Re: wisteria

Susan,

Wisteria really want all the sun they can get to bloom well.  They
can also take forever to bloom - years, in fact.  Did you buy yours
as a blooming plant?  If not, it could simply not be old enough to do
so. I have read that root pruning can stimulate flowering, but it's
not a given.  I have also read that woody plants need to reach a
certain mass before they will flower and believe this to be true of
various shrubs.  One of the most common threads on this vine is 'how
can I get mine to bloom':-)  Be sure not to give it *any*
fertilizer...or if you absolutely can't stand not feeding, use
something very low in N (nitrogen), as that only encourages leafy
growth.

 High shade might be too shady and again, it might not.  If your vine
is not receiving at least 4 hours of direct sun, you may need to
think of doing some pruning on surrounding trees.  These are not
vines for growing in shade, but vines to grow to create shade.

My vine has gotten bitten by late frosts a few times, too, which
destroys the flower buds.  If there is a late frost after the flower
buds have started to swell...goodbye flowers for that year.

My Wisteria vine is about 20 years old or so and has a base diameter
exceeding a foot - probably close to 18" in some directions (it's not
round, but "muscular" in form).  These are incredibly meaty vines..
Whatever you devise for them to climb needs to be *very* sturdy.  6x6
posts at the very least.  Trelliswork overhead needs to be 2x8's with
2x6's on top....we are talking a strong vine that can take a roof off
if it wants to.  Mine has become part of one of the deck rail
supports over the years and twisted it about 60 degrees off true...

I doubt your fence is strong enough to support this vine once it
reaches a certain age.

Since I am not particularly fond of locust, I'd say go ahead and let
your vine climb it.  The Wisteria will kill the locust eventually,
but locust is strong wood - great posts.

Hard to actually visualize what you're talking about, but if you want
to get that vine up the tree, you will need to have something for it
to twine around until it reaches a branch.  They can't twine around a
large trunk very easily - need something smaller to grab onto.

They climb by sending out new, slender growth that twirls around
until it hits something.  If that something is the right size, the
vine coils around it and then sends out another spronger from that
point who repeats the process.  The slender new twining growth needs
something no larger than an inch or so in diameter to hang on to
properly.  If allowed, these twining branches will then increase in
size and turn woody, forming a framework that helps support the vine
and also provides something for other new growth to grab onto.

They also send out 'vines' from the roots, so keep a sharp eye out.
I've pulled runners 50
 feet long that got that long in a matter of weeks.  Under our deck,
there are miles of Wisteria vine runners, all madly rooting in along
their lengths and extremely difficult to get out - impossible to
pull...ground under the deck is practically solid in Wisteria vine -
removal entails crawling on stomach under deck with secateurs and
digging knife...not a favorite pastime, so it does not get done
often..

Love my vine, but do want to emphasize that this is a vine that needs
continual monitoring...best of luck with yours!


Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
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----------
> From: Susan Campanini <campanin@NTX1.CSO.UIUC.EDU>
> Date: Friday, July 07, 2000 3:59 PM
>
>         I have a Chinese blue wisteria planted in an area of high
shade.
> It's been there four years and hasn't bloomed yet.  I just bought a
Japanese
> pink wisteria to plant next to it for (eventually, hopefully, she
said)
> intertwined fragrant pink and blue racemes.  Any suggestions for
making this
> dream come true?
>         The present vine is on a cyclone fence and we are planning
to
> arrange a treillis between the top of the fence and the large tall
locust
> tree behind it so that the wisteria(s) can climb as high as they
like ...
> has anyone tried this?
>
> Susan and David in Urbana, Illinois, zone 5b
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