Wisteria problems

Discussion in 'Vines and Climbers' started by mhastings, Jul 17, 2008.

  1. mhastings

    mhastings Member

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    Location:
    Oelwein, Ia USA
    we live in IOWA and about 5 years ago I planted a Wisteria tree. I keep pruning the long thin branches back and have it growning along a privicy frence and over a patio area. Our problem is that the Wisteria has not bloomed at all. I have not noticed any buds on it anywhere at any time, It's very healthy and quite a grower. I know that I must be doing something wrong, and need help in getting the blooms to sprout. Any and all help will be greatly followed. The shade is nice, but I want the blooms also.
     
  2. Jo Green

    Jo Green Member

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    Getting wisterias to bloom is a common frustration among gardeners. Sometimes wisterias will not bloom if there is a lack of sunlight or it is receiving excess nitrogen fertilizer. Nitrogen fertilizer stimulates the vegetative growth which in turn requires excess pruning. Excess pruning in the early spring can cause wisterias not to bloom. You may want to try pruning of new growth in the late spring to early summer and then perform root pruning in the late fall. Applying a significant application of superphosphate during early spring really helps to encourage blooming.
     
  3. mhastings

    mhastings Member

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    Oelwein, Ia USA
    I am cutting new growth all the time or it over runs the privacy fence and wanders on to the neighbors yard and power lines. How far do I prune back to? I do not understand about buds. Are these the small outting at junctions? Help. Diagrams would be especially helpful or a book to get and read up on. Thank you for the infro.
     
  4. Weekend Gardener

    Weekend Gardener Active Member 10 Years

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    That may well indicate a big part of the problem - your wisteria is overfed and overpampered. There is no incentive for it to produce flowers, and therefore seeds (later on), if its survival isn't "threatened". Do not fertilise it.

    That could be the other reason, depending on the variety of wisteria you have, and how big/old it was when you first acquired it. Depending on variety and maturity, wisterias may flower within a year or two, but most likely will take upwards of 3-5 years.

    The main flowering flush is produced in the spring, and the flower buds for these are produced on the previous season's wood. They are mainly borne on older woods. That's why excessive pruning of the older woods may reduce flowering potential. Don't prune in late fall or the winter unless you absolutely have to. More mature plants will produce the odd blooms thorugh out the growing season, but a specimen which has not produced a main spring flowering flush is unlikely to produce blooms any other time.

    The flowers of summer are produced different from those of the spring flush. Spring flowers arise from buds which remain dormant over the winter and these are found in the leaf axils, but summer blooms are produced at the terminals of new canes. These canes look different from the non-flowering canes, as they have shorter internodes, tend to be shorter, and are straight rather than curly. The following pictures illustrate the differences.

    Vegetative Non-flowering new canes:
    20080728 005.jpg

    New canes with the potential for producing summer flowers:
    20080728 007.jpg

    Summer flowers:
    20080728 002 cropped.jpg

    If you are able to distinguish between the two, hopefully, you will be able to leave the potential flowering new growths untouched, while you continue to shorten the other new growths (to 3-6 leaf node lengths). It is essential you keep pruning back the new vegetative canes, as it is this specific job that is most likely to help your wisteria produce flowers next spring.
     
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2008

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