Do wisteria vines and trees differ from one another? I’ve been looking for a place to buy a tree because I’ve seen photographs. I’m always being pointed toward the vine, though. Any information would be helpful.
“Wisteria is a deciduous twining climber native to China, Japan, and eastern United States; there is no botanical distinction between a Wisteria vine and a Wisteria tree. British Royal Horticultural Society The training and trimming make a difference. The tree form is a wonderful choice for planting Wisteria in a smaller garden because it has a 30-foot growth potential and may be rather aggressive. These two websites demonstrate how to shape a wisteria vine into either the traditional or tree form. There is also a link to instructions on growing wisteria.
Is a trellis necessary for wisteria trees?
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 need assistance when climbing?
Wisteria can be trained to grow in a variety of ways, but it will always need some sort of support when climbing. Wisteria is renowned for covering whole surfaces and enticing us with full walls of fragrant blossoms.
Although this plant can climb big structures like your neighborhood Spiderman, it is actually incredibly adaptable. They can also reproduce by dropping seeds, and their roots have the capacity to create suckers far from the parent plant. Wisteria, though, will climb everything within reach.
Will wisteria grow into a tree?
You may teach wisteria to grow up a tree. A wisteria tree can be a great choice for you if you appreciate the way the vines are twisted into a trunk-like shape with the foliage on top. Another name for this is a “standard Wisteria.
As a side note, the term “standard” refers to any plant, usually cultivated as a vine or shrub (not a tree), that has been taught and pruned to develop into a free-standing, single-stemmed tree.
Although you can train your wisteria to resemble a tree, you shouldn’t let the vine climb a real tree. Even though it can be alluring to utilize a tree trunk as a natural support, the wisteria will probably catch up to and eventually harm the tree as it grows bigger, heavier, and higher.
The outcome might be magnificent if you chose to teach your wisteria to grow like a tree. However, in order for your plant to get the desired outcome, you will need to assist it. Wisteria will need a large support stake or some other device to hold it up while it develops and matures because it cannot naturally stand up on its own.
What is the rate of wisteria tree growth?
Nothing compares to the splendor of a wisteria arbor in full bloom, but sadly, many Midwestern gardeners are unable to grow these exquisite vines.
Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda) and Chinese wisteria are the two varieties of wisteria that are most frequently planted in our region ( Wisteria sinensis).
Japanese wisteria is famous for its fragrant violet blooms, which are produced in clusters that range in length from 8 to 20 inches. A cluster’s individual blooms open one at a time, starting at the base.
Chinese wisteria often has clusters that are less than 12 inches long, with slightly larger individual blooms. A cluster of flowers also has a tendency to open at the same time. Chinese wisteria is less fragrant and less resilient than Japanese wisteria. Both species have cultivars that feature white blooms.
Wisteria is an aggressive twining vine that can become highly invasive in some places. Strong support is necessary for the vines to maintain their rapid growth. When wisteria is established in the right setting, it can grow up to 10 feet each year. It functions best in neutral to slightly alkaline, deep, moist, but well-drained soils.
Since the majority of gardeners are attracted to this plant for its flowers, they are very irritated by its infamous propensity to just grow greenery. This irritating issue may be caused by a variety of factors, including the plant’s immaturity, an excess of nitrogen, a deficiency in phosphorus, poor-quality plants, and an excessive amount of shadow.
Before they can start to produce flowers, Asian wisterias need to attain a certain level of maturity. In actuality, it may take the vines up to 15 years or more to bloom.
Those who have had success with wisteria frequently advise root trimming, using superphosphate, severe shoot clipping, and planting in full light. Most importantly, you should begin with high-quality plants that were grown from cuttings of plants that are known to bloom when they are still quite young. Take cuttings of the stem tips in July if you know someone who is prepared to part with a beautiful specimen. Avoid planting seedling vines since it is impossible to predict their flowering habits due to the genetic diversity of seed reproduction.
Wait until late spring or early summer to prune these vines since they develop their blossoms on last year’s wood in mid- to late May. To keep the plant manageable and regenerative, severe pruning back to three or four buds is frequently advised.
A few native species of wisteria are a little more “tame” than their Asian counterparts. These indigenous species attain flowering age earlier than Asian species because they bloom on the growth of the current season. Although they bloom slightly later in the spring, they can rebloom throughout the summer.
The 20–30 foot tall American wisteria (W. frutescens) blooms its flowers in 4-6 inch long, compact clusters. The most popular cultivar, “Amethyst Falls,” has fragrant lavender-blue blooms. Although ‘Nivea’ has longer clusters of white blossoms, it is less aromatic.
Wisteria macrostachys, which grows in Kentucky, produces flower clusters that are 8 to 12 inches long and densely covered with blossoms. Some people believe this to be an American wisteria subspecies. The hardy Minnesota cultivar “Blue Moon” has incredibly fragrant blossoms that start to develop in June and continue throughout the summer. Both ‘Aunt Dee’ and ‘Clara Mack’ have blooms that are a light lavender color.
What happens if wisteria isn’t pruned?
So let’s get started. When should wisteria be pruned? Wisteria should be pruned once in the winter and once more in the summer. You should prune your wisteria in the summer approximately two months after it blooms.
In order to properly trim a wisteria, you must first understand that regular pruning is necessary to regulate growth and promote more blossoms. The current season’s shoots are pruned back to three buds from the root. The new shoots and blooms for the upcoming season will then emerge from these buds.
Wisteria that has grown too large can also be pruned. The best way to trim the wisteria in this situation is to lop and cut as much as you like, down to around 3 feet (1 m), or where you truly want the wisteria to be. In this manner, you will have lovely new shoots the next spring as new sprouts appear and it develops to that height. When you prune wisteria in this way, keep in mind that doing so will prevent any flowering for several years as the new shoots mature once more.
You’ll discover that trimming the wisteria may have caused some of the larger branches to die back. This is fine. You can simply remove them from the plant or completely prune them back. It occurs. You cannot change the situation much, unfortunately. Have no fear. The plant won’t die as a result.
When it comes to wisteria trimming, there are occasions when some people believe that persistent wisteria cutting, especially if it hasn’t bloomed in a while, will eventually cause an older wisteria bush to bloom. Though it might be worth a shot, this might or might not be true. Wisteria can generate new growth as a result of trimming, and the flowers will eventually appear on this growth. Your aim might only be accomplished after a few years.
Some people think that cutting the roots with a shovel is the best approach to trim wisteria, especially an older one. According to them, doing so actually aids the plant in absorbing more nutrients from the soil and finally blooming. Again, because you most likely cannot kill it, feel free to try this approach as well!
How can wisteria be kept in check?
Pruning wisteria twice a year is the best approach to prevent it from growing out of control. After the flowers have faded in the early to mid-summer and when the shoots from this year’s growth begin to look untidy, the first pruning should be done. The goal is to remove undesired shoots or suckers and to keep new development close to the main vine as follows:
- Trim fresh growth shoots to a length of 6 inches.
- Suckers at the roots should be removed.
- Cut off any sprouts that the vine’s main support structure doesn’t require.
Since flowers only appear on one-year-old growth, this pruning strategy not only keeps the vine in a tight shape but also enables the blooms to be seen the following year.
How are wisteria supports made?
Wisteria weighs a lot. When it is very old, its main stems may be as thick as a small tree trunk and reach a thickness of several inches. When you plant, keep the future in mind; otherwise, your wisteria will end up with a vine that is too heavy for its support.
Wisteria is typically grown on strong arbors or pergolas, up walls, or both. Start by attaching a number of 6- to 8-inch L-brackets to the support in order to secure it against a home wall. One row of brackets runs vertically up the middle of the wall at 1-foot intervals, and the other rows run horizontally at 2- to 3-foot intervals. To prevent vines from encroaching on the eaves, fasten the top row 3 feet below the eaves.
Galvanized wire should be run between the brackets. After that, attach the baby wisteria vine with string; as it grows, its stems will twine around the wire. (There is plenty of area for air circulation and growth because the wire is placed 6 to 8 inches away from the wall.)
Make sure that the support posts of the construction are at least 4 by 4 inches in size if you want to plant wisteria up an arbor or pergola. Keep the main stem firmly tied with heavy-duty garden twine until it has grown over the top of the building and is attached there. The main stem can be twined around a post or grown straight against it.
Leave the lateral branches on the main stem while the wisteria is growing, especially in the first year or two. After the plant has established healthy growth, you can start gently pinching or trimming off lateral growth at the plant’s base. As the vine climbs the post and moves along the arbor or pergola ceiling, keep trimming some of the lateral growth each year.
When the vine reaches the roof, tie it in place and direct its growth horizontally. It will be held in place as it ages by its own weight and the twining side branches. If you wish to continue lashing it down for more protection, make sure the ties aren’t girdling the branches once a year.