Wisteria in Pot.
somapop
Posts: 71
Hi all.
We purchased a wisteria a couple of weeks ago - just a small 2 foot (grafted) one (darker blue when flowering). The plan is to grow it around/on a yet to be built pergola.
I've potted it into a much larger tub and filled it with a mixture of top soil (we happened to have some spare) and general compost. I also empty my coffee/tea grounds in it occasionally (I do that to all my plants!). My issue is when I water it, the water sits (floods) on top of the soil for quite a while before it eventually drains out (I've drilled holes in the base of the tub and it's raised).
Is this an issue and if so, should I change the soil to purely general compost? Or, should I water is less often and wait till I eventual plant it in the ground. It looks healthy.
Many thanks.
Posts
^^ Cheers - I'm pretty sure the mix I put in was multi-purpose, perhaps not enough to compensate for the top soil.
I'll get it changed over the weekend (even in this sun it's sodden from yesterdays watering!).
Many thanks.
In a large pot as you describe, I would only water when the soil an inch below the surface is dry.
With the exception of plants suffering from Leylandii induced drought
plants don't need their roots to be wet all the time.
I would use half and half MPC and John Innes No 3 loam-based compost, with a few handfuls of horticultural grit added.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks for the advice. I'm hoping it isn't going to stay in the pot too long, but that all depends on the pergola getting built (it's a simple, yet slightly different that 'usual' design!).
BTW - are they coffee/tea grounds doing any good? I've never had any issues with plants fed by them (these are ground from my espressed ground coffee beans). I quite like the 'circle of life' drama to it!
Cheers!
hi how did you get on with your wisteria has it recovered , sometimes when you first place them into a pot or the ground they take a while too get its ground roots downs so too speak you have to put drainage in the base crushed bricks or gravel and water regular
Hi annmarie!
The wisteria was actually ok, I was just concerned that every time I watered the pot the water just sat on top - flooded basically. It would take a pretty long time for the water to drain and even the next day it would be sodden.
Put this down to using top soil in the main, so as per the advice on here I've changed to multi purpose compost. Now when I water, it drains as it should (though you've just reminded me I should've placed stones/gravel at the bottom of the pot!!).
This will eventually be moved into the ground anyway, so the pot is merely temporary.
I did notice very slight yellowing of *some* of the leaves and a night then seem to wilt (it's outside our patio doors so I can view it in the evening), but other than that it's looks very sprightly. In fact, it looks better than the other specimens at our local garden centre (noticed them the other day - same place we purchased this from).
Many thanks!
my wisteria leaves were yellow just like your and the nursery I got it from told me to spray the leaves with seaweed feed and keep watering it until it settles the ground root down , but they have told me if it doesn't pick up by mid august they send another as a replacement ... it makes you wonder do they all do this fingers crossed
my other wisteria is growing great no problems they are both in large pots and 6ft thanks for getting back too me wasn't sure with your post were back in june I noticed
It seems like only 15% of the leaves have (or already were that way on purchase) have yellowed ever so slightly, so I'm not concerned at the moment. I've given the new compost a good feed and drink and as it looks like the heavens have opened, it will be getting a good drink today!
Hopefully it will be in the ground (rather than the pot) some time this summer so it can establish. The pergola is still in planning mode!
Many thanks!