Wisteria

This is my first post so I hope I'm in the right place. I bought a Wisteria 4 years ago in flower, it had a couple of flowers the next year then last year produced a lot of buds but as the racemes opened out they were empty and just looked as if they had flowered and the petals had dropped off. The same thing has happened this year although some of the racemes are flowering weakly. Does anyone know what is going on here?

 

Hi Zephirine, It sounds as though maybe the plant is going short of water at a critical stage of flower formation. If not lack of water, the only other things I can think of would be frost or being pecked by birds, but I'm sure that you would have noticed that?

 

Where about do you live , rough idea would be suitable , I think its to cold, plus its a young plant they do toughen up as they get older , Spring is a very trying month for flowers unless they have shelter , where about are you growing it, I would be surprised if you said the house wall and inclined to think on a pergola or similar I had the same problem

 

Thanks for the replies. It is on a frame about 3' in front of a west facing wall (hoping to train it over the path and onto the wall) I am in South Cheshire, we have had a very mild winter with a lot of rain. Did your problem resolve itself or did you give up with it?

 

Hi

It resolved itself, as my earlier post asked I thought on a frame or the like with yours typical of what happens with cold winds etc , I think it will be happier once it on the wall, its a very long lived plant and we expect so much out of them from a early start its not usual with a plant that has been grown in a pot and bought in flower , not to flower properly once it is planted out in the border soil as the its putting the energy into forming roots etc .

A good watering once a week in the summer also a feed of "Rose food" applied now will feed it through the rest of the year .

Spruce

 

Thanks Spruce, wasn't sure how to feed it. Although we have had a mild winter with hardly any frost we have had some ferocious gales. Will talk to it nicely and give it a nice feed :D

 

Some good info here. I was just about to write up a 'wisteria' post.

I had a wisteria in a good sized pot, south facing, it struggled for 2 years and then finally became a wreck! I'm thinking of trying a wisteria up a post and along some roping but I need all the advice I can get as regards the type to buy, the in ground soil conditions and any other tips you can offer.

I was at Bodnant today and they have a fantastic wisteria in flower growing on the house and around the gardens. Both purple and white varieties. Unfortunately they didn't have any for sale.

Gazania

 

I have a Wisteria growing high up into a Taxodium disticum (so no protection) and it blooms its heart out every spring. Could it be that the OP's is getting too warm at a critical stage Spruce?

 

Hi G

You can grow in a very large pot but in the end they need go into border soil to do really well , as for growing on a rope I should imagine you could but any late frost etc or very cold drying winds and its doomed to failure. , well drained and rich soil to get it going once it gets settled in and the roots get away , but as I said earlier any spring flowering plants Camellias Magnolias etc all run the risk of frost and we cant moan this year.

Lots of good varieties , but the big garden centers and the like get them in just in flower grown in cold greenhouses and they suffer very quickly if not acclimatized to the outdoors

the two I grow Alba shiro Kapitan "White " has chunky flower racemes took a while to settle in but doing well now and the other "Purple Snake" deep purple , both bought when dormant from a specialist nursery.

@longk Could it be that the OP's is getting too warm at a critical stage Spruce?

what does OP's mean ?

Spruce

 

Hi Spruce, I'm guessing OP is the ORIGINAL POSTER ?

You are right about the frost and winds. This garden is wide open to wind and the roped wisteria would certainly cop it!

The shiro Kapitan is the white variety I saw growing at Bodnant. And very nice it was too.

Saw some wisteria today at the garden centre. Around 5' tall, and looking like they were straight out of the greenhouse as you mentioned.

Gazania

 

Gazania is correct - original poster. Can't believe that I'm doing text speak now!

 

As someone who grows just about anything I like in pots, Wisteria is one plant I wouldn't grow in one. In order to be successful you would need a huge one and even then the roots would quickly fill the pot, they grow that quickly.