Question from Robin:
Was reading in your So. Cal. Organic Gardening about Wisteria. You mentioned cutting unwanted young shoots down to two buds from May onward. Is it to late to trim them now? I know Wisteria is a light feeder but yours look so glorious! Is it the soil and feeding regime or happy neglect. Hoping for number three.
Answer from Pat:
The main secret with growing a great wisteria is pruning and training. I am sorry to say it is not happy neglect! It is for this reason that I’ve covered the subject more fully than ever in the latest issue of my book “Pat Welsh’s Southern California Organic Gardening Month by Month.” (2010) I figure if folks don’t comprehend the first time maybe they will catch on the second time.
When first planting wisteria the most important thing is to make the decision between a Chinese wisteria or a Japanese variety and additionally choose a good variety. (There is a wide choice.) Secondly, make sure it’s grafted, not from a seed. Thirdly, Feed water and train it for the first three years. (Very important during training not subject it to benign neglect! Keep training the way you want it to grow and tying gently into place. This will become the main structure.)
Once a wisteria has become a neglected rats-nest of growth it’s too late to straighten it out. After three years a well-trained and arranged wisteria should cover the structure you have built for it. After that, the most important thing is pruning. After an established wisteria blooms it will put out a twiner from every branch or spur that has bloomed. As soon as the first crop of twiners has sprouted and grown to be a few feet long (about two weeks after bloom is finished) cut each of those twiners back, leaving only one or two buds still attached to the main vine. This is what makes it continue to sport bloom all summer long. This is also why my wisteria is so spectacular because every time you make a cut that will produce a spur that will produce buds in fall that bloom in spring.
If you do this now while the wood is bare, it’s too late to create the spurs. Also, if you don’t know what you are doing you may cut off all the spur wood that will bloom in spring.
On the other hand if you have a mature wisteria that is all covered with a bunch of twiners and if you understand what a twiner is, you could cut them back to two buds now, but it would be a difficult job. (A twiner is a long, straight, thin branch, about as thick as a pencil at the thickest and it will grab hold of what ever it finds and then twine around it. These need to come off in summer as soon as they grow. A wisteria produces hundreds of them. But don’t cut them off clean or you will remove all next year’s bloom. Always leave one or at the most two buds on the plant, a stub of the twiner in other words is left on the parent plant.
This shows my wisteria when it was about ten years old. First notice how I trained the original twiners counterclockwise around the post all together and all in the same direction. A neglected wisteria will just become a rats nest of growth instead of having this neat, tidy look. (Chinese wisterias twine counter clockwise. Japanese wisterias twine clockwise, but do not do it in an organized manner.) These have grafted themselves together and made a single trunk. This is what is called the framework of your vine. On top of the pergola I arranged the growth in a straight line, not letting it twine. This part becomes like branches of a tree. Now fifteen or twenty years later, this trunk is as thick as a tree and is bending the post but also supporting it. (We are currently replacing some of the posts that have rotted and also much of the upper structure of the pergola, but that is to be expected after twenty-five years.)
The twisted growths in this photo are the spurs. Never cut these off because they produce most of the bloom and usually live for eight to ten years before rotting and falling off to be replaced by others. When in summer you cut off a twiner leave some buds connected to the vine, a has been done here. This is how you stimulate creation of more spurs that will be covered in bloom in spring as shown in my other photos. All the fat buds in this photo will produce blooms in February and March.
Notice the one straight piece of wisteria wood of golden,brownish color that sprouts from the spur on the right side of the post at the bottom of the photo and angles to the left, (crossing the post towards the left.) This is a twiner that was clipped off the prior summer leaving about two feet of growth on the plant. It could be shortened now without doing any harm. At the bottom of it a spur is just beginning to thicken and form with one bud on it. It will eventually take on a twisted shape like the others in this photo. I would clip that off now in winter just above the visible bud that is on top of the knothole on the post.
This photo shows my wisteria (Wisteria sinensis ‘Cooke’s Special’) blooming to the ground when it was approximately four years old. Notice on the post that I have carefully arranged all the original twiners when they first grew so they all go in the same direction neatly up the post. Next, in summer after the first year of bloom, every week or two I cut off all the twiners that sprouted from the basic structure back to one or two buds. Each of these cuts will produce a spur covered with bloom. On the lower right in this photo you see a blooming spur, now about a foot long. It has been growing there for about 3 years and getting longer each time one cuts off the twiners from it in summer. In this photo it bears seven or more blooms. I would be shortening it a little the following year so it doesn’t get too long.
The photo with bare wood in winter shows one of the posts with many spurs growing from the woody wisteria vine. All those spurs will produce even more abundant bloom that you see here. I probably took this photo when the vine was very young.
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My Wisteria is as you described “a rats nest” and not blooming. We have always kept the runners from growing into near by trees but never did a good pruning. When is the best time to prune it and start over. It bloomed for two years then stopped. I would love to send you a picture of it and get your help!
Thanks for any info you can give me.
When a wisteria does not bloom there is only one reason: You planted a seed-grown plant. Seed-grown wisterias do not bloom for 12 or more years. Also when they finally do bloom they are not worth growing since the color is dull and uninteresting and blooms are nothing to write home about. You should always begin with a grafted plant. These are inexpensive if you purchase them in January bareroot. Choose a Japanese or Chinese named variety and train it according to the instructions in my book. You will most likely have blooms the first year and always thereafter. My advice is to cut it down, dig out the roots and start over with a good, grafted wisteria, such as Wisteria sinensis ‘Cooke’s Special’, to name just one.
I live in denver co i just bought a aunt dee wisteria and want to know if it’s a Chinese or a Japanese so if you can help i really appreciate it. I’s my first time planting anything so I hope you can help me out. I want to know if when i should start prunning it and how much water it needs i plant it where it has sun in the afternoon till about 6 did i do this right. I also bought a endleess summer hydrangea a i planted it in the same area as the wisteria along with some clematis can you let me know if i did this right. Can you please let me know when to prune these plant and how to fertilize them since i do live in a colder climate area thank you. P.S I just put these plant down in the ground this month am i safe.
The wisteria you purchased, Wisteria macrostachya ‘Aunt Dee’ is neither Japanese nor Chinese. It is a selection of an American species of wisteria, native to Kentucky and it is very hardy, able to take cold winters that would kill Chinese wisteria (W. chinensis) or Japanese wisteria (W. floribunda.) Wisteria machrostachya, unlike oriental wisterias is not drought-resistant. In fact it is native to swamps, so it needs a lot of water. It loves to grow next to a natural pond where it will send its roots into the water. Like another American species, W. venusta, this one can even thrive in a well-watered lawn. Feed it regularly to encourage growth and when young water it deeply to encourage deep roots. Like Chinese wisteria this one climbs counter-clockwise. Most varieties of W. macrostachya have long racemes. According to Peter Valder in his book “Wisterias”, the flowers can be brought into the kitchen, washed, dipped in batter and fried as a vegetable. Monrovia nursery, who carries the ‘Aunt Dee’ cultivar, suggests pruning it heavily in summer to control its size.
The wisteria you bought is neither Chinese nor Japanese, it’s native to Kentucky in the USA and very hardy. (In the world of horticulture, the word “hardy” means only one thing, not that it is easy to grow but that it can survive cold winters.) It grows in swamps so it can also take, in fact it needs plentiful irrigation. It will even grow in a wet lawn or next to a pond where it can sink its feet in water. The botanical and varietal name of this wisteria is Wisteria macrostachya ‘Aunt Dee’. When planting a wisteria, provide a strong support, such as a pergola for it to grow on, though they can also be trained onto fences or allowed to scramble into a tree. The sun should be okay since wisterias are not as fussy as most climbers that bloom and most wisterias will bloom in half day sun. Young wisterias do not need much pruning other than training them up onto a support. Any long twining growth should be gently tied down onto the support and as you arrange this fresh growth for about three years, remember this will eventually become heavy wood, so be careful not to allow it to grow into a rat’s nest, since the wood in that rats nest will grow thick and heavy some day and that would be impossible to untangle. It is impossible to untangle even when young when once it has twined around something so don’t let it twine unless it’s twining just the way you want it to. This wisteria twines counter-clockwise so arrange all the young branches that way up the post as they are growing taller. They will eventually graft naturally to one another until they make a thick twining trunk. Or, if you prefer you can tie them together in a straight bunch and arrange the bunch so it goes straight up to the top of the pergola and once there separate them out like branches and arrange them in a straight line down the top of the pergola, each one a few inches from the other. Cut off any branch that is sticking straight up in the air from these but do this job in summer and leave a stub at the bottom of about 6 inches so it can make buds that will bloom in spring. Once you have managed to arrange the main branches onto the pergola or other support just the way you want them, then begin pruning back hard every summer after bloom to keep this large rampant vine in check. Leave stubs of 5 or 6 inches in length with a couple of buds on them. Hard summer pruning of wisterias is usually needed after the vine is 3 or 4 years old. Prior to that you will be training all new growth down flat onto the pergola and only cuttting off those parts that are growing out of bounds from where you want them. Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer” sounds fine where it is, but once the wisteria is growing overhead it might not have enough sun. Notice what it says on the label that comes with this plant. It also needs acid soil, though in this case it is white and will never turn blue, but nonetheless this plant should not be too near concrete, which is alkaline. Cut back the faded blooms in fall down to a promising bud. Do not cut back stems that have not bloomed. They will bloom next year. It probably was not a good idea to plant clematis close to wisteria. Wisteria has vigorous roots and clematis, which is another climber that needs some support, is not vigorously rooted enough to compete with such a vigorous plant as wisteria. Choose another spot and dig a big hole filling it with lots of organic matter. This is where to plant your clematis. It likes full sun up above and full shade on its roots. The best one I ever saw in California was growing up the railing of some outdoor stairs that were in full sun and the roots of the plant were in a compost-enriched bed in full shade under the stairs. Be sure to learn which kind of clematis you can research how to prune it. Each type needs specific and correct pruning. (See my book for instructions.) Don’t fertilize now. Wait until spring to fertilize all these plants. You planted them in fall and you want them to go dormant in winter. Fertilizer now except for bone meal under the roots would stimulate too much growth. Feed hydrangeas with acid fertilizer such as camellia and azalea food after the weather has warmed up and the plant has begun to grow again. Fertilize your ‘Aunt Dee’ wisteria as soon as it has put out fresh foliage and new growth. Give it a balanced fertilizer and feed it at regular intervals such as once a month while it is young to keep it growing. Water the fertilizer thoroughly into the ground and water this wisteria deeply to encourage deep roots while it is young. Fertilize clematis with balanced organic fertilizer after growth begins. Use any fertilizer that is balanced or complete, not an acid fertilizer. Clematis likes a slightly alkaline soil but usually it’s not necessary to add lime, since most soils and irrigation water in the West are slightly or very alkaline.
what kind of fertilizer; how much for one year old; how often?
The best way to begin growing a wisteria is to plant a bare-root plant when these are for sale at local nurseries, in Southern California this means January. Provide good drainage as explained page 40 of my book. Put gypsum in bottom of planting hole as explained page 21.
Once having planted the wisteria. Water it twice or three times the first week then once a week when rains aren’t adequate. In February or March begin fertilizing. You have a choice of ways to go. Either feed once a month from March through June, beginning in March with fish emulsion, mixed according to directions, or apply an all-purpose fertilizer such as Gro-Power, according to package directions, beginning in February and feed three times a year for the first three years of growth: in February, April, and June. (Gro-Power is not totally organic but it is mainly organic and very effective. Fish emulsion works too and is a very safe and mild fertilizer to use.) During these first three years of growth, be sure to train the vine as it grows (so it doesn’t go every which way and become a rats nest). Start it up a post in the right direction, clockwise for Japanese varieties and counter-clockwise for Chinese varieties. After you have fed the plant as I recommend above for the first 2 years, in the third year you can just feed it once in March with any all-purpose organic fertilizer of your choice, according to package directions. Water in well. After these first three years, you will never again need to fertilize wisteria and by the end of this time it should have covered the pergola or support you are growing it on.
March is a good time to feed all basic plants in the landscape if they need it. Once plants are thoroughly established and if regularly mulched they might never need feeding. Many specialty plants, such as roses, geraniums, cymbidiums, camellias and azaleas and many other special groups of plants need special fertilizing plans of their own. All this is explained in my book month-by-month and mentioned on the checklists at the end of each chapter.
Wow…. I will NEVER claim you are not through! I knew there was a real art to a glorious wisteria (happy neglect was my weak humor) but as with many garden topics there are layers to understanding the concept. Bless you for your precise description and pictures. I actually think I understand the concept! My other challenge is my lovely Olivenhain clay soil so I attempted to plant them with a small amount of amendment. Do they benefit with some organic mulch around the perimeter? I’ve read where they do best with minimal to zero fertilizer but something tells me these are Northern Californians gardeners. End of this topic (maybe).
Wisteria seems to be something everyone wants to learn about. It’s a great plant for Southern California since it’s not as invasive here as the Deep South and other places where it can get loose in nature. Also it brings birds and is very drought-resistant once established.
Clay soil is a problem, but one of my daughters grew lovely wisterias in Olivenhain. Don’t overwater and if a wisteria dies from root rot, read the other comments on my blog for some solutions. A raised bed of only 4 inches can help. No, mulch is not a necessity for wisteria, though it does no harm as far as I can see. As I’ve said and written many times before, fertilize for first three years to get your plants going and to speed them to cover the structure you have built for them. After that, none is needed.