how to root large Wisteria cuttings

[kcpoole]

Hi all
While visiting family over Chrissy, I grabbed to straggly bits off her very large wisteria.

they are between 1 and 2 inches diameter and was wondering the best way to go about striking them?

I was going to plant all into a large pot of diatomite / Peat moss mix and cover with a plastic bag.
dunno how this will go as they are quite long Cuttings.

Another way would be to leave soaking in a bucket of water till they root

Any other suggestions or comments?

Ken

[kvan64]

HI Ken.
I got some personal experience with this topic Hope that it can be of your assistance.
First, Do Not soak thick cuttings in water! The cell walls of wisterias bark is very thin (Remember what you did in highschool biology? Slice a thin piece and put under a USB microscope and you'll see what I meant) They will burst in water and the bark will crack in 24 hours.
Secondly, Do not keep them as long cuttings, they upper section will die back.
Thirdly, winter is the best time for thick cuttings. This is not a good time for them but if it is not an option then keep them moist and under shade all time. Your potting mix/soil option seems fine.
SuperThrive and seasol will also help.
Cheers,
DK

[kcpoole]

Thanks DK
They have been in a bucket of water overnight, so hope they are ok

I will cut them back a bit and pot up and see how we go.

my sister will be selling the house soon, so got some now to see how we go. If they fail I can get lots more so plenty of time in the next few months to try

Ken

[kvan64]

They look fine Ken. The bark crack issue would be very obvious and you would see them straight away if it was the case (Cracks are usually so servere that you could peel the bark off the woody parts).
I would remove the leaves as they would cause unneccessary water loss through respiration and they will fall off any way before the new shoots show. This time it's not very hot in summer so you may have a decent survival rate (I have near 100% rate for winter cuttings and less than 50% for other times). It's good that you have access to your sister's wisterias. How about asking her for some good size...stumps?
Cheers,
DK