By Currant
Dorset, United Kingdom
Wisteria
Can anyone help me, we have planted a Wisteria and climbing rose against our house wall. The rose is fine, (although we have only just realised that we should have been training, feeding and watering it!) but the Wisteria - apart from never flowering, the leaves are a very pale yellowy green and look insipid. We planted it 6 years ago. It hasnt responded to the watering and feeding done on behalf of the rose, the wall faces south west, and our soil is chalky. Should I give up and dig it up or is there a remedy or am I not doing something. If anyone can give me any advise I would be very grateful.
- 1 Aug, 2010
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Answers
Hello Wyeboy
Just looked at your Wisteria photo - i agree with others it is beautiful.
Giving up is an option, but it is my last resort, would like to grow it sucessfully, even if it dosn't flower, but the foliage to look healthy.
Thanks anyway
1 Aug, 2010
Wisteria doesn't need feeding, well at least, not with anything with nitrogen in it, so stop feeding it now. Pruning is important - should be done in August, cutting back lateral (side shoots) to about half their length (although you can leave some longer if you have a large area to cover). Apply sulphate of potash around the base of the plant, either lightly turn it into the soil or rake it in now. In mid February go out and prune it again, taking back the laterals you shortened in August to about 4-8 buds. It's also best if you only have one main stem, or two at most, rising vertically from the ground, and once that's got to the height you want, you chop it off and let sideshoots make all the growth, but if you've not pruned or trained yours before, this might be difficult to do now. Wisteria can take 7 years to flower anyway. Keep it well watered if you are in drought (as we are in the South).
1 Aug, 2010
Thank you Bamboo
I have only been a member for a short while but have noticed that you do have a lot of knowledge from your responses to other questions, so I feel very pleased that you have responded to my question.
We did our best at pruning it in February and will do it again now, but to be honest there is not much growth to prune! There are no long laterals - well only two or three - however we will have a go.
As far as not feeding that is a big problem because it is planted in the same hole (a hole in the concrete path) as my Guinee climbing rose - which I am very keen to bring it to the glory it should be.
We moved to this house 11 years ago - house was only just habitable and garden was very very overgrown, so only just this year have we had time to learn about the things we had planted, so only just realised the rose hadnt flowered much because of lack of water and food - the rose is now responding through water and food, but it sounds like the feed is a problem to the wisteria.
I have used Toprose twice this year and miracle grow every other week and put a mulch of manure and barkchipping over the top of the soil.
Is it a case of the rose OR the wisteria?
Thank you again for your reply, I think it is great that you take the time and trouble to answer peoples queries.
1 Aug, 2010
Yep, sounds like either or, I'm afraid, but that doesn't really explain why you have so little growth on the Wisteria - when you planted initially, did you check by pushing a garden fork into the bottom of the hole that there was sufficient soil depth? Because it sounds as if the Wisteria's got nowhere to go.
As for answering questions, I'm glad you're pleased, but I suspect I've often monopolised proceedings, - that's the trouble with being semi retired but not dead, lol
1 Aug, 2010
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