How to Prune Wisteria Branches and Leaves and How to Propagate It

Sometimes when you are out playing you will notice a large patch of small pink flowers on a wall, as if you were surrounded by a pink ocean. That is right, that is wisteria, a large climbing plant. Now, thanks to breeding improvements, it can also be grown in containers for people to admire. So how exactly is it propagated? Let's take a look below.

How to Prune Wisteria Branches and Leaves

1. Pruning during the dormant period mainly adjusts the form of the vine so that its growth direction is fixed, thins out branches appropriately to make use of the nutrient space, and removes some non-flowering branches.

2. Post-bloom pruning can use heavy pruning of the previous year's branches and removal of excessive shoots to appropriately reduce height, ensuring a shrub-like form and a sufficient number of strong branches for the current year's growth. After autumn, before flower bud differentiation, shorten and thin the branches appropriately so as to help preserve the buds on the lower part of long branches and let them differentiate into flower buds.

3. After leaf fall in winter, carry out a thorough pruning of the plant, cutting out dead and dry branches and shortening the current year's branches by 1/3 to 2/3 so that they are of varying lengths and nicely staggered.

How to Propagate Wisteria

1. Sowing method: collect the seeds at maturity, dry them in the sun and store them, take them out in early spring of the following year, soak them in warm water for 24 hours to promote germination, then sow them in drills in a seedbed; seedlings emerge in about 1 month, and the seedlings must be grown for 2 to 3 years before they can be planted out.

2. Cutting method: carried out in March, select strong one-year-old branches as cuttings, each 15-20 cm long, insert them 10-12 cm into the cutting bed, keeping the row spacing at about 20 cm.

3. Division method: carried out in spring when the wisteria buds have just sprouted. Take strong two-year-old suckers sprouting from the roots of the mother wisteria plant; separate them from the mother plant together with their roots, dig them out, and plant them separately.

4. Layering method: from the thaw through the hot period, select strong branches from the previous year or the current year that are slightly woody, lay them flat on the ground, and bury them in the soil in a wavy pattern. For the part of each section buried in the soil, you can first score the bark on the branch with a knife, then cover with 12 cm of soil; this makes it easy for roots to form at the wounded area. After about 40 days they can be separated from the mother plant and grown separately.

How to Grow Wisteria

1. Light: wisteria likes sunlight and tolerates slight shade. Because wisteria is a large climbing plant, it can also be grown in containers to help it grow well.

2. Temperature: wisteria has strong adaptability and tolerates both heat and cold; it is cultivated from south to north in our country. So in Guangdong, the temperatures throughout the four seasons are all suitable for wisteria.

3. Watering: wisteria's main root is very deep, so it has fairly strong drought tolerance, but it likes moist soil; however, the roots must not be left soaking in water, otherwise they will rot.

4. Fertilizing: applying compound fertilizer 2—3 times a year is basically enough to meet wisteria's needs.

5. Soil: wisteria's main root is long, so the planting site needs deep soil. Wisteria tolerates poor soil, but fertile soil is more favorable for growth, and it also adapts well to soil pH.

Points to Note When Planting Wisteria

1. Wisteria consumes a lot of water, but watering should follow the principle of not watering when dry and watering thoroughly when you do. Especially in August during flower bud differentiation, water appropriately; in September, water normally.

2. Light fertilizer applied frequently is an important measure for making wisteria bloom abundantly and grow lush leaves. During the growing period, along with watering, apply a dilute cake fertilizer once every half month until fertilizing stops in July——August; resume fertilizing in September, but both the frequency and concentration should be appropriately reduced. Before flowering, appropriately increase the application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer.

3. The main pests harming wisteria include: the wisteria leaf-mining moth, a pest belonging to the genus Phyllonorycter in the family Gracillariidae.

Wisteria has high ornamental value and is also relatively easy to grow, but during the growing process there are several very key points we need to pay attention to, especially the harm caused by pests and diseases, which has a great impact on it and can also affect its flowering, so we must do a good job of prevention.