My wisteria is about 20 years old and growing against the front wall of my home. The first 5 or 6 years it was beautiful, wonderful blooms and fragrance. Unfortunately it has not had any blooms since !! I was recommended to cut it back severely, which I did for 3 years running, but no flowers! I tried leaving it alone for a couple of years, but nothing!! I tried planting another wisteria nearby but that one was caught out by a late frost. The foliage is abundant every year and spreads out across the wall really thick, just no flowers to be found. I would be grateful for any ideas that could remedy this problem. Thanks , Carol
Well, that is kind of mysterious. I believe wisteria blooms on old wood (so that if you prune all the shoots back, you'll skip a year of flowering), but it's odd that no flowers appeared even after leaving it alone for a couple of years. Is the plant getting shaded out by maturing trees nearby?
I don't have a Wisteria but do love the look of them, here's some info that might help a little. http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=822&bhcd2=1245469634
Excuse my dirty windows, but here is my seed grown chinese wisteria, still in my living room window. : O I have provided a metal stake to serve as the trunk of the little wisteria tree I am trying to create. It will spend the summer outdoors, likely. Although I am new to wisteria gardening, I have been told by experienced wisteria fanatics, that pruned vines bloom best. Also, over the years you had it blooming Steyts, it may have leached a lot of the nutrients out of the soil by now, and could surely benefit from some low Nitrogen fertilizer applied to the area, which will encourage further blooming. They say seed grown vines won't bloom for 7-14 years, if ever - bunk! Watch mine bloom in 6 years! I believe like anything, it is how the gardener tends to it, which truly determines when it will bloom. Get out those shears and that no or low nitrogen fertilizer, and that sucker will bloom again, I am sure. Mine is fed on a regular basis with no nitrogen whatsoever, except for a tiny bit when the vine first germinated and when it was a really young seedling. This vine is about 4 months old now and has spent it's entire life so far, indoors. It will go outside shortly. Notice in the 2nd pic, the vine has latched onto the metal stake and is working it's way up? When it reaches the desired height, you cut off the top, removing any side branches, to get it to look like a tree. I will keep it pruned religiously, to keep the tree-like shape, and to encourage early blooming... Good Luck, Steyts... : )
Great stuff ,thanks. I am thinking positive thoughts for the wisteria now, with all the tips I'm getting, next year will be blooming amazing !!
steyts, Please have a read of this. Wisteria are usually grafted to get them flowering from a young age. If you pruned yours back too far it is possible you pruned below the graft. Therefore it may be years before the root stock wisteria decides to flower. http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0600/wisteria.asp http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0605/wisteria.asp
