Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Should I bin my wisteria?

LibbynuggetLibbynugget Posts: 10
in Problem solving
When I moved in to my house there was a 10-15ft wisteria planted in a very large pot growing up a trellis. It's not got lots of branches, just one long thin one with some poking off. It was quite leafy but it's now been three years and the thing has never flowered. Previous owner confirmed she planted it about 3 years before I bought the house. So that's 6 years of slow growth and no blooms. I read an Alan Titchmarsh article which said to just dig it out and start again if it hadn't flowered within a couple of years. Am I flogging a dead horse by keeping it? 
«1

Posts

  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    edited March 2021
    Have you fed, pruned and watered  it properly since you moved in?
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    How often do you feed and water it?  It'll need a lot of both to get it growing and flowering.   Mine both put on loads of new whippy stems every year and each of those stems will get to 10 or 15' if I let them.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • LibbynuggetLibbynugget Posts: 10
    Hi @K67, I've pruned it and fed it ericaceous feed a couple of times each year. I was worries it might be because it's in a pot? 
  • LibbynuggetLibbynugget Posts: 10
    Thanks @Obelixx I feel like I spend my entire summer at its beck and call watering! Any advice on how often I should be feeding it? 
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Being in a pot will certainly restrict roots and thus vigour so maybe re-pot in a bigger one or plant it in the ground.   Rose or tomato feed would be better for encouraging flowers and lots of water.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • LibbynuggetLibbynugget Posts: 10
    Excellent @Obelixx, I'll give it a reprieve! It's in a prime position and I want a nice show stopper there which is why I wish it would flower! 
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Is it possible to put it in the ground? How much sun does it get?
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    If it was a seed-raised one (those are sometimes sold in supermarkets) rather than a grafted one, it can take 15 years before they flower (I speak from experience of growing two from seed!)  If you can't see a graft point near the base, then I would use that one somewhere else in your garden and buy a new one from a garden centre (ideally when it is in flower, as that's the only way to guarantee flowering next year, plus you get to choose the flower colour.)
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • LibbynuggetLibbynugget Posts: 10
    @BobTheGardener I can't see a graft point so I guess it must be seed grown. The pot is huge and an oval shape so the only way to get the plant out is pretty much to smash the pot. But it's this lovely blue ceramic one and I don't want to waste it. I'll give it another year of TLC and then it's off to a less focal point in the garden and in with a new one! 
  • LibbynuggetLibbynugget Posts: 10
    Thanks for the advice  :) I see some little blooms! Sorry the photo is on its side. I was expecting purple flowers so white is a nice surprise! 
Sign In or Register to comment.