Hello cita82,
I have gathered material from various gardening sources regarding the
proper technique and periods for pruning your wisteria.
The Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet about growing wisteria
provides a wealth of essential information. There are excellent
descriptions and drawings of pruning throughout the season,
Excerpts:
?Some annual pruning is required to maintain plant quality; it is not
advisable to allow the vine to grow randomly and take over surrounding
plants and structures. Pruning will help reduce the vigor of the vine
and promote flowering. ?
?To train plants on a wire trellis or an arbor, select a vigorous,
upright stem to serve as the main leader and attach this to the
support. Remove other side shoots. As the main leader grows, it will
develop side branches that will then produce more shoots and the
flower buds. Continue to train the main leader upward and the new side
branches as needed to form a framework to fit the allotted space
(allow about 18 inches between side branches). Pinch off the main
leader when it reaches the desired height.?
Summer Pruning
?Allow only one strong leader to develop from the end of each main
framework branch without pruning it and stretch and attach this shoot
along the support. Cut off the ends of all new side shoots just beyond
the sixth or seventh leaf as soon as that leaf develops. New shoots
will form as a result of these cuts. As they do, cut them back as soon
as only one or two leaves develop.?
Late Winter Pruning
?Cut unpruned leader shoots back to one-half or two-thirds their
length. Cut side shoots pruned the previous summer back to only one to
two inches from their base for short flowering spurs.?
?This method of pruning allows permanent framework branches to extend
each year by half the annual growth and side shoots to become short
flowering spurs.?
Maintenance Pruning
?Once the vine has been trained into the allotted space, follow summer
pruning practices as outlined above. In winter, prune leader shoots
back to only four or five buds. Remove any suckers that appear at the
base of the plant.?
Pruning Neglected Vines
?In winter, prune away all but a framework of branches. Shorten these
drastically, removing crowded and poorly spaced branches. Then follow
pruning and training as described above for a new vine. Hopefully, the
plant will bloom within two or three years.?
Root Pruning
?Root pruning is sometimes done in late fall to stimulate young plants
to bloom or to restore blooming on older plants. It serves to check
top growth and favor flower production and must be combined with
summer pruning to be effective. Use a spade to cut vertically into the
soil (about 18 inches deep) and about four feet from the main trunk,
all around the vine.?
I highly recommend that you read the complete publication that is
available at the following link:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1246.html
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University of California master gardener Jan Wiesenfeld says that
wisteria is a very vigorous, deciduous vine that needs attention
during the summer and also in the midwinter dormant season.
?Careful spur pruning at these times will encourage flowering and will
help avoid a tangled, overgrown vine.?
?Every winter, cut back and thin out side shoots. On the side shoots
are the flower-bearing laterals. Cut these back to two or three buds.
In summer, a couple of months after flowering, cut back any long
tendrils you don't want. You can tie back the stems you want to
heighten the vine. Wisteria vines can become heavy, so tie these to a
strong support system. Fertilize in early summer with 0-10-10
fertilizer or other low-or no-nitrogen food. Too much nitrogen
encourages growth at the expense of blossoms.?
From: The Garden Detective
http://www.recipegoldmine.com/gardengary/gg95.html
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According to the Garden Guru Resource Guide, the two main points to
remember are these: Every year, prune new laterals and do it twice a
year.
Summer Pruning:
?In July or August, cut back the current season?s growth. If you look
closely, you should notice loads of long, lateral tendrils (that look
greener and more flexible than the previous year?s growth). If you
need to use some of them to fill in empty spaces, train those in first
then cut the rest of them back hard, leaving only four to six leaves
left.?
Early Spring Pruning:
?In February, cut back the same laterals again but this time leaving
only two or three buds.?
Smith & Hawken
http://www.smithandhawken.com/html/resource/rsc_guru_redux/2002/rsc_guru0429.jhtml#two
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According to gardening expert Rebecca Cole, pruning is important to
keep the size of your wisteria under control.
Here are some guidelines for how and when to prune.
?Prune in midwinter and, starting with the leader shoot, cut spurs to
two or three leaves. If you prune any later, you may be in danger of
pruning off the young buds. If your wisteria does bloom next year,
prune in summer two weeks after the flowers have died off.?
iVillage.
http://magazines.ivillage.com/countryliving/garden/expert/qas/0,,547725_293539,00.html
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From Rippingale Nursery:
?Wisteria can and often needs to be pruned several times during the
growing season especially if it is being grown as a tree form.
Probably the best or most common time is late in the winter just
before the plant comes back to life. The main thing to remember is
that all the Asiatic species flower on the previous years wood, if all
this was removed there would be no flowers. Generally it is good to
cut back all the new growth to 3 or 4 buds each spring before bud
break (once the plant has reached the desired size.).?
Rippingale Nursery
http://www.rippingale.com/~meacham/wisfaq.html#9
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?Prune wisteria twice a year. During the summer months, numerous long
streamers will emerge from all over the vine. Cut back most of these
to side branches before they can tangle up in the main body of the
vine; save those you want to use to extend the vine's height or
length, and tie them to the underlying support. (You may need to
repeat this chore 4 to 6 weeks later.) At the end of winter dormancy,
check the vine again and remove additional tangling side streamers;
also remove any dead or poorly placed stems.?
Homestore
http://www.homestore.com/HomeGarden/Gardening/TreesShrubs/Vines/SNST_Wisteria.asp?poe=homestore
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Pruning Wisteria to Encourage Bloom
?To prune to encourage blossoming, during the summer, prune out the
tips of all new shoots when they reach 12 inches long. In the winter,
shorten the shoots again so that about 6 buds remain on each shoot.
Cut away all suckers that appear at the base of the plant.?
?Sometimes root pruning around the drip line (perimeter of the canopy)
of the vine will stimulate the flowers to form for next year. Just dig
down one foot deep all around the drip line with a sharp spade,
breaking any roots you meet.?
Fiskars
http://www.fiskars.com/en_US/garden/resources/ngaItemCopy.do?itemID=0174&topic=Pruning&sub=9&area=FAQ&res=3
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How do I prune wisteria?
? Wisteria is probably one of the best-loved climbing plants. It is
extremely versatile and can be trained against walls to form curtains
of foliage and flowers or grown through pergolas where its pendant
blooms can cascade overhead. It can even be trained to form impressive
standards. No matter how you grow them, if you want to get a really
spectacular flush of flowers you will need to prune them properly.
This should be done twice a year, in summer and again in winter. By
July or August your wisteria will have produced masses of long wiry
tendrils and these should be roughly chopped back to within six leaves
from where they join the main stem (this can just be done with a pair
of shears if you like).?
?In January or February, when all the stems are bare you will need to
prune those tendril stumps back even further to within two buds of the
main stem.?
Crocus
http://www.crocus.co.uk/plantdoctor/wisteria/
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According to the Gardenseeker Guide to Pruning Shrubs, wisterias
should be pruned twice each year to ensure plenty of flower bud, and
to keep this vigorous climber under control.
Autumn Pruning
?Autumn Pruning involves cutting all of the current side-shoot growths
back to within 30cms of the main lateral. This should leave 4-6 leaves
on each side-shoot. Obviously, any side shoot required to extend or
train the framework should be left and trained as required.?
Winter Pruning
?Winter Pruning January/February, cut these side shoots back even
further - 6-10cm long, leaving only 2 or 3 buds on the side-shoot.
These will be the flowering spurs.?
?Both of these operations should be carried out each year. The only
shoots to be left 'unscathed' are those which are required to extend
the size or direction of the plant.?
Gardenseeker guide to pruning shrubs
http://www.gardenseeker.com/pruning/pruning_wisteria_.htm
Pictures:
A side shoot lateral, ready to be cut back hard in late winter (Jan/Feb).
http://www.gardenseeker.com/Pruning%20pix/Wisteria6.JPG
The lateral - having been cut back to 3 buds from the main branch leader.
http://www.gardenseeker.com/Pruning%20pix/Wisteria7.JPG
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Search terms used:
Pruning wisteria techniques
I hope this is helpful.
Best regards,
Bobbie7 |
