This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Young Wisteria
I have a new wisteria plant. It was quite small 4-5 foot all winter and now growing well to 6-7 foot. It is spreading up the wall and along the wires, I am unsure about summer pruning being as the plant is so small and needs to grow more to cover the wall. Should I be pruning such a new plant in the summer?? Thanks for any advice. Kath
0
Posts
We planted a smaller one than yours in our garden and we left it to grow. During last summer it grew to nine foot high and then about 4-5 foot left and right along wires and this year we had about 15 flower spikes. If it was a much bigger plant it would need pruning.
Pruning stimulates growth Kath, even on a small Wisteria, and it gives you a better idea of how the plant is growing. Training is important with Wisteria, and pruning allows you to train them properly along the wire supports. If you let it get on with it, you may find several flowering leaders on the same wire whereas you really only want one on each. When you get more than one leader on a wire it's a tough job to sort it out at a later date. It also allows light and air into the framework which is essential for flowering.
Be sure the wisteria is rooted very well before pruning. The plant first needs all energy to make roots before it grows properly above the ground. Otherwise it has a slow start.
Kath, there will probably be several shoots which have grown this year and are much longer than any others. Train and tie-in one of these shoots to each of your wires - these will become the main stems. Shorten any remaining long shoots which are left to 5-6 leaves - this will convert them into flowering shoots and you should further shorten them to a couple of buds in late winter.