Cutting back mature Wisteria so it will grow back

Hi - we have a lovely mature Wisteria with a thick trunk. It's about 3m tall by 10m wide.

Unfortunately due to building work I'm going to need to cut the Wisteria right back, so it's no more than about 0.75m tall, which means I'm only going to be left with a stump.

Will it grow back? Is there anything I can do to give it a good chance of growing back?

It will need to be cut in the next week.

Thanks, Nick

 

Hi Nick

Shame but it happens to us all at times , wrong place etc .
Couple of questions

Do you know how old
The 30 inches you hope to leave does it just have the one main trunk or does it branch off .

I personally think if ? you leave what you say you are going to do and no shorter 0.75m or 29 inches it should be ok cutting at this time of year and probably the best time to do as well , no sap running as well which will help, and a clean as a cut you can manage if me I would reduce what needs to come off and when thats all sorted would then make the final cuts so to reduce tearing of the bark around the main cuts , a good mulch as well when finished .

Spruce

 

Thanks Spruce

I didn't plant the Wisteria but dating the extension back I think it's probably between 10-15 years old. I was planing on leaving the stump but I think there is some younger growth coming out of the bottom of the stump. Should I leave these in place?

 

Try and leave as much as you can more you cut off the less chances it will survive, I asked the age as the older they are the easier they will grow back normally.

If you can leave a hand shape would be ideal .

Any chance of a photo ?

 

be careful what you leave growing low down.
Its probably grafted.

 

Thanks for the advice Pete & Spruce - here are some pics.

Any further advice is much appreciated as I'd hate to completely lose this.

I'm not are what is meant by "grafted" ?

 

God I'd hate to lose that.
Grafted means the root is a different kind of wisteria as to the top growth.

So anything coming from below ground or just above could be different from the flowering part.
Not easy to tell from such an old plant though.
Just keep an eye on the low growth and cut it out should it look different in any way to the top growth.

 

Very nice , being nosy what are you doing to the wall its attached to ?

Have you thought of removing a 1/3 and then leaning the rest into the garden if thats possible

By the look of it I would say its well over 15 years , are you trying to keep up to the level off the red brick work ?

My brother had bought a house the wisteria was 50 years plus if not older but had been pruned badly looked ok in the summer but once the leaves dropped off it looked awful , so bear that in mind when you make your cuts

Thanks for the photo as well

Spruce

 

Totally agree with pete's comments about shoots coming from below ground. Scrat down into the soil and, if you can, pull them off the roots so you get the 'resting' buds on them. This is so they don't spring into life once the main plant is cut, and try to take over!
Also think that Spruce's suggestion for trying to keep some of the top growth is a good one. Could you cut the main trunk above the two fairly thick sideshoots but keep these as long as possible before cutting them? Perhaps tie them in along the red brick wall and wrap them in fleece for protection until the works are over?
That main trunk will sprout lots of wispy new growth in Spring and it would be a very long-term job to select the strongest shoots and re-train them to anything like the existing plant.

 

Thanks Spruce, we are putting a window there. I will try and keep as much as I can and lean it into the garden

 

Thanks - as there is a window going in there, I can't save anything above the red brick. I will keep an eye out for any growth not originating from the main plant

 

All - just thought I would follow-up. Despite saving large parts of the plant, the builder have pretty much destroyed the Wisteria, so I had to cut it about a foot lower. I'm getting growth from earth around the plant, which I keep trimming off but nothing from the main plant yet. I did get some growth from the main plant in early Spring but the renderer soon put a stop to it.