What are the propagation methods for wisteria bonsai?

  Wisteria is a perennial woody climbing plant of the genus Wisteria in the Fabaceae family. The flowers are purple, blooming from April—June, forming pendulous racemes, with flat, elongated pods, and it has strong ornamental value. Wisteria is easy to propagate and can be grown from seed, cuttings, layering, division, and grafting, with seed sowing and cuttings being the main methods, but because seedlings grown from seed take a long time to cultivate, cuttings are the most widely used.

  1. Wisteria propagation by seed:

  Plants grown from seed have well-developed root systems and strong resistance, but seedlings need to go through a long juvenile phase before they can bloom. In autumn, collect seeds after the wisteria fruit matures, and dry and store the seeds. Before sowing the following spring, soak the seeds in 80°C hot water for 24 hours, remove the seeds and pile them for 1 day, then sow them in holes in the soil. Alternatively, one month before sowing, soak the seeds in warm water, then mix with sand and place in a wind-sheltered, sunny spot to promote germination. Before preparing the soil, apply sufficient base fertilizer, and apply 5% phoxim granules to eliminate underground pests, and water thoroughly. Either bed sowing or field sowing can be used, with row spacing of 50-60 cm, hole spacing of 10-12 m, 2-3 seeds per hole, sowing depth of 3-4 cm, and germination about 20 days after sowing. The seeding rate is 20-25 kg per mu, producing 7000-8000 seedlings.

  2. Wisteria propagation by cuttings:

  Wisteria easily produces adventitious buds on its roots, so cutting propagation can use stem cuttings and root cuttings. Stem cuttings can be done in spring and autumn, selecting vigorous 1-2 year old branches, cutting them into stem segments 15-20 cm long with a diameter of 1-2 cm and bearing plump buds as cuttings; when inserting, soak them in clean water for about 4 days, with plant and row spacing of 20 cm×30 cm, inserting about 2/3 of the cutting depth into the soil, and roots will gradually form in about one month, with heeled cuttings having a higher survival rate. Root cuttings can also be used; in autumn or before bud break in spring, after the seedlings are dug up, cut the thick lateral roots that were cut off or left in the soil into root segments 10-12 cm long, insert them 7-9 cm into the soil, and after rooting, stems and vines can sprout from adventitious buds at the top of the root segments. Rooted cuttings produce primary branches with weak growth vigor that often creep along the ground; after the branches grow upright, lift the seedlings and plant them out.

  3. Wisteria propagation by layering:

  This is mostly done in spring and summer. It is best to choose vigorous long wisteria branches that are 1-year-old and woody or of the current year, wound or girdle them at the layering point, treat them with auxin, bend them down to the ground, cover with fine soil, and water to keep moist (ground layering), or wrap them with water moss or moss to keep moist (air layering), and roots will form in about 40 days. After they have rooted well, separate them from the mother plant in late autumn or the following spring and plant them separately.

  4. Wisteria propagation by grafting:

  Use seedlings of the same species as rootstock and excellent varieties as scions, using the side-grafting method in autumn, the cut-grafting method before bud break in spring or in summer and autumn (mid-July to early August), or the root-grafting method in spring for grafted seedling propagation.

  5. Wisteria propagation by burying roots:

  In mid-March, dig out thick roots of 0.5-2 cm from the field where large wisteria seedlings are lifted or from around the mother tree, cut them into root segments 8-10 cm long, and bury them in the seedbed at a plant and row spacing of 35 cmX75 cm, taking care not to bury them upside down, with the upper part level with the nursery ground.

  6. Wisteria propagation by leaving roots in place:

  After wisteria seedlings are lifted from the nursery, some roots often remain, and their sprouting ability can be used to raise seedlings on the spot. The specific method is as follows: after lifting the seedlings, level the nursery slightly, shallow hoe once, apply base fertilizer and irrigate; by spring a large number of sprouted seedlings will emerge, and with careful management, the current-year seedlings can reach 50-80 cm in height.