Types of wisteria:
There are two varieties of wisteria: Asian and American. Although aggressive growers, Asian wisterias are well-known for their stunning blossoms. American wisterias are less aggressive and still produce beautiful blossoms. Compare the most popular wisteria varieties.
Flower color:
Wisteria comes in a range of colors, such as white, pink, and blue tones, in addition to the well-known purple blossoms. If you believe you have seen a yellow wisteria flower, it was probably a golden chain tree (Laburnum).
Foliage:
Wisterias are deciduous, which means that when the weather becomes chilly in the fall, they lose their leaves. The misunderstanding is occasionally brought on by a different vine known as evergreen wisteria (Millettia reticulata).
Avoid planting aggressive wisterias close to your home as they can cause damage and have even been known to destroy buildings.
Wisterias can be grown in full sun or partial shade, but to promote healthy bloom development, make sure the vines get at least six hours of direct sunlight everyday. If you reside in a colder area, pick a planting location that is protected because a heavy spring frost can harm the flower buds.
Create a planting hole that is the same depth as the plant and twice as wide, then level the plant with the soil surface. Because the vines will soon fill in, you should space your plants at least 10 to 15 feet apart along the support structure.
Wisterias don’t need much care once they are planted to promote healthy growth. Water frequently over the first year until the roots take hold.
After planting, wisterias could take some time to come out of dormancy and might not start to leaf until early summer. They will leaf out at the regular time the following spring, but don’t be surprised if they don’t bloom. Wisterias take three to five years to reach full maturity and may not start blooming until then.
Wisterias grow quickly and can reach heights of up to 10 feet in in one growing season. That works out well if you need to quickly cover a fence or pergola but don’t want the vines to take over your landscape. Regular pruning (once in the summer and once in the winter) not only controls wisteria’s growth but also encourages more robust flowering by creating a framework of horizontal branches and causing spurs to grow at regular intervals.
Cut back the current year’s growth to five or six leaves in July or August, or roughly two months after the plant flowers, to get rid of stray shoots and make short branches that will produce flowers the following year. Summer pruning needs to be done more frequently. Re-prune the plant in January or February while it is dormant by removing two or three buds from the growth from the previous year.
The first few years of wisteria’s growth are crucial for creating the desired framework for the plant’s development. As soon as your wisteria begins to grow, start connecting particular lateral shoots to its support structure. You should also cut down any extra growth. An aggressive pruning may be required on elder plants to promote the growth of new branches. Cut down aging branches to the main primary stem to accomplish this. The spaces will soon be filled with new side branches that can be connected back into the support structure.
Visit the Royal Horticultural Society to view a video on how to prune wisteria vines properly.
What variety of wisteria should I buy?
As long as you give the vine something to climb on, you could use nearly any variety of wisteria to successfully cover a wall in your house. However, a cultivar with shorter racemes—the term for the flower bunches—rather than extremely long, dangling blossoms would have the nicest appearance.
The finest option for a house’s walls is Wisteria sinensis. Usually, their racemes are no larger than 12 inches. The cultivar “Jako” features lovely, fragrant white flowers. Choose ‘Prolific,’ which will continue to bloom throughout the summer, if you want the classic purple blossoms.
However, it’s always a good idea to weigh native against invasive types while picking Wisteria for your home. Because wisteria is such an aggressive and invasive vine, some places don’t allow certain varieties.
Which month is ideal for wisteria planting?
Spring or fall are the best times to plant wisteria and make sure you plant wisteria in full sun, otherwise you run the risk of never seeing the plant’s beautiful blossoms. A wet, well-draining soil is ideal for wisteria.
Where are wisteria vines found?
The Wallflowers are vanished.
- Wallflower at Pigswick Academy
- Wallflower of Pegasus Place.
- Wallflower on Tanglewood Way.
- Wallflower Library Archives
Can wisteria vines be purchased?
Wisteria can be grown against a house wall or another robust building, like a sturdy pergola. Wisteria can be grown in a container, but only if done so as a conventional tree and with regular trimming to keep its shape. This is a highly labor-intensive option.
How to plant wisteria
Wisteria can be planted in spring or fall. Plant at the same level as it was in the original pot and water in thoroughly after thoroughly preparing the soil to guarantee a proper root run. Like an espalier fruit tree, tie the stems to horizontal galvanized wires connected to the wall. Remove all but one stem if it is climbing a pergola, and tie this stem to the post.
How to plant wisteria in a pot
Wisterias can be planted in pots, but because they are hungry plants, you will need to feed them frequently. Choose this option only if you’re training your wisteria to be a standard. Use a quality tree and shrub compost and the biggest pot you can fit. Plant at the same height as it was in the first pot and give it plenty of water.
How to care for wisteria
The wisteria plant is ravenous. During the growing season, fertilize once a month with a high potash fertilizer to promote greater flower blooming. Weekly wisteria fertilizer and watering. Use organic mulch in the fall, such as well-rotted horse dung or homemade compost, to protect your plants.
How and when to prune wisteria
Wisteria should be pruned twice a year in August and February. Focus on integrating the plant into the support throughout the first few years. This entails cutting back side shoots to five buds in early August, training in strong side shoots, and removing very low branches.
How to prune wisteria in summer
Wisteria that is pruned in the summer will produce short spurs that will transport the spring blossoms.
- Cut the long, robust shoots back from the base of the current season’s growth to a few buds.
- Choose a few sturdy shoots from young plants (less than three years old) to tie to wires or a trellis.
- Simply cut back side shoots on older wisterias to the base of your strong shoots.
Expert David Hurrion demonstrates how to prune wisteria in the summer in this little video. He demonstrates which stems to cut and how much to remove precisely:
How to prune wisteria in winter
By pruning both in winter and in the summer, you can promote the growth of the short spurs that bear the spring blooms. Anytime between late October and March is the dormant season, so do this.
- Connect fresh growth to the main structure to increase its support
- Cut back the remaining long stems sharply.
David Hurrion demonstrates how to control robust, leafy growth so it doesn’t cover budding flower buds in this video on winter-pruning wisteria:
How to propagate wisteria
Few gardeners cultivate wisteria; most opt to purchase a plant instead because it can take up to 20 years for a wisteria to bloom from a cutting. However, take softwood cuttings in the middle of April if you’re up for a battle.
- Young stems should be cut into lengths and trimmed to 10 cm, just below a leaf joint.
- Leave roughly four leaves at the top of each cutting after removing the lower ones.
- Fill pots with cutting compost, then fill them with water and let the water drain.
- Cover the cuttings with a clear plastic bag after inserting them into the pots so the leaves don’t contact.
- Make sure the cuttings are kept moist by keeping them in a well-lit area.
- Remove the bag and pot after growth is visible.
Growing wisteria: problem solving
Lack of blossoms is the most frequent issue wisteria gardeners encounter. Expecting blooms before the plant is four years old may be impractical because wisterias take their time to bloom.
David Hurrion provides tips on where to plant your wisteria, how to prune it, and how to feed it to get the most blossoms here.
Will wisteria damage my foundations?
In the spring, a house covered in wisteria looks magnificent. Can the roots harm your foundations, though? In our Quick Tips video, Catherine Mansley from BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine explains:
Which wisteria grows the quickest?
Wisteria types from Japan and China grow more quickly than those from America. The proper circumstances are necessary for any plant to thrive, so picking the appropriate Wisteria for your environment is crucial. However, Chinese Wisteria (Wisteria Sinensis) grows the fastest in all other respects.
Japanese or Chinese wisteria—which is superior?
One of the most well-known and eye-catching flowering garden plants, wisteria lends a magnificent impact to any garden or landscape. It puts on quite a show in the late spring, producing spectacular racemes (hanging clusters) of fragrant blue-violet blooms. Any garden can look exotic and enchanted thanks to wisteria blossoms.
Wisteria is a member of the Fabaceae or Pea family (formerly Leguminoseae). Ten species of deciduous climbing vines make up the genus, two of which are indigenous to the southern United States and the others to eastern Asia.
The wisteria plant is vibrant, adaptable, quick-growing, durable, and low-maintenance. It can be raised as a shrub, a tree, or a vine. Wisteria plants grow quickly and twine; they require lots of space and a sturdy structure to climb on. It may be grown on a wooden pergola, arbor, trellis, or entrance. Wisteria can reach heights of 40 to 75 feet. When flowering and the early stages of growth are occurring, wisteria plants need full light, good drainage, and consistent watering. In order to ensure spring blooms and compact growth, it does require seasonal pruning.
In the spring, wisteria blooms stunning cascading petals that last 4 to 5 weeks and fill the air with their fragrant fragrance. After planting, flowers may start to bloom after 4 years, but it may also take up to 15 years. The blossoms, which resemble bunches of grapes hanging from the wisteria shrub, are pendulous clusters of fragrant, delicate petals. Each Wisteria flower is small and fragrant, resembling a pea. Violet, purple, bluish-purple, pink, blue, and white are the colors of wisteria blooms.
Wisteria commonly grows in two species in backyard gardens:
- Floribunda Wisteria (the Japanese one)
- Sinensis Wisteria (the Chinese one)
Large 12 to 18 inch bloom clusters can be found on Japanese wisteria. Usually, the flowering occurs as the leaves are growing. White, pink, blue, and violet Japanese Wisteria blooms are incredibly fragrant.
Chinese wisteria blooms prior to turning into leaves. Chinese Wisteria blooms in white, violet, lilac-blue, and blue flower clusters that are 6 to 9 inches long and have a light pleasant aroma. After planting, Chinese Wisteria typically blooms four years later.
The primary distinction between Japanese and Chinese wisteria is that the former twines around the host plant in a clockwise direction, while the latter twines in a counterclockwise direction. Additionally, compared to Chinese Wisteria flowers, Japanese Wisteria flowers are more pronounced and fragrant.
Which wisteria has the most exquisite flowers?
Deciduous climbers include wisterias. Some types and cultivars reward us first with gorgeous golden-yellow leaf before dropping, despite the fact that they lose their leaves in the fall. The majority of Wisteria floribunda exhibit lovely fall colors, but ‘Violacea Plena’ is by far the prettiest with its butter-yellow leaf.
Other cultivars like “Rosea,” “Kuchi-Beni,” “Lawrence,” “Macrobothrys,” or “Royal Purple” are also exhibiting stunning fall hues.
When may wisteria be purchased?
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.
How long does a wisteria take to flower?
Wisterias thrive in full light, fertile soil, and both. Of the 10 species, three are grown the most frequently: Wisteria brachybotrys, Wisteria sinensis, and Wisteria floribunda, which are native to China, Japan, and the eastern United States (silky wisteria). All three species have significant growth rates and can extend out to a maximum of 20 meters (66 feet) against a wall or around 10 meters (33 feet) in trees. Wisteria can also be trained to grow as a free-standing standard in a big container or border.
Wisterias for pergolas and arches
The Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda) is best exhibited hanging down from a garden structure like a pergola or arch since it has the longest flower sprays (or racemes) of all the species. They entwine in a clockwise motion while simultaneously bearing blooms and leaves. Lilac blue blooms and racemes as long as 1.2 meters (4 feet) are produced by Wisteria floribunda f. multijuga AGM in the early summer.
Wisterias for walls
Wisteria sinensis, often known as Chinese wisteria, blooms in the springtime before the leaves do. For example, Wisteria sinensis ‘Amethyst’ AGM has violet blue blooms with a reddish flush produced in dense racemes to 30cm (1ft) long in late spring or early summer. They twine anticlockwise and the racemes are shorter so they are best presented against a wall.
Silky wisteria (Wisteria brachybotrys), which can be grown against walls or on pergolas, with downy leaves and small racemes of 10-15cm (4-6in). White flowers with center yellow markings, a strong perfume, and 10-15 cm tall sprays of wisteria brachybotrys f. albiflora ‘Shiro-kapitan’ AGM bloom in the spring and early summer.
If you want to cultivate a wisteria in a big container
It is best to choose Wisteria fructens ‘Amethyst Falls’ because of its compact habit and rich clusters of lilac-blue blooms.
Always choose a wisteria that has been developed from cuttings or by grafting when purchasing one because seed-raised wisterias flower less consistently and take longer to bloom. The graft union should be seen as a swelling close to the stem’s base. Unlike species, named cultivars are virtually always grafted. Purchase your wisteria in flower or go with a specific cultivar to avoid disappointment.
Wisterias are offered for sale as container-grown plants at garden centers and online, and you can use the RHS Find a Plant tool to locate particular cultivars.
Wisteria should ideally be planted between October and April. Wisterias grown in containers can be planted at any time of the year, but fall and winter are the easiest times to maintain. Give them healthy, well-drained soil to plant in.
Wisterias bloom best in full sun, so pick a wall or pergola that faces south or west. Although blossoming will be diminished, they will still grow in light shade.
Wisterias are robust climbers that can grow to a height and width of more than 10 meters (33 feet). You’ll need to give support in the form of wires, trellises, or outside buildings like pergolas or arches against a wall. Wisteria can also be grown up a support or taught up a tree to create a standard. A wisteria can be grown in a border or container by being trained into a standard, which reduces its vigor.
If you want to grow your wisteria in a container, you’ll need a sizable one that is at least 45 cm (18 in) in diameter and is filled with potting soil with a loam basis, like John Innes No. 3.
Feeding
Use Growmore or Fish, Blood and Bone on your wisteria in the spring at the suggested rate listed on the packet. Additionally, apply sulphate of potash at a rate of 20g per sq m (1/2 oz per sq yard) on sandy soils (which have low potassium levels). Fertilizers for flowering shrubs or roses are another option.
Feed wisteria in containers using Miracle-Gro, Phostrogen, or another comparable flowering plant food. A different option is to add controlled-release fertilizer to the compost.
Although wisteria has a reputation for being challenging to prune, this is untrue. Once you’ve made it a habit to prune your wisteria twice a year, you should be rewarded with a pleasing flower show.
When you prune regularly, you reduce the excessive, whippy growth from July and August to five to six leaves, or roughly 30 cm (1ft). This increases the possibility of blossom buds budding and permits the wood to ripen. Then, in February, trim these shoots even more to two or three buds, or around 10 cm (4 in), to tidy up the plant before the growing season starts and make it possible to observe the new flowers.
When your juvenile wisteria has completely covered a wall or other garden structure, start the routine pruning to promote flowering.
Small gardens benefit greatly from the training of wisteria as a free-standing standard in a border or container.
Wisteria can be trained to ascend into a tiny tree’s canopy, however doing so could eventually harm the tree. Pruning will be challenging if the plant develops into a huge tree, and a dense leaf canopy will affect flowering.
Increase your wisteria stocks by layering in the summer, taking softwood cuttings in the spring to mid-summer, or taking hardwood cuttings in the winter since seed-raised wisteria can take up to 20 years to flower.
Wisteria is typically propagated via grafting in professional nurseries, however layering is the simplest and most dependable technique for home gardeners.
Established wisteria can produce hanging, bean-like seedpods after a lengthy summer. While wisteria plants grown from seeds are typically of inferior quality, you might want to try growing wisteria yourself.
- After the leaves have fallen, gather the seedpods and let them ripen in an open tray.
- When the seed is ready, twist open the pod and sow it 2 cm (3/4 in) deep in seed compost.
- Before planting if the seed is dry, soak it for 24 hours.
See our commonly asked questions page for a summary of wisteria issues.
Poor flowering
Poor flowering is the most frequent issue for backyard gardeners, and it can be brought on by a variety of factors, such as:
- Young plants can take up to 20 years to flower, so acquire a plant that is already in bloom or go with a certain cultivar because they are typically grafted to avoid disappointment.
- Examine your pruning methods and timing because early and midsummer trimming will prevent the growth of flowers the next year.
- Wisteria flowers best in broad light; deep shadow produces few, if any, flowers.
- Water your wisteria during periods of drought from July to September because a lack of water during this time will influence the development of flower buds the next year.
- Flower buds may drop before opening as a result of spring frosts, which can harm or deform growing flowers.
- Applying sulphate of potash in the spring will encourage bloom production for the next year in soils that may lack potassium.
- The damage caused by pigeons or mice can be identified by torn petals or distinctive teeth marks.