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Wisteria
GILLIAN122
Posts: 6
We have a Wisteria which comes into leaf quite healthily in the spring but then after couple of months the leaves begin to yellow. It is planted on a south facing wall. The plant was quite well established when purchased a couple of years ago and took off well in growth the first year. This year I don't think it has grown at all, just developed leaves. This year it has suddenly, almost overnight, gone very brown. We have watered it well, fed with Tomorite and now feeding with liquid seaweed fertiliser. Does anyone know what the problem could be other than a lack of feeding, please. We so wanted a wall covered in wisteria flowers!.
1
Posts
Have you pruned it regularly?
I'm new to wisteria but, as many have outlined on here to me - they key is PRUNING!
Wisteria needs two prunes! One in August-ish time after flowering, and again in winter. Apparently they often do not flower without this kind of maintenance
Has it got space? I've seen shrubs/climber planted in tiny gaps between house and paving.
and it can be very dry on a south facing wall,
make sure it hasn't dried out and water if it has, but don't feed it any more. A plant in that state can't take up food.
In the sticks near Peterborough
Pruning won't stop it going brown/yellow, pruning is for the encouragement of flowers. You pick a "leader" which is a good, strong-growing shoot and train it along a support. Every side shoot that comes off this leader is a potential flower if you cut it back to 5 leaves and then 3 leaves (that's the two lots of pruning). Cut all side shoots to 5 leaves in summer then to 3 leaves in winter.
Ok, that's what the book says! I find I'm pruning mine as and when because if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to get past it! When it grows in the way of the path, I cut the shoot to 5 leaves and I've had 2 lots of flowers for the last 2 years (I moved 2 years ago and took on this fabulous vine).
The reason why it's going yellow? Could it be too much food? Mine grows under a patio although I grant you it's established.
Over to others on that.
I find mine tends to start yellow and/or wilting if I over-water it. So I've been cutting back to perhaps 3 waterings a week
You have my sympathy. I have a wisteria that stubbornly refuses to grow (in Brazil!). They are very temperamental plants, either spectacular or disastrous. Who knows what the problem is? One thing is is that it is a legume ( pea-family). They do like sandy, well-drained soil. If you have clay...... If it does go toes up, refuse to give up the ghost and plant a blue passion flower, Passiflora caerulea, great foliage, spectacular, unusual and exotic flowers and fully hardy against a south wall in most of England or if you are clayey, Campsis radicans......Good luck. Ian.
Last edited: 12 August 2016 23:58:51
In a different thread I'm moaning about my clematis being dry but my wisteria nearby is a thug so I do think they like it a touch dry/sharply drained but this is feeling not science!
Thank you everyone for all of the suggestions. The plant isn't big enough to prune as yet in fact this year it has made no new growth at all? I won't give up though as it has been my dream to have a house front covered in wisteria! I will take back the soil around the plant and test it for water and nutrients just to see what is happening.
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