Wisteria in poor condition

wydpu0 · September 2020

Good morning, our Wisteria which had previously been in good shape, has for some reason this year had fewer flowers and post flowering, has not produced the same vigorous growth as previous years. I had followed guidance on pruning twice a year, but maybe I have over done it this year. Grateful for any advice that may bring it back to its former

glory.

fidgetbones · September 2020

Where does it get its feed and water from? I can't see a space around the main stem.

Lizzie27 · September 2020

I thought the same as Fidgetbones. Wisteria are very greedy hungry plants which also need a lot of water in very hot weather. It looks like it's just ran out of steam and is now exhausted by the effort of keeping all that top growth and flowers going.

wydpu0 · September 2020

Good morning, thanks for your responses. The tree roots has a semi circular area at its base (1st/5th photo) for rain etc. I have not previously watered or fed it specifically as it Had previously been fine. Would you suggest some feeding and with what, watering now?

Dovefromabove · September 2020

That little semi circle really is nothing like big enough space to provide access to enough water for any shrub let alone a climber of that size ... coupled with the fact that soil at the foot of a wall is shielded from rain by what is called the ‘rain shadow’ and also the fact that the foundations of a wall act like a sponge and absorb what water there is. I suspect the wisteria was doing well for several years before that paving was laid ☹️

A wisteria of that size needs several gallons of water several times a week when it is producing foliage and flowers ... and yet more water as it increase in size.

If you want to save it I would take up an area of paving at least 1.5m x 3m and leave a hosepipe trickling at its base for a couple of days ... then mulch with a few bags of good compost or soil improver and cross your fingers ... continuing to give it two buckets full of water three times a week until the end of September.

Start watering again in March ... at least two buckets of water at least three times a week throughout the summer ... more in hot dry spells.

@Obelixx can advise on renovation pruning and training.

Obelixx · September 2020

That poor wisteria looks terribly thirsty. I have two large wisterias growing up against walls and don't water either of them very much but neither has paving right up to their base so they get whatever water the rains bring.

You need to remove some of the paving around the base and pour in lots of water so it can go deep down but don't feed it while it is so stressed.

It looks like it was well trained and pruned once upon a time so, apart from removing any obviously dead or loose whippy stems, I would leave it alone now till next February and then tidy up any long shoots heading in the wrong direction and then hope it has recovered enough to produce new foliage. Give it a good helping of slow release food for roses or tomatoes to promote flower buds as well as foliage and make sure it doesn't get thirsty again.

Dovefromabove · September 2020

Hi @Obelixx 😊 Another thread made me think of this one ... I do hope the owner manages to save it. It looked great in earlier pics.

wydpu0 · September 2020

Thanks to to all who replied. I suspect the Wisteria was planted in 1994 when the house was built. We are south facing on a hill and the back of the house gets really hot in summer. As you mention, I don,t think the base is open enough to get the moisture it needs, in fact, the roots are pushing up the brick patio at its base. Will have to seriously consider relaying the patio not just for the Wisteria but the levels vary as well so drainage is getting to be an issue as well during Bad weather. Wish me luck !

Dovefromabove · September 2020

Very good luck @wydpu0 🤞. Let us know how it goes 😊

Wisteria in poor condition

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