Wisteria (pink ice) pruning advice
 

When we bought our present house it had a 9 foot tall Wisteria Pink Ice
growing up a west facing wall which didn't appear to have been pruned for
many years (although the house was only built in 1993 so it couldn't have
been prior to then). It produced lots of foliage with only a very few
flowers.
Two years ago, in desperation, we pruned it right back to the main stems.
Since then it has produced only shoots which have a few leaves close to the
main stems but then get very long and spindly. No flowers have been produces
since we originally pruned it.
Again this year, when other Wisterias are flowering, ours is only producing
the spindly shoots and a few leaves.
Cam anyone let me know what we have done wrong and how tro correct it ?

Regards
Mike

Wisteria (pink ice) pruning advice
 

In article , Mike Day
writes
When we bought our present house it had a 9 foot tall Wisteria Pink Ice
growing up a west facing wall which didn't appear to have been pruned for
many years (although the house was only built in 1993 so it couldn't have
been prior to then). It produced lots of foliage with only a very few
flowers.
Two years ago, in desperation, we pruned it right back to the main stems.
Since then it has produced only shoots which have a few leaves close to the
main stems but then get very long and spindly. No flowers have been produces
since we originally pruned it.
Again this year, when other Wisterias are flowering, ours is only producing
the spindly shoots and a few leaves.
Cam anyone let me know what we have done wrong and how tro correct it ?

The aim is to produce a main stem with lots of short flowering spurs. So
prune your long spindly bits back by about half during the summer, then
in the winter prune them back to 3 buds. Do this for a couple of years
and you should get lots of flowers.

--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Wisteria (pink ice) pruning advice
 

In article , Kay Easton
writes
In article , Mike Day
writes
When we bought our present house it had a 9 foot tall Wisteria Pink Ice
growing up a west facing wall which didn't appear to have been pruned for
many years (although the house was only built in 1993 so it couldn't have
been prior to then). It produced lots of foliage with only a very few
flowers.
Two years ago, in desperation, we pruned it right back to the main stems.
Since then it has produced only shoots which have a few leaves close to the
main stems but then get very long and spindly. No flowers have been produces
since we originally pruned it.
Again this year, when other Wisterias are flowering, ours is only producing
the spindly shoots and a few leaves.
Cam anyone let me know what we have done wrong and how tro correct it ?

The aim is to produce a main stem with lots of short flowering spurs. So
prune your long spindly bits back by about half during the summer, then
in the winter prune them back to 3 buds. Do this for a couple of years
and you should get lots of flowers.

Point of interest: we have a wisteria that could hardly bloom more
profusely, but it has never ever been pruned, or perhaps, more strictly
speaking, it prunes itself. It grows in a full size barrel (36 gallons
I think), where it has sat undisturbed for at least the last 20 years
(it has bloomed for most of them), with an occasional dose of
Phostrogen. It is supported against the house wall by wire up to a
height of around 15 ft. thereafter its on its own and tends to spread
slowly outwards, and sideways within the limits of the wire. New
shoots, finding no where to go, tend to die back. I'm not sure what is
the lesson - perhaps it is to be cruel!
--
John Lloyd, West Midlands, UK

Wisteria (pink ice) pruning advice
 

"John Lloyd" wrote in message
...
In article , Kay Easton
writes
In article , Mike Day
writes

Point of interest: we have a wisteria that could hardly bloom more
profusely, but it has never ever been pruned, or perhaps, more strictly
speaking, it prunes itself. It grows in a full size barrel (36 gallons
I think), where it has sat undisturbed for at least the last 20 years
(it has bloomed for most of them), with an occasional dose of
Phostrogen. It is supported against the house wall by wire up to a
height of around 15 ft. thereafter its on its own and tends to spread
slowly outwards, and sideways within the limits of the wire. New
shoots, finding no where to go, tend to die back. I'm not sure what is
the lesson - perhaps it is to be cruel!

There is a good technical reason explanation for this. I posted a long note
about it some years ago here, I can't find the original, but briefly:

Wisteria grows naturally in forests. They climb to the top of the canopy and
flower in the light. The mechanism biological mechanism to stop them
flowering below canopy height is suppression by hormone flow from the
growing tip (apical dominance is the technical term).

How do they know to flower? The leaders flops over, and the flow of hormone
from the apical bud is disrupted.

The pruning regime normally followed is designed to trick the plant into
thinking that it has reached the canopy top and flopped over ie cutting off
the growing tip disrupts the hormone flow.

The situation you describe mirrors closely the natural growing pattern of
Wisteria in the wild. Mature plant, flopping over - hence it flowers without
pruning!


Roofing plants on Pergolas often show the same "flowering without pruning"
pattern - which I suppose is why there is ofetn conflicting advice on how to
get them to flower.

But, if you want an immature plant to flower or to clothe the legs of a
pergola with flower, then pruning is needed.

pk

Wisteria (pink ice) pruning advice
 

Wisteria need to wind themselves around supports and the Ivy will be flush
to the wall so I would suggest that you will need some other support for the
Wisteria.

regards

Philip


"Lazarus Cooke" wrote in message
om...
I've just planted a Wisteria sinensis at my mother's house. about four
feet high. I didn't have time to give it a wire to grow up but it's
beside an ivy plant. Will the ivy that grows up the wall be enough for
it to hold on to?

Lazarus

Wisteria (pink ice) pruning advice
 

thanks, papa. I thought this might be the case

Lazarus

In article , papa
wrote:

Wisteria need to wind themselves around supports and the Ivy will be flush
to the wall so I would suggest that you will need some other support for the
Wisteria.

regards

Philip


"Lazarus Cooke" wrote in message
om...
I've just planted a Wisteria sinensis at my mother's house. about four
feet high. I didn't have time to give it a wire to grow up but it's
beside an ivy plant. Will the ivy that grows up the wall be enough for
it to hold on to?

Lazarus