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A wisteria with no 'get up and go'

I live in southern Spain so no snow ice or frost. About 5 years ago in September I bought a Wisteria plant from a local nursery. It was about 2 foot tall and I planted it in an 18in pot .
In its first year it sent off strong shoots and by the end of the year it stood about 7 feet supported by a metal pergola.  In the February it flowered and has continued to do so each year sometimes flowering twice in the year. That all sounds good so what is the problem?
It has never produced and further growing shoots other than the small flowering points. I had planned for it to cover the pergola even expecting problems in controlling its growth. 
Can you knowledgeable gardeners offer advice as to encouraging it to grow more vigorously.
My only thought was that the pot was on the small side.
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  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Hello @kirky151 and welcome to the forum :)

    Wisteria is a plant that needs a large deep rootrun ... it's not really suitable for a pot ... as you have found it will be very unhappy there.  It's also quite a thirsty plant.  Is there any way you can prepare a good spot for it in the ground?

    @Obelixx has grown several wisterias very successfully ... hopefully she'll see this and be able to offer more help.  

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    I suspect @Dovefromabove is right and your wisteria is starving and thirsty.

    As they grow, wisteria trunks attain tree like proportions and very deep roots to support all the growth above and with all the flowers and foliage that's a heavy load to feed and hold up.  Growing one in a pot is just asking for itto behave like a bonsai and doing that in Spain means you're likely to be baking the roots in the heat and adding further stress.

    If you want it to cover a pergola you'll need to get it in the ground and expect to water it regularly for its first full growing season while it establishes a decent root run.
    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
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    kirky151 said:
    I live in southern Spain 
    My only advice is to contact someone with local knowledge.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • Many thanks for those speedy and helpful replies . I should have mentioned that I only have a access to a roof terrace which unfortunately does not give me access to terra firma. 
    Perhaps I made a bad choice?
  • If you could negotiate a planting space from a ground floor resident I'm sure it would reach your roof terrace eventually. :D
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    It would help to know the variety of your Wisteria... is it 'Amethyst Falls' by any chance?..
    East Anglia, England
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    kirky151 said:
     I should have mentioned that I only have a access to a roof terrace which unfortunately does not give me access to terra firma. 

    Ah.  As I said elsewhr: half a question only deserves half an answer.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    If it is Amethyst Falls it can be grown in a very big container. It is a compact variety which flowers young but it can still grow pretty big, up to 12 - 15 feet. 
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    You could try moving it to a large pot, minimum 60cm wide and deep, to see if that helps but maybe the nest thing to do is find a better home for it with friends and get youself a bougainvillea and grow that in a large pot.
    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
  • I am overwhelmed with the responses I have received and thank each one of you for kindness and the time you have taken to offer your advice. 
    I will consider them all and take appropriate action. But as I feel at the moment the future of the wisteria is not looking good.


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