Wisteria

[patchchild]

Any hints on how to get wisteria to bloom? I have a beautiful collection of growing green leafy vines, but not a single flower. I'm in the Boston area and had thought it would be too cold for it to even grow, but apparently the people who owned this house before me disagree. I'd love to encourage it if I can.

 

[amid chaos]

Sometimes they liked to be trimmed back. Are they getting ample sun?

 

[PrincessMommyof2]

Wait to prune/trim them after them have formed blossom bunches. If you trim while the vine is bare, you may be trimming off the flowers. Dunno why it's not flowering; was there a frost after buds had started to emerge?

 

[patchchild]

It gets lots and lots of sun where it is, right smack in the the middle of the yard, climbing all over some trellis. I have to assume it's healthy because the vines have grown like mad for the last two years and look like they're making a good start on it this year (I bought the house two years ago so I'm not sure how old it is).

Unfortunately, there are no signs of flowers at all right now. It's very pretty greens, but flowers would be so much nicer...

 

[LAinSEA]

Our Wisteria came to us from our neighbor's across the street. They had it growing along their fence for seven years and it never bloomed (sunny spot, mostly southeast exposure). They ripped it out and we took it in. It is planted on the northeast side of our fence. It bloomed for us the first year--after being cut back severely for the move. Maybe it was the shock of moving. Now the silly thing will bloom both spring and fall! It grows like crazy.

We do make sure we only prune after it has bloomed. Mostly it gets neglected--not too much water, certainly not too much sunlight except for what is growing on top of the fence. The roots and base stock barely get any light at all. I fertilize it once a year if I remember to. My husband calls it hysteria because in just one growing season, it travels 12 to 20 feet (usually into the neighbor's evergreens instead of where we want it to grow along the top of the fence.)

Right now, it is really gorgeous and fragrant.

-Laurie

 

[UrsulasShadow]

I've heard many stories of wisteria that start flowering after they're 7 years old or more. For good wisteria tips, look here...OSU Extension-Growing Wisteria