Comments on: HOW TO GROW AND TRAIN A WISTERIA TREE

By: Eden Horticultural Ltd

Eden Horticultural Ltd — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 09:13:10 +0000

Thanks for sharing such great information about growing wisteria tree. We like this process for growing wisteria tree that you explained in your article are very well. Wisteria is a vining plant that looks spectacular and can beautify the home. Also, they have a strong fragrance and can grow very tall. On the same topic recently We wrote a blog (here is the link:https://edenhorticultural.co.uk/blog/how-to-grow-wisteria/)
Sorry for the link but We thought it might be helpful.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Apr 2018 16:55:22 +0000

What an inspiring little post. Any thoughts on retraining an 8 year old wisteria from a vine to a tree? I had in on the corner of a deck, which as been rebuilt. I always pruned it quite strongly. It still has about 3 twisted stems established and a couple more loose stems. It's very strong and I am trying to prop it up straight with a stake as the new deck is not in the right place to allow for support and trailing. Any thoughts appreciated.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Oct 2017 12:49:18 +0000

From Cape Town, South Africa. I'm going into a retirement complex with a small garden. I'm grieving about leaving my large, white wisteria that grows over a pergola. I've bought a white vine – not flowered yet! – and, having worked through Internet articles have started on my tree wisteria. It's been in its large pot for two years. Has a very sturdy steel support. Growing very vigorously. It's had 2 prunings – light last summer (another coming up) and hard last winter. How many years before it flowers? Yes, I know. How long is a piece of string? But I'm getting old and don't want to spend years training only to never get a flower! Clare Howie

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 29 Aug 2017 18:54:59 +0000

Hi Matt, I am new to both Twitter, and gardening. I am from South-West N.Y., ( 1 mile from lake Erie, 6 miles from Pa. I recently bought a ; 1) Wisteria vine, 2) Chinese Wist.tree, and 3) a Bonsai Wist. starter kit from seed. I would like to know more about raising them; pruning, fertilizing, etc. Thank you, Thomas C.

By: Matt Mattus

Matt Mattus — Sat, 03 Jun 2017 20:29:26 +0000

In reply to Unknown.

Hi Elizabeth – Im so sorry that this has been a challenge for you, I've heard from others who sometimes struggle getting even non-tree forms to bloom, while others seem to have no problem. Old techniques and theories abound from cutting roots/root restriction, to just letting them go wild. I have no problem getting all of our wisteria's blooming, but my theory is stress – as seedlings raised in bonsai pots seem to bloom with root restriction while seedlings from the same pod in the woodland and still clambering up tall trees with nary a bloom in sight. Only anecdotal of course. When I worked at a private garden years ago, we would trim the tree standards after blooming hard, and perhaps a few whips through the summer but we always allowed a few whips to mature and these seemed to bloom at the base of the whip (whips are just stems and there is no botanical difference from any other above-ground element). Whip stems are just advantageous-fast-growing stems, and I cut them about 3/4 of the way back. Many form flower buds on the remaining parts. I would see if that works first. Light might be an issue too, as most desire full sun for 8 hours a day or more.

By: Unknown

Unknown — Sat, 03 Jun 2017 03:58:37 +0000

So sorry for a 2nd comment but I am really wanting to make this purple and white tree of mine work and flower.
As I read through everyone else's comments…
I am wondering on the exact purpose of the "whips"
I always thought they were purely for having it climb, and since I have been training mine as a tree I have been taking off the whips as the grow out.
I have 30 roses in my yard-I understand those.
And can make them flower all day long ! Hahah
Should I be letting those all grow out until I do the first hard prune late summer??
I may need to move this tree form if that is the case..as the whips tend to get into some areas I need them to stay out of but if these are where the flowers come from then I need to move the whole tree!!. I thought the flowers came from the buds that got the hard prune on the branches /2nd prune being late winter going all the way down to the 1st two buds…
Maybe I should have been pruning the whips also?

By: Unknown

Unknown — Sat, 03 Jun 2017 03:38:48 +0000

I have fallen into tear this spring as yet Again my wisteria tree form has yet again NOT flowered. As a master Gardener here in a nice area of Chicago I have researched and believe I have done everything correctly in terms of pruning at all the proper times, not fertilizing, making sure to count the bud when pruning and prune hard, do it twice &then right times of year…I just don't know WHAT is going on?!
I have a Chinese Blue Tree form that I got from a very good nursery 3 yrs. ago along with a White wisteria vine that I ordered online from
White Farm Farm (also very high end)
I planted them close enough together that I was able to take one of the thicker young vines and simply loop it around the other halfway up the first yr.
They are both staked still. I make sure to check that they are not too tightly tied to staking every year because they do grow so quickly& maybe any little thing might be making them not flower! Haha I'm quite literally worrying and driving myself Mad over it. I figure Both the tree form and the vine MUST have been at least a couple of years old. The tree maybe even 3 yrs when I bought it, and so this would now be 6 yrs.
This seems like enough time to have been with me to flower.
I do tend to prune the whips off again and again throughout the summer and do not wait and do it just once with the main summer hard pruning.
I do this because it is by a fence I don't want it climbing. This spring I did think What's I thought might be flower buds as opposed to regular leaf buds but I didn't get a chance to find out as we had a very warm March that had all the plants popping up and then a sudden drop in temps in April with snow that lasted for a couple of weeks!! It was very hard on many plants. So far there has not been a lot of new growth and what I do see seems droopy.
I'm at my wits end, and then all of a sudden found this great article!! I wonder if you might have a bit of advice for this Chicago Gardener?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Feb 2016 09:45:44 +0000

libby
I have a beautiful wisterias bush that has grown huge in two years, I
I didn't know you had to trim it so much until last year. lol I got it out of my sister yard that she has just let grow wild!!! its climbing up a huge tree in her yard. Its beautiful when its in bloom and I can smell it from my front porch. if I could I would fill my yard with them!!! thank you for your post it has been very helpful

By: Carol G

Carol G — Mon, 18 May 2015 20:20:56 +0000

I am in southeast Michigan. My wisterias are 17 years old, one Chinese and one Japanese growing on a pergola. I have never had much luck with flowers as they would often get frost damage. Also, they probably need more pruning. After the awful winter 2013/2014, we didn't even get leaves until late May. This year the Chinese variety is just starting to get leaves and the Japanese has none. So I'm thinking they are dead. Your thoughts?

If they are dead and dying, would it be feasible to just cut back the Japanese variety to the ground and plant a Chinese variety in that location. I would then seriously prune the Chinese plant which is showing some life and see what happens next year. (I was at a nursery where they had put in a new plant and were using the gnarly old plant stem as the trellis.) Thanks for your help!

By: nanne

nanne — Wed, 29 May 2013 05:49:50 +0000

thank you for all of this info on wisteria.

growing wisteria as a standard has been on my big wish, but back burner list along with attempting espaliered trees. i have just been waiting for my ADD middled aged self to actually acquire enough patience and self dicipline to attempt, what seemed to me, such a detailed & intimidating project.

your post has made it seem very achievable.