Problems with my Wisteria

Discussion in 'Vines and Climbers' started by Frollein Rosa, Apr 26, 2008.

  1. Frollein Rosa

    Frollein Rosa Member

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    I bought a very well flowering wisteria standard last year and after a lot of tender care and the obligatory pruning in summer and winter it has produced masses of spurs this year. However, they are only just about to start to come into flower and I have noticed that the spurs are dropping the individual buds en mass. The wisteria is planted in a large pot, under planted by a couple of bulbs and wood anemones. It's living in a sunny spot with occasional dappled shade.
    What should I do?
     
  2. Weekend Gardener

    Weekend Gardener Active Member 10 Years

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    That is unusual. I have only had that happen to our wisterias once - almost all the promising emerging racemes of young flower buds were scattered all over the ground. In our case, we knew that those flower buds did not simply "drop off" - they were cast over an area larger than the wisteria's drip line. We eventually discovered that it was the dastardly deeds of about a dozen crows. I guess they must have mistaken the flower buds for juicy caterpillars.

    Can it be a drainage problem? If there is one thing wisterias don't like is to have their roots constantly sitting in wet soil. If it's in a container, pour water onto the top of the potting media - the water should disappear withing a matter of minutes. If you are still unsure, you may want to knock the container off the root ball and check the condition of the soil at the bottom of the rootball.
     
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2008
  3. Frollein Rosa

    Frollein Rosa Member

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    Thank you very much for the advice. I will check the root ball.
    I have also been to my local garden centre and discovered that the same thing is happening to their Wisterias. Apparently I let the soil go too dry last autumn, when the buds were forming and the weather hasn't helped. If there's a lot of change in temperatures during spring this drop can happen too. Will make sure I water correctly this year. As for the weather.. after sunbathing in my garden last weekend, I'm wearing my woollies today...
     

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