AusBonsai

Hi guys
I have a work colleague who is planning on remodelling his front garden he has a few roses and a great looking wisteria which we believe is around 16years old.
He is going to be starting work in january.
What are the odds of a plant surviving at that time?
Should I be doing some prep work on it now? Severing some of the larger roots while it is still in place?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Cheers Daniel.

prob not the best time to take it but wisteria are pretty hardy from what i know. just try to do eveything you can to ease the plant and stop it stressing. maybe cut it back hard now so new growth is hardened off by january. having less foliage will help it recover from losing roots when u dig it up. try and keep as many roots on the tree as you can and pot it up right away. water with seasol and keep it shaded and dont let it dry out. wisteria love water.

oh, and fingers crossed hehe.

hopefully someone will have had experience with this sort of thing and can help you more specifically

Hey Daniel,

January is not a great time for collecting any tree really but you have an advantage of several months notice. I would get in & prune it right back to the frame you want to take. Then dig a big trench around it & cut thru any big roots, you can use rooting hormone on them but I dont bother. Back fill and keep the water up to it. Come January you should have lots of new growth up top from being cut back & also some new roots close into the trunk to help along the way.

Water the ground well for a few days before digging to make sure its nice & moist, the soil will stick around the roots making it easier to get a good intact rootball. Replant or pot up & water well with seasol. I used to follow standard practice & keep collected trees in part shade but now they go straight into full sun if its a species that can take it normally. I have found it to produce much better reshooting and generally stronger trees quicker.

Matt

Thanks for the advice.
I didnt think mid summer would be the best time to collect, but I hope with some good preparation and a pinch of luck I might get a good tree in the end.
I'll keep you posted.

G'day TM, all good advice and if you take it, it will survive. The only other thing i would suggest is to fertilize it after cutting through the roots and get your mate to water it a few times a week heavily. It will probably develop feeder roots closer to the trunk which will boost its chances of surviving. i think it will be fine.

Ok so i followed all of the advice given and then had to dig a lot sooner than expected.
It was collected about a week and a half ago and is already showing signs of new growth which is promising.
No idea how im going to begin to style this one but i have a year or so before I'll do anything to it so fingers crossed it survives.

Looks great mate!!! Keep up the nutrients

I have to say that it doesn't look like any Wisteria I have ever seen! Interesting trunk though!

Have to agree with you there Jarrod.
I was wondering if its perhaps some kind of hybrid, as there are two distinctly different leaf shapes some growing on the same branch.
It definately flowers like a wisteria though.
Its a strange one for sure.

The bark looks more like a honey suckle than wisteria. I have never seen flakey bark like that on wisteria. What was its growth habit was it a vine ?
Craigw

Hi craig
After doing a quick search on good ole google I think your right.
It was definately growing as a vine.
I never saw it in flower personally so cant be 100% sure about the flowering.

Honey suckle make good bonsai and the flowers have the strongest perfume so at least you are on to a winner

Intersting looking Wisteria...

It is honey suckle and a damn nice one at that, I will swap you my little one for yours

All being well it will be nice & strong next spring for you to style, with a trunk like that it is going to take that long to work it out.. if not longer. Dont be in any hurry, remember you put back what you cut off.

It is not uncommon for wisteria to have other vines eg honeysuckle growing in with them, people dont notice as its not as showy. Its an easy mix up but a great score.

Look forward to seeing it in a few years time.

Matt