How to Care for a Wisteria Plant
Well-known for its extraordinary fragrance, vigorous growing habits and lush clusters of bluish-purple flowers, wisteria is enjoyed in gardens all over the world. A member of the pea family and native to the United States and parts of Asia, wisteria can tolerate a variety of soil qualities and is resistant to drought, pests and most diseases. Although this climbing vine is notoriously difficult to destroy, even for gardeners with the blackest thumbs, it does require regular maintenance to achieve its blooming potential and to prevent it from devastating nearby plants. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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If not already planted, choose a sunny planting site for your wisteria.
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Provide a sturdy structure such as a tree, arbor or pergola for the vine to climb.
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If your wisteria is not yet established, train the vine by attaching an upright stem to your support structure and removing side shoots; attach new branches to the structure in the direction you'd like them to grow and keep individual branches about 18 inches apart.
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Cut the main vine stem when the wisteria has reached the height you desire.
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Fertilize a young plant just once a year; an established wisteria needs fertilizer only if foliage turns yellow and growth slows down.
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Water wisteria only if conditions become dry enough to leave foliage wilted.
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Prune wisteria twice each year, in late spring or summer and again in winter, removing dead and overly crowded branches and cutting side branches to a foot from the trunk. Cut new shoots to about three buds from the base.
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If your wisteria is overgrown, cut it down to about three feet shorter than the height you desire.
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Tips & Warnings
Pruning is the single most important step in caring for wisteria; this woody vine can and will take over everything in its path if not properly controlled so don't be afraid to prune it heavily.
If your wisteria's flowering has slowed down significantly, cut a circle in the soil about four feet from the trunk and 18 inches deep.
Wisteria is generally resistant to many plant diseases but can become very sickly if infected with crown gall; this bacterial disease can be recognized by soft white or green swellings on the stems or crowns of the plant that grow into large, rough, woody galls. Remove infected plants, and sterilize any gardening tools that might transmit the bacteria to healthy plants.
Wisteria does not handle transplanting well, and large plants may not survive being moved.
