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Thursday 18 February 2010

Wisteria Climbing Vine for sunny or partial shaded walls,trellis and pergolas

How to grow Wisteria
How to plant grow and care for wisteria
learn how to grow and care for wisteria vines
The Wisteria is a popular climber in Britain and can be seen covering many cottage walls and garden trellis in villages all over the country. However this woody vine is not a native of the British Islands but of China (wisteria sinensis), Japan (wisteria floribunda) and The United States (wisteria frutescens and others). The English Botanist Thomas Nuttall who lived in America from c. 1800-1840 named the genus
What is the best place to plant Wisteria
 Wisteria, of which there are approx ten species, are named after Dr.Caspar Wistar a prominent American physician and anatomist of the time. The commonest species found in Britain is Wisteria sinensis, brought over from China in 1816. Indeed one of the original imported plants still grows to this day on the wall of what used to be the head brewers cottage at the Fullers beer brewery in Chiswick London and is probably the oldest one in the country.
Tips on growing a Wisteria Vine
The Wisteria is a hardy climber and once established very vigorous, so care should be taken when planting, making sure that you have enough space to accomodate it, otherwise constant heavy pruning will be required. It can easily find its way into gutters and under roof tiles. Don't let that deter you to much however as the spectacle of a Wisteria flowering in May is one to behold.
The right way to prune a wisteria vine
 They do best in a position with full sun or partial shade. Plant in Autumn or Spring in soil that is humus rich and well drained. When talking about Wisteria the question I get asked most often is how to prune them for maximum flowers. The flower buds develop at the base of the previous years growth on the spurs jutting outward from the plant, most visible once the leaves have fallen. Any water or side shoots sticking out (long wispy bits) should be trimmed back to three or four buds from the base. I usually do mine over winter but some people prefer to wait till early spring. In the summer after flowering growth will be vigorous so cut off all the long shoots that you don't want to keep to extend the plants height or width otherwise it will become very tangled. Happy wisteria growing!
Trimming wisteria stems
Pictures: Wonderful Wisterias.
General discussion and your views are welcome please say hello. I regret however because of my busy schedule, I am unable to answer many questions. Sneaky advertising will be deleted sorry. Thanks so much for visiting my blog today.

9 comments:

the Mrs. said...

We received some VERY large wisteria rootballs (a yard across for each) last fall from our friends. Spring seems to be coming early here this year, and we have been slightly perplexed as to when these juggernauts will begin to put forth new vines. Thank you for your helpful blog entry!

simon davis said...

Sounds exciting what a great gift from such nice friends. I'm sure since they are large rootballs you won't have to wait to long for new growth. Don't forget to give them plenty of water through the Summer. Interesting that Spring is coming early for you. I'm envious given that here in the UK it looks like it may be quite late. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Kind Regards, Simon

The clan said...

Please - I live in NW Montana. I need to know what climate Wisteria needs. Soil conditions and fertilizer. Is this area temperate enough?

Anonymous said...

Echoing 'the clan's question, what about NW Nebr??

simon davis said...

Hello and thanks for your comments. I am sorry that I am not familiar with your climates both in Nebraska or Montana. However I can say that here in England they happily grow in zones 7/8. As a general rule wisteria will happily tolerate most temperate to warm climates save the extremes of hot or cold. Soil should be on the loamy side with added humus if possible to get best results. A general purpose garden shrub fertilizer would be useful to promote growth. Hope this helps, kind regards, Simon.

radha said...

Lovely blog. Am looking through it to identify some of the pictures of flowers that I took on a trip to the UK. But I notice the last post was only in June. Why?

Waseem said...

Lovely blog.. it's amazing..can you post the details about each flower.

Send Flowers Pakistan
Send Flowers Pakistan
Send Flowers Pakistan

Unknown said...

I am American and about two years too late to reply to the fellow American who inquired about growing wisteria. I live in Chicago, Illinois (zone 5a/4b) and our Chinese wisteria (w. sinensis) flowers magnificently by early May if we have a cool spring. It may take up to 7 years to flower, but it was recommended to me to "scarify," or hack with a sharp spade, the roots of an established vine (1 to 2 years old) and once I did that it has flowered magnificently ever since.

Abdul bari said...
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