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Wisteria pruning.
mrandysheridan
Posts: 7
Hi
We planted a young grafted wisteria that we'd bought form the garden centre earlier this year. It's done well and 8-9ft runner has grown. We are unsure whether this vine needs pruning now and in the spring as most people suggest. We are training it up a wall on spaced wires. Any advice and suggestions is greatly appreciated. I have also seen that there is a secondary runner now growing from the first.
We planted a young grafted wisteria that we'd bought form the garden centre earlier this year. It's done well and 8-9ft runner has grown. We are unsure whether this vine needs pruning now and in the spring as most people suggest. We are training it up a wall on spaced wires. Any advice and suggestions is greatly appreciated. I have also seen that there is a secondary runner now growing from the first.
0
Posts
You need to be training the shoots along strong supports - not winding them round as they'll just grow round the supports and encase them as they mature to full wood. That means the only stems you need to cur are any that persist in growing in an unwanted direction or exceed their bounds.
This guide from the RHS explains how to grow wisteria and is written by the chap who manages their wisteria collection at Wisly - https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/wisteria/growing-guide?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CCMN20230907F&utm_content=CCMN20230907F CID_0360f2af2935aea86aa9fa5aaa0c37bf&utm_source=marketing enewsletters&utm_term=Watch video
Make sure you attach it to the wires with loose twine rather than twisting the stem around them. As the plant matures that main stem will become a thick trunk and the main side shoots will become branches. We inherited two that are now completely self supporting.
I might be inclined to untie that first very long shoot and gently train it along a wire about 3ft off the ground horizontally. If it reaches the end of the wall than gently bend it upwards and back on itself about 2 or 3ft from the first wire. The spacing is important as the flower clusters could be as long as 2ft long themselves.
Wisteria needs a lot of watering, especially when young.