagara area that has a large collection of wisterias that it lets run wild into the trees. According to the owner, the wisterias do not kill the trees and I didn't see many/any dead trees with wisteria on them during several visits there over the years. Still, I suspect younger trees with smaller girths could easily be 'strangled' by a stem tightly winding around it - or simply by being overwhelmed by the weight/volume of the vine. I wouldn't risk making a mess of the oak by training the wisteria into it. I'd prune the wisteria to make it a stand-alone tree itself (although it sounds like the wisteria is trying to reach for the light so it's not happy there.) If you want to fill in under the oak for some reason, make a woodland garden under it. But oaks are majestic trees on their own and really don't need much in the way of companions. Add a nice bench and make a seating area under it to enjoy the shade!...See MoreTraining Wisteria
Comments (0)I have two of these lovely Blue Moon Wisteria growing up separate posts on this large pergola. (The pictures provided are in the fall after leaf drop so that you can see the structure of the plant) When I planted them I was too afraid to prune until they were established but now 3 years later they seem a bit unruly. Question is should I try to find the stronger leader and cut everything else back down to the stump? Or will that damage the plant? I would likely have to unwind everything in order to figure it out. Or is it fine as is? Any help would be appreciated!...See MoreAdvice for training/taming Japanese Wisteria on a Pergola
Comments (5)A & B are new growth - but not at what I call the whippy stage :-) Since I have both a Chinese and a Japanese wisteria and the Chinese one will produce flowers in summer on growth that looks like that, I'm leery of cutting it back at that stage - even though my Japanese wisteria has never produced the secondary summer flowers that the Chinese one does :-) Leave those A&B for a few days and they will likely look more like this:That is the 'whippy' look - and they are in desperate need of cutting back in that picture! Re the flowerbud - the picture is a bit fuzzy so I can't tell for sure - but I suspect it may be just a fat foliage bud. Because the foliage on the Japanese wisteria emerges early, I remember how disappointing it was in the first year or two when fat buds turned out to be foliage, not flowers :-( My Japanese one started blooming at 5 years old - and there was no mistaking the flowerbuds! Here are a couple of views of the flowerbuds: early in spring (old picture from first year of bloom - frost in the forecast, hence the protective cover!): May 6 2017:...See Morebtydrvn
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