Thank you!
Julie
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jbelisle
- Newly Registered
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- Joined: Tue Jan 31, 2017 10:58 am
- Location: Northern California - 60 minutes south of San Francisco
Wisteria pruning
Hello- I recently purchased a house and was told by the previous owners that the wisteria needs pruning. My research tells me that you are to prune wisteria in July and August. Would it be OK to prune it now in Late January - early February? I'm in California where we are having some morning were the morning temperature is reaching freezing temps and leaving frost.
Thank you!
Julie
Thank you!
Julie
If I were you, I would get rid of the wisteria. Wisteria needs regular pruning and it is a heavy vine that needs a strong support. If it is growing on or near a house it can cause some issues unless it is regularly cared for.
https://www.angieslist.com/articles/wha ... r-home.htm
https://www.angieslist.com/articles/wha ... r-home.htm
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ElizabethB
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 2105
- Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2012 12:53 am
- Location: Lafayette, LA
Hi Jbelisle,
Welcome to the forum. Wisteria can be a pain. My neighbor had one next to the fence. It grew all along the fence, up onto our patio cover and onto the roof of my husband's shop. She tried keeping it in control with pruning but with our very long growing season pruning was too much work. She cut it back to the ground. It took a couple of years to get the root sprouts to stop coming up.
Moral of that story is that if your wisteria is any where near a structure on your property or your neighbor's property removing it is probably best.
On the other hand - I love wisteria! The abundance of very fragrant blooms is delightful. It is also an attractant to pollinators.
You do need a very sturdy support structure. Not something you purchase at a big box store. It needs a structure built with 4" x 4"s and 2" x 4". The vertical supports need to be concreted in.
Pruning: depends on when you wisteria blooms in you region. If it blooms in the spring - prune immediately after the bloom. If it is a summer bloomer, prune immediately after the last frost.
Before you prune decide how you want your wisteria to look. Some of that will depend on the size and shape of your support structure. You can "tree" you plant or you can train it up and across your structure. When pruning always use very sharp, by-pass snips or loppers. Always prune just above a leaf node. Pay attention to the direction the node is facing. That is where your new growth will occur. If the node faces inward the new growth will be inward. If the node faces out the new growth will be outward.
If you wisteria is a threat to structures in your yard or your neighbor's yard and needs to be removed keep some cuttings. Root them in 1 gallon nursery pots (1 each). Keep the soil evenly moist - not wet. Transplant the healthiest cutting to a very large pot. A potted wisteria with a single trunk is easy to "tree" and much easier to keep under control.
Congratulations on your new home and again welcome to the forum.
Welcome to the forum. Wisteria can be a pain. My neighbor had one next to the fence. It grew all along the fence, up onto our patio cover and onto the roof of my husband's shop. She tried keeping it in control with pruning but with our very long growing season pruning was too much work. She cut it back to the ground. It took a couple of years to get the root sprouts to stop coming up.
Moral of that story is that if your wisteria is any where near a structure on your property or your neighbor's property removing it is probably best.
On the other hand - I love wisteria! The abundance of very fragrant blooms is delightful. It is also an attractant to pollinators.
You do need a very sturdy support structure. Not something you purchase at a big box store. It needs a structure built with 4" x 4"s and 2" x 4". The vertical supports need to be concreted in.
Pruning: depends on when you wisteria blooms in you region. If it blooms in the spring - prune immediately after the bloom. If it is a summer bloomer, prune immediately after the last frost.
Before you prune decide how you want your wisteria to look. Some of that will depend on the size and shape of your support structure. You can "tree" you plant or you can train it up and across your structure. When pruning always use very sharp, by-pass snips or loppers. Always prune just above a leaf node. Pay attention to the direction the node is facing. That is where your new growth will occur. If the node faces inward the new growth will be inward. If the node faces out the new growth will be outward.
If you wisteria is a threat to structures in your yard or your neighbor's yard and needs to be removed keep some cuttings. Root them in 1 gallon nursery pots (1 each). Keep the soil evenly moist - not wet. Transplant the healthiest cutting to a very large pot. A potted wisteria with a single trunk is easy to "tree" and much easier to keep under control.
Congratulations on your new home and again welcome to the forum.
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ElizabethB
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 2105
- Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2012 12:53 am
- Location: Lafayette, LA
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jbelisle
- Newly Registered
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Tue Jan 31, 2017 10:58 am
- Location: Northern California - 60 minutes south of San Francisco
THANK YOU! I would get rid of it because as you said, "needs extra attention". But my husband and I agreed we will keep it for one year. After that we will decide. I was just worried about the pruning for this year since the previous owners did not prune it after the last bloom. I will wait for a few more weeks until there is no worry of frost. Thank you so much for your help.
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Yes, your wisteria is beautiful and has a nice solid support system. No reason to remove it.
Here's an article about pruning wisteria, which says they should be pruned twice a year, once in fall and once about now. So go for it!
https://www.gardenseeker.com/pruning/pr ... steria.htm
Here's an article about pruning wisteria, which says they should be pruned twice a year, once in fall and once about now. So go for it!
https://www.gardenseeker.com/pruning/pr ... steria.htm
It is a beautiful vine and it does have a good support. It is worth keeping if you stay committed to its' maintenance. Like all living things there is going to be some maintenance you will have to do with most of the plants in your yard. You have a lovely property and it looks like it was well maintained and professionally landscaped. It would be a good idea to learn about the plants you have and the maintenance they require and do the jobs you can handle or maybe hire someone to take care of the rest so it keeps on looking good.