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Wisteria

Edixon0509Edixon0509 Posts: 22
in Problem solving
Hi everyone, my wisteria got damaged in recent winds, I’ve of the branches has broken off, should I protect this over winter and if so with what ? Hessian ?  Im panicking as Love my wisteria lol
Thank you !
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Posts

  • PerkiPerki Posts: 2,527
    I don't believe its advised to cover wounds at all now. They used to put something on wound called arbrex but like a said it not seen as a good idea now , think it got something to do with makes it harder for the tree / woody plant to heal its self. 
  • Edixon0509Edixon0509 Posts: 22
    Thank you for your help! I’ve been worrying about it! Thank you x
  • Doghouse RileyDoghouse Riley Posts: 347
    edited October 2021
    As they say, "each to their own."

    I suggest you  read the information provided and then do what you think best.

    Wisteria are like a weed, hard to kill.

    We had an old one we inherited  that I trained over the pergola I built on the side of the garage.



    But in 2016 after decades it died off, the roots were rotting, leaving just one branch that I'd trained for over thirty feet,  along the top of a fence between the garage and the corner of the kitchen   and along the pergola on the back of the house.

    The bit with the bungie strap which stops the trunk  growing too far over the path.



    So I dug out the rotting remains of the trunks, leaving the one "healthy" one.

    Even that bit had some rot on one side. So I cut it out and gave it a "plaster" of most of a tube of three quid silicone to keep any more moisture out.



    It's still thriving.




    The bit of the old one  in the middle of the bed  seen in the third picture I dug out but left the self-layered bit by the side garage door. I also encouraged the new growth from the surviving trunk to grow over the near end of the pergola.
    They provide a blue contrast at each end of  the new white one I bought three years ago and trained over the pergola, I'm encouraging them to "cascade."

    It's was a bit scruffy in June as  it's the first year we've seen really good growth. But it's consilidated itself since then and I'll be able to get a more even cascade next year.

    Wisteria will put up with a lot of "messing about."




  • Edixon0509Edixon0509 Posts: 22
    This is so helpful ! Thank you! Your wisteria is beautiful!!!
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    I'd leave the wound to heal itself. It should soon start to callous over.  I had a similar injury on a newly planted cherry tree which has survived okay.  As Doghouse Riley says wisteria is a hard plant to kill. I'm not sure I would have tried the silicone method though!
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • Edixon0509Edixon0509 Posts: 22
    Thank you ! I’ve Left it as it is for now! Thank you 😊 
  • Doghouse RileyDoghouse Riley Posts: 347
    Lizzie27 said:
    I'd leave the wound to heal itself. It should soon start to callous over.  I had a similar injury on a newly planted cherry tree which has survived okay.  As Doghouse Riley says wisteria is a hard plant to kill. I'm not sure I would have tried the silicone method though!

    True, the silicone isn't essential, it was just something I thought of at the time to cover a large wound to prevent further decay.

    I was pretty sure that silicone is inert, so wouldn't do any damage.

    Here it is five years down the line today and the wisteria is healthy no rot  and still chucking out more shoots from below the wound which it will.


  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    If you ask a trained arborist, they would say, you are far more likely to seal the badness in, rather than keep it out, by covering a wound.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'd leave it open too @Edixon0509,  as @Perki and others have said. General thinking now is as @punkdoc describes, for most trees and shrubs.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    I thought you didn't do personal attacks @Doghouse Riley

    That certainly appears to be one to me, AND for your information I have asked, as I have regular need for a tree surgeon, having a small wood with many mature and other trees.

    The advice was as given, so stop being so bloody rude. It is true that a Leopard never changes its spots.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
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