AusBonsai

Hey Paddles,

Really like your wisteria & especially the pot you have for it.

Wisteria has 2 types of growth, short spur like sections that will produce about half a dozen flowers & runner growth that may or may not produce flower buds at the first 3 or so leaves. I took these pics a last winter, hope they help. Matt

Oh, nice photos! thank you!

I'm going to seriously consider doing a major cutback on it, a heavy super phosphate feed... and then the shredder..

paddles wrote:Oh, nice photos! thank you!

I'm going to seriously consider doing a major cutback on it, a heavy super phosphate feed... and then the shredder..

Leave major pruning until budswell in spring or Shred it to my place. I love wisteria & would be very happy to give it a home in one of my grow beds

MattA wrote:

paddles wrote:Oh, nice photos! thank you!

I'm going to seriously consider doing a major cutback on it, a heavy super phosphate feed... and then the shredder..

Leave major pruning until budswell in spring or Shred it to my place. I love wisteria & would be very happy to give it a home in one of my grow beds

someone else has first call on it, if I turf it.. I'm giving it 2 more years, then throwing it, and replacing it... if I don't replace it now anyway, might have to make a trip to bodhidharma's!

paddles wrote: someone else has first call on it, if I turf it.. I'm giving it 2 more years, then throwing it, and replacing it... if I don't replace it now anyway, might have to make a trip to bodhidharma's!

My mum used to threaten my big double dragon wisteria every year for 10yrs, it never flowered. Now its been dug & moved to my garden it produced one flower this spring & looks like its got quite a few buds ready for next spring

Don't feed it at all next season & keep on top of pruning the runners back to the second leaf should help see it flower the season after.... I love wisteria & have half a dozen of them around my place in various stages of growing on..

There are Wisterias and Wisterias. I have grown and trialled many Wisterias that I could get my hands on over the last forty years. Any Wisteria that is a Japanese Wisteria or (Wisteria floribunda or any of its cultivars) are very shy at flowering for the first few years and if the winters are not cold enough may not flower for ten years or longer, if at all.

The most reliably Wisterias for flowering in order of their profusion of flowers and reliability, even in the sub-tropics are

Wisteria sinensis, purple form...( The Chinese Wisteria). and most of its cultivars and in particular,
Wisteria sinensis, Jako.. White flowering, delicate looking racemes on a slightly less vigorous plant. Great if grafted.
Wisteria venusta (or brachybotrys) Shiro Kapitan. Large velvetish cream blooms on a short raceme. Very vigorous and free flowering about three weeks later than the others in spring in this climate. I haven't tried the others in this group but should perform well.
Wisteria frutescens American Wisteria. Early Summer flowering when plant is in full leaf. Small golf ball sized pom-pom like, purple flower heads with an unusual musk like fragrance.
Wisteria floribunda "Carnea" (Japanese) Soft pink racemes in spring. Slightly more vigorous and larger flowered than sinensis, would not flower for twelve years but has been reliable ever since.
Wisteria sinensis "Alba" I found to be very vigorous and does not flower well, if at all. So I have used it as a grafting stock for other varieties.
Wisteria floribunda .(Japanese). Grow very vigorously but most of the other varieties and cultivars, some of which I have trialled others not, I would not expect them to flower well in the sub-tropics.

If you have a Wisteria and don't know what species it is the simple way is to count the leaflets:

Wisteria sinensis has 9 to 11 leaflets and usually bronze coloured new growth when grown in full sun.

Wisteria floribunda has 11 to 15 or more leaflets and green new growth in full sun.

To get any of them to flower well they must be kept in full sun the previous season, preferably in a saucer of water al all times during the growing season and fed well as they are gross feeders.

Plants from seed take for ever to flower if ever. Plants from cutting should flower the first to second year if they are the free flowering varieties and grown correctly.

Recommended reading. "Wisterias, a Comprehensive Guide" by Peter Valder. 1995 Florigelium publisher.

For Paddles in case it was missed.

Great info Hakimoto
So hopefulIy i should be posting some flower pics next spring as mine is an ordinary oid chinese, dug as a layer, grown in a saucer and (not so regularly) fertilised.
Cheers
n.

Hackimoto wrote: For Paddles in case it was missed.

Thank's Hackimoto, I repotted it, threatened it, and now I'm going to go get a new one from Bodhidharma.. as soon as i get time to go down,

hmmm, ok, so mine is Wisteria sinensis, I have it set up with a drip system, (Bucket, 4mm line to tree with a tap to regulate drips. fert dumped in bucket with water) this is it's last year. I swear! (no one go back looking for how many times I've said that) It's had a feed of superphosphate, and will be fed "bloom booster" liquid fert.

any other suggestions?

Very contrary plants. I have a few which have never flowered until this year. They seem to have a mind of their own and will flower when ready. I have not fertilised, fertilised tried everything and no success until this year. Good luck. They are spectacular in flower and I am sure yours will in time. Is it true they have to be around the ten year mark to flower?? Maybe sometime can tell me? Many thanks to you all for your wonderful input on this forum.