"Genie2312" wrote in message
...

Hiya

Yet another question for you green fingered bunch.
I also inherited a large wisteria (covers most of the front of my house)
problem is that it's not had anything done pruning wise so it's now at
the "triffid" stage (i like to keep all my windows open and regularly
have to chop off the tentacles that seem to want to live
indoors....heehee), i have taken the long whispy bits back to 6 shoots
but there is a rather large tangled mess in the middle (about 2/3 foot
thick) that is mainly bare woody stems and i'm a little unsure what to
do....a few people have advised me to cut it back to the ground and
start again.....but i REALLY don't want to)
I searched wisteria posts but none helped as they were maily about
general pruning and not what to do with an out of control mess....haha
It was all bare when i moved in at the begining of february but soon
greened up and did flower quite well (stunning!!!) so i don't want to do
anything too drastic.....

I will get some pics tonight so you can see the extent of what i'm
talking about

Thanks in advance

Kate


Leave it alone now until its lost its leaves, you can then remove unwanted
stems, look for the short stubby flowering spurs and try and keep those
parts with lots of them and remove those stems without any, in summer after
flowering you can constantly shorten all those long whippy trails, I am
afraid if it is Wisteria sinensis it will be a constant job to keep it
looking good, less so for Wisteria floribunda, but an established wisteria
is a great asset and I certainly would advise not to cut it right down as it
might be several years before it flowers again and it will only make the
situation worse. You either have to work at it (like a hedge) or get rid of
it, there is no easy way


--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk