Let’s start by stating that winter care for wisteria is not actually required. The tough plant wisteria can withstand a variety of harsh weather conditions. Wisteria can overwinter without additional work unless it was recently planted or was unwell. If you have the time to give a healthy wisteria a little additional care to winterize it, that’s fine, but if you don’t, don’t worry about it. Giving your wisteria a little more attention in the winter helps keep it healthy whether it was recently planted or had issues the previous year.
Mulching the plant’s base to provide the roots additional protection and clipping away any dead growth you may find on the plant are two general additional winter maintenance procedures for wisteria. You can also shape the wisteria vine with cosmetic pruning if it’s late fall or early winter (after the plant has shed its leaves but before snow has fallen).
If your wisteria has previously struggled to bloom, there’s a potential that the plant may be experiencing winter dieback, which destroys the blossom buds. If you have reason to believe this is the case, you can aid the blossom buds by wrapping the plant in burlap. This step is not necessary if your wisteria has blossomed successfully in previous years. Please keep in mind that wisteria only experiences winter dieback in extremely cold climates. There are more likely causes for your wisteria’s lack of flowering if you do not reside in an extremely cold climate.
Really, this is all that is required to care for wisteria in the winter. The wisteria will survive the winter without the extra care even if you realize that other tasks in your yard are more urgent and you do not have time to winterize it.
What should wisteria be used for in the winter?
Wisteria (Wisteria spp.) plants have long pendants of fragrant purple or white flowers that dangle in a weeping manner. They are a favorite flower for climbing over arbors, training up a wall, or growing as a conventional tree. When grown, wisteria can readily withstand harsh winters and flourishes in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 9. However, young wisteria plants might not be able to withstand the first winter after planting without some protection from frost and chilly winds.
In the fall, water the wisteria plant frequently to maintain moist but not soggy soil. The plants may move nutrients from the soil and store them for the winter by receiving regular watering in the fall. When freezing conditions are predicted, water plants liberally to prevent desiccation of the leaves when the temperatures cause the moisture inside to freeze, leaving frost on the leaves.
To protect the vine’s roots from the cold throughout the winter, cover the base with a 4-inch layer of organic mulch. Anything from crushed bark mulch to dried leaves can be used. To ensure the entire root ball is insulated, keep the mulch a few inches away from the vine and cover a space that is at least 2 feet in diameter.
Wrap the main stem of the wisteria plant with a section of thin-walled plastic tubing. With a razor knife, cut the tubing lengthwise, then pry it open to allow it to fit around the wisteria stem. The plastic tubing is less expensive than using frost cloth or leftover fabric, which are typically far larger than what is required for the stem.
Build a temporary protective structure around the plant. Using a reciprocating saw, extend four 2-by-2-inch wooden posts by about 24 inches beyond the height of the wisteria. Using a hammer, pound the four stakes about 18 inches into the ground. Place the stakes evenly spaced around the plant, 18 inches from the stem.
Frost cloth, burlap, or another type of fabric can be used to cover the stakes. Without letting air escape around the plant’s base, the cloth must be big enough to completely cover the structure. If you require more than one piece of cloth, make sure the ends are at least six inches apart. Set up some bricks or rocks on the ground to hold the extra length in place. The inside temperature of the building stays higher than the outside temperature thanks to the heat that is radiated from the ground surrounding the plant and is trapped by the frost cloth or fabric.
Does wisteria grow again in the spring?
Don’t panic if your wisteria begins to drop its leaves in the fall. Deciduous wisteria predominates. Winter doesn’t keep it green, but the leaves will come back in the spring.
Before dropping their leaves, some wisteria varieties put on a show of fall color as the leaves turn yellow or gold. If it’s happening in the fall, there’s typically nothing to worry about unless you’re also observing other symptoms like an insect infestation. Yellowing and dropping leaves can be signals of disease and other problems.
While Evergreen Wisteria (Millettia reticulata) is more challenging to grow, all true Wisteria are deciduous. Your Evergreen Wisteria will most likely maintain its leaves throughout the year if you have hot summers and brief, mild winters with little below freezing. This is zone 9b and higher in the US, which includes a portion of California and Arizona as well as the southern half of Florida and Texas.
Evergreen Wisteria is deciduous like regular Wisteria in more temperate regions, so you may anticipate it to go dormant for the winter and sprout new leaves in the spring. You probably won’t be able to cultivate Evergreen Wisteria in a location that is colder than USDA zone 8 because even deciduous habit cannot shield it from prolonged, bitterly cold winters.
Wisteria will it withstand the winter?
Although wisteria is usually resistant to frost, it can nonetheless suffer harm from it to bloom buds and newly budding flowers. When the vine emerges from dormancy and is about to blossom, this can become a concern during late spring frosts.
Wisteria is a cold-tolerant plant that can endure frost, snow, and even extremely low temperatures in some cultivars. Wisteria, on the other hand, emerges from its latent state after the winter and starts to bloom and grow new leaves. It can be extremely harmful to the plant if a sudden cold snap causes temperatures to drop too low.
Because of this, it’s a good idea to plant your wisteria close to some wind protection, like a brick or block wall that retains heat during the day and releases it at night. To get the most sunshine, plant wisteria in a location that faces west or south.
In the first year or two of growth, your wisteria is more susceptible to frost and cold damage. Young plants might not be able to withstand these subfreezing temperatures because they are too delicate. New growth might be vulnerable to frost damage even on established plants.
If you prune your wisteria too late in the growing season, this could happen. As fresh, vulnerable vines and tendrils may develop and not have enough time to harden off before temps fall below freezing, pruning might stimulate new growth at the wrong moment. By avoiding pruning Wisteria plants at any time in the late summer or fall, you can prevent this issue.
Use plastic tubing, bubble wrap, or fabric such as burlap to shield your wisteria from late spring frosts or chilly winds. Plastic tubing is a wonderful alternative because it can be wrapped around the plant’s main vine without the need to attempt to cover a large trellis.
An additional choice is to stake the vine and hang a drop cloth or other fabric over it, covering the entire plant. Just keep in mind to take the cloth off as it warms up over the day. Before a frost, covering your plant will help protect its buds, prevent growth from being stunted, and prevent damage to the roots and vine.
Wisteria blooms every year, right?
In the spring, wisteria blooms ferociously, producing clusters of lilac-colored flowers on fresh growth that develops from spurs off the main stalks. Check out our Wisteria Growing Guide for more information on wisteria maintenance, including planting and pruning.
About Wisteria
Wisteria is a long-living vining shrub with cascades of blue to purple blossoms that, in the spring and early summer, look stunning hanging from a pergola or archway. However, this vine is known to grow fairly heavy and to grow quickly and aggressively, frequently reaching lengths of more than 30 feet. It’s advised not to put wisteria vines too close to your home since they will squirm their way into any crack or crevice they can find.
Beautifully fragrant wisteria flowers offer a feast for the senses. A brown, bean-like pod remains on the plant during the winter after flowering. There are only blooms on fresh growth.
Note: Be careful when planting wisteria! The wisteria plant contains lectin and wisterin, which are poisonous to people, animals, and even pets. If taken in significant quantities, these poisons can result in anything from nausea and diarrhea to death.
Is Wisteria an Invasive Plant?
The wisteria species Wisteria sinensis and Wisteria floribunda, which are not native to North America, are regarded as invasive in several areas. If you want to add a new wisteria to your garden, we advise choosing one of the native North American varieties, such as American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens) or Kentucky wisteria (Wisteria macrostachya), which are excellent alternatives to the Asian species.
Do you want to know how to distinguish between North American and Asian species?
While North American wisteria is not quite as aggressive in its growing tendencies and has smooth seed pods and fruits in addition to more-or-less cylindrical, bean-shaped seeds, Asian wisteria is an aggressive grower with fuzzy seed pods. Another distinction is that the flowers of American and Kentucky wisterias appear in the late spring after the plant has begun to leaf out, whereas those of Chinese wisteria do not.
When to Plant Wisteria
- Plant during the plant’s dormant season in the spring or fall.
- Wisteria can be grown from seed, although plants from seeds frequently take many years to mature and begin to bloom. It is advised to buy wisteria plants that are already established or to begin with a cutting.
Where to Plant Wisteria
- Put a plant in full sun. Even while wisteria will grow in some shade, it won’t likely bloom. Sunlight is necessary.
- Wisteria should be grown in fertile, wet, but well-draining soil.
- Wisteria will grow in most soils unless it is in bad condition, in which case you need add compost. Find out more about soil improvements and getting the soil ready for planting.
- Because wisteria grows swiftly and can easily engulf its neighbors, pick a location apart from other plants.
- Additionally, wisteria is renowned for encroaching on and infiltrating surrounding buildings like homes, garages, sheds, and so on. We highly advise against growing wisteria too near your house!
- Wisteria vines need a very strong support, like a metal or wooden trellis or pergola, to climb on. Plan carefully and use substantial materials to construct your structure because mature plants have been known to become so heavy that they destroy their supports.
Wisteria looks gorgeous growing up the side of a house, but use caution when planting it because it is a very strong vine that will get into any crack or gap!
Caring for Wisteria
- Apply a 2-inch layer of mulch and a layer of compost under the plant each spring to keep moisture in and keep weeds at bay.
- Phosphorus is often used by gardeners to promote flowering. In the spring, work a few cups of bone meal into the soil. Then, in the fall, add some rock phosphate. Study up on soil amendments.
- If you get less than an inch of rain each week, water your plants. (To determine how much rain you are receiving, set an empty food can outside and use a measuring stick to gauge the depth of the water.)
- During the summer, try pruning the out-of-control shoots every two weeks for more blooms.
Pruning Wisteria
- In the late winter, prune wisteria. Remove at least half of the growth from the previous year, leaving only a few buds on each stem.
- Also prune in the summer after customary flowering if you prefer a more formal appearance. On fresh growth, spurs from the main shoots of the wisteria develop its blossoms. Trim back every new shoot from this year to a spur, leaving no more than 6 inches of growth. So that there are no free, trailing shoots, the entire plant can be trained, roped in, and otherwise organized throughout this procedure.
- Mature plants that have been cultivated informally require little to no more pruning. However, for a plant that has been formally trained, side branches should be pruned back in the summer to 6 inches, then again in the winter to 3 buds.
- Possess you a fresh wisteria? After planting, aggressively prune the vine. Then, the next year, trim the main stem or stems to a height of 3 feet from the growth of the previous year. After the framework has grown to its full size, midsummer extension growth should be cut back to where it started that season.
Does wisteria require protection from frost?
Start by purchasing a Wisteria plant in the spring that is in bloom or has flower buds on it if you want your Wisteria to bloom. Thus, you are assured that it can bloom. A small, just planted wisteria with a few tiny flowers is depicted on the left. The wisteria depicted in the video above, “Wonderful Wisteria,” was first planted in 2007 and reached a height of 3.5 meters, or about 12 feet, within 7 years. By 2018, it had completely covered the wall space at the back of the house. This is evidence of the wisteria’s vitality and the requirement for longer (and longer) ladders to prune it. It’s difficult to believe that this small plant expanded to cover an entire house wall in just ten years.
The best way to buy wisteria is as a grafted plant. Any plant grown from seed is likely to cause issues for you; while it may be less expensive, it may take a very long time to flower, possibly longer than ten years. A protrusion in the stem just above soil level in the plant pot identifies a grafted plant. The base of the Wisteria and the graft bulge can be seen if you watch the video on summer pruning Wisteria at roughly 3 minutes and 40 seconds.
Make sure to thoroughly water a fresh Wisteria plant and watch out that it doesn’t dry out in the beginning. When it’s established, it will take care of itself. I neglected to water the wisteria even throughout the 2018 drought, and it survived. Wisteria is completely hardy, however a protected area is preferred because cold can harm the racemes, or emerging flowers, (see below). Wisteria requires a lot of area and time to flourish and is simple to establish. If space is at a premium, Wisteria can be planted as a standard, which will require careful pruning, or choose a smaller variety like Domino’s or Wisteria brachybotrys.
Wisteria can be grown in a container, although the results will vary. A friend recently asked me for guidance on how to nurture a wisteria in a container after the plant failed to blossom. It bloomed magnificently the next spring after I advised taking it out of the container and replanting it in a bright location. Given the challenges in getting Wisteria to bloom, growing it in a container increases the challenge.