Wisteria query

Our wisteria is roughly 16 years old, every year it's laden with beautifully scented flowers and after a 'make-over' we've identified an area in the garden, where we'd like to plant another.

Now, I'm quite happy to buy a wisteria, but for years ours has sent out (what I can only describe as) 'suckers' or 'runners' which pop up in various places - usually the lawn! - and which until now, I've always removed.

Does anyone know if, I were to plant up one of these, it too would grow and bear flowers or would you consider it just a sucker which would make foliage but never flower?

 

You could try, but I'm not too hopeful.
If you are going to get another, I'd suggest buy one now where you can choose one which is in flower, some garden centres sell some wisterias which never do, despite correct pruning at the appropriate time.

 

Many thanks for that, it is as I suspected - I may try just for the 'ell of it though! It was seeing them in the garden centre that prompted us to think of another. In fact, we bought 2 originally, both were in bud (if not flower) when we got them, one gave up after that first flush of buds and never produced another in 9 years so was consigned to the compost heap - the other, as I say more than makes up for it, I doubt there'd be room for another flower if it tried. I know you're supposed to 'care' for them and that pruning twice a year is recommended - sadly, this was something I only discovered a couple of years ago, and since ours has never been pruned, fed or in any way looked after, I decided that if it had managed to produce so many flowers all these years without my 'help', it probably wouldn't want me to start interfering at this late stage. I may have to change my ways with a new one.

 

Good quality wisterias of know performance are grafted plants, which is why they can be expensive.

If yours is grafted the suckers will not be anything like your original plant.

Personally I wouldn't bother with them, I'd just buy a new plant from a good source, might cost a bit but they are long term plants and you need to know what your going to get.

The pruning is normally required to keep them within bounds and tidy, although if done properly it also allows for much more flower on a smaller plant.

 

When we bought this house in August 1972 there was a wisteria growing up the garage wall, apparently it "didn't flower."
I got rid of lots of suckers in the autumn and pruned it back hard in January. It flowered that year and has ever since.
We've that another big one that always flower, but at this time of the year I'm constantly pruning back every side sucker I see. They seem to grow about six inches over-night.

We've another we bought five years ago (in flower) and this has flowered very well. We've another that's a couple of years old that was in flower when we bought it, but hasn't this year as I'm encouraging it to grow.
We've another about eight years old that we bought that's supposed to be pink, (wasn't in flower) and never has. But we live in hope.

 

I am planning on getting a wisteria for my garden to grow against the back of the house.
Is there a specific type that is the easiest to grow and to flower?

 

The most common is blue, various shades of that.
There is white. My favourite colour.



This was ours, photographed that year, it inexplicably died at the end of 2009. We'd had it twenty years.

There's also pink. We've bought two over the past few years, neither flowered, nor have I ever seen one in bloom in a garden centre.

 

This thread has made me think to buy one too, but which is the most fragrant?

 

I agree, the suckers are coming from the rootstock, cut them off and get rid of. Buy a grafted variety WHICH IS IN FLOWER, so get it early next year.:gnthb: Never, ever buy a seed sown plant, you will have to wait at least 7 years for it to flower.

 

So are you saying I should not buy one now? whens the best time to buy?

How do you know if the plants grafted? I saw one in Costco today, wa about 1m-1.5m tall for £25 and had flower buds about to open.

 

If you do want to buy one, Homebase have some which are in bud (promising flowers in the future). They're about 1.5m tall and about £16 (they were in mine anyway) and, reading the label it said something like '... this variety is slow growing and specially bred to need no pruning apart from to keep the plant in check...'

 

Yes but does the plant know that?

One we bought (from a reputable garden centre) seemed "specially bred" to grow extremely slowly and not flower at all.

This is the "down-side time" for wisterias, when those with long-established plants like mine are having to cope with the remains of several hundred blooms that seem to get "everywhere."

 

OK, but how do you know if the plants grafted?

 

You shoiuld be ablr to see the graft. It forms a lumpy bit on the stem like scar tissue where it was done. You may be able to see the joins quite clearly.

 

Thanks RGranny, would this be at the base? if you could direct me to a picture that would make it alot easier for me.