I want a Wisteri

OK guys, after the amount of threads on here about Wisterias and reading more about them, I have decided that I want one or 2 lol!

So all you guys with Westerias, what should I look for? I know that you should look to buy them in flower. What i plan to do is let it grow 1.5 meters and then trail it arount the kitchen etc.

I would love for it to be a fragrant verity.
Can you grow them in pots?
I don't mind the colour
Max price is £20 each
What season is it best to buy them?

Thanks

Waqas

 

I have some seeds if you want them waqas ... but I understand it takes a few years for them to flower from seeds.

If you want them, PM me your name and address and they are yours.

 

Thanks Vic but I think it would take many years for it to reach 1.5m, rather fork out £15-£20 but thanks ever so much for the offer. Have you any pics of your Wisteria in bloom?

Well I have my final exams tomorrow so going to go and revise and ill be back tomorrow.

Good night!

 

Good choice. We've five. Two on pergolas, two on fences and one trained to cascade down a 7' tall tree stump. That one is only about four years old and very well established with several stems, but was about six feet tall when we bought it. Pictures of all of them in "Doghouse's Garden," in "Projects."

Yes you can grow them in pots, our daughter has one in a very big pot which covers a great deal of space on her kitchen wall and flowers well.

As has been mentioned, the best time is to buy them in flower, which unfortunately has passed. Some sold at garden centres refuse to flower, or take years.
You can get them to do practically "anything."
They'll want support. I'd suggest to start with restricting the growth to no more than four strands from the main stem if you're going to fan it out, or three if you're going for a more perpendicular growth. You have to keep cutting short the side growth. Think of the plant as a "leaking hose," side shoots take some of the strength out of the main branches and inhibit it growing in the direction you want it to.

Pruning should be done in early January. I actually do mine now between Christmas and New Year. Prune back to two or at the most four buds.

At this time of the year they are producing long unwanted side growths "while your back is turned."

They come in a variety of blues, white and I'm told pink, but I've never seen that colour.

 

Hi Wagas.

They are lovely things. But they can be big. They can live for 100 years or more and grow to over 100 feet in length. Mine has a delicate fragrance - but I wouldn't say it is that strong.

I am sure they are better grown in the ground, but I think you can grow one in a pot - for a while at least. But you will need a large pot and need to cut it back so it does not get too big.

Its better to see them in flower to get a good dark color - some can be a bit wishy-washy. But they may be difficult to see in flower, as by that time they will be bigger plants and more expensive. I bought mine without seeing it in flower, and I have been lucky - its turned out to be quite a good colour.

With respect to you Victoria, I would say the one thing you must not do it to grow one from seed. The reason is simple. Plants, like people, can be either juveniles or adults. Juvenile plants are plants that are not old enough to reproduce - ie flower and then produce seed. Garden perennials may only take a year or less to reach adulthood, but some trees can take many years. Beech takes about 60 years. Wisteria is essentially a tree, and it can take up to 20 years to flower from seed.

What you should buy is a cutting, which is usually grafted onto another rootstock. A cutting is a clone. A cutting of a juvenile plant will also be a juvenile. But a cutting of an adult plant will itself be an adult and capable of flowering. The concept is a bit bizarre but that is how nature works. I think all the Wisteria on sale these days are cuttings - but look for the graft to be sure.

 

Just a note of caution.

Doghouse has said two things - first, you need to buy one which is in flower (the only reliable indicator that it should flower in future) and secondly that that time is now past. Both these statements are absolutely correct, however, our local Homebase currently has a number for sale, all of which are trained around a wooden frame to a height of about 1m and all have large fat buds on them - I don't know the exact price, somewhere around £20 I think.

My neighbour has bought two of these, mainly because having seen mine in full flower recently, he now wants a couple himself and was delighted to '... find a variety that flowers later ... '. Now, I'm no expert on wisteria, (we planted ours about 17 years ago and apart from lopping off the odd branch I've never pruned or done anything else to it - since it's always covered in flowers I don't interfere where not wanted!), but something tells me that wisteria shouldn't be in bud or flower at this time of year, so, what I'm saying in a roundabout way is ... if you happen to see these for sale, I'd think twice before buying them.

 

Hello Peter and thank you for your advice. That is exactly why I have the seeds ... I bought them and then read up on them (backwards I know) and discovered how long it would take to flower! :dh:

It's the same with Birds of Paradise (at least 7 years) I bought mine already in flower. Also Avocados grown from a stone (5-7 years) and mine is about five now and already a stunning small tree.

 

Wisteria can flower twice.
The second showing of blooms are a bit straggly and there's nowhere near as many.
The second time is round about July, one of mine is having a go at it now. But I usually prune them off, I've only just got rid of the last lot of petals. I also trim off the "spines" of the dead blooms as I think they look ugly.

As for perfume, when you've a lot of blooms, it isn't intense but it seems to "hang in the air."

 

Strength of scent does vary so look for a variety marked 'very fragrant'. A friend of mine bought a wisteria which was described as 'slightly fragrant', on the basis that she wanted a bit of scent but didn't wish to be overwhelmed by it. Unfortunately plant pongs do not work like that. It's pretty unusual to be overwhelmed by scent in a cool English climate - even jasmine needs an exceptionally still, warm evening to really do its stuff - so go for a plant which will deliver the goods.

 

If grown from seed they can take upto 20 years before they flower, so this really isn't usually a viable method.

The good news is that you can take cuttings, either from the soft or hardwood. Now this the ideal time for this because people will be thinking about trimming them back as they get a bit rampant this time of year.

Yes you can grow them in pots, but you'll want a large pot and will have to water it daily in this heat and feed it a 50% mix every week to get the best out of it, so it's often best to grow it in the ground. They like a high potassium and phosphate mix, they are a Nitrogen fixer so don't need any of this.

We have one growing along the top of a fence, it's tendrils grow at an alarming rate, I think they must be on for about 3 inches a day if not more when they are stretching for the sun. Ours has a small stream about 5 feet away though so gets a lot of water and nutrients.

I'd say your best bet is to look up on the exact method of taking cuttings and then find one you like on an old house etc and ask very politely if they would let you take a few cuttings (take 5 ish in case some die). This way you should get what you want as it will be a clone of the parent plant.

It's a lovely plant and worth the little time and effort they require, the blooms last for weeks if the weather is right and the leaves give nice cover. Coupled with being very disease and pest resistant.

 

Thank you everyone for the information.

I don't think I can wait another year to buy one lol, being a spoilt child.

Doghouse's Wisti looks nice and i would love it to look like that, one day, when i buy one that is.



What do you think of these Wisterias from Homebase (Crocus) http://homebase.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.Wisteria/, I like:
Yae Kokuryu
Multijuga
Floribunda &
Kuchi beni

How would you rate the 4, which of them is your #1, #2 #3 #4 on a buy list if you had to get them?

Also Doghouse what ver have you got?

 

It's not all success, the blue one of mine you posted was on the garage when we bought the house in the summer of 1972. The previous owner said it had never flowered, it must have been about seven years old, but covered much of the side of the garage. I pruned it the following January as it should be done and it never looked back from then on as far as flowering every year.

I'm unsure of the variety as I am of the other two, they look very similar...Blue!

Now this one we were very sad about, as it died about two years ago. We'd bought it from Stapley Water Gardens about fifteen years previously and I'd trained it to cover this pergola. It gave a final flourish of blooms and then popped it's clogs in the winter. I don't think it was short of water. This was taken about five years ago.



We bought another last year, about 6ft tall and already it has climbed to the top of the pergola end post and has now trailed over the first couple of batons. I'm training part of the one on the pergola next to the pool, round the side fence and it too has trailed over two batons at the other end.
I want them to meet in the middle.

 

Doghouse how much did you buy it for last year?

 

That's a difficult question as we bought it at Bent's.
I've mentioned before, I've never got out of there spending less than a hundred quid. I always have to buy my wife lunch first in their excellent restaurant, one course, an orange drink for her and a Peroni for me (that in itself is £3) is never much less than £30. Then "plants seem to follow her home."

I think it was either twenty or thirty pounds. They had to get someone to go over to where they keep the bigger plants as they only had small ones on display.

The well established one that cascades down the tree stump was £50 from Worsley Garden Centre (bought before it closed down).

 

I bought one four or five years ago. A floribunda. I discovered the other day that a floribunda twines clock wise and Sinesis twines ant-clockwise. I had nowhere to put it so I stuck it in a pot. I think I paid around £20 for it. I then pruned it hard to get a leader I thought I might train it as a standard. Nooooooo won't live long enough. Anyhoo after some good advice here I transplanted it the other day near a tree and a wild holly. I hope it scrambles through nicely as I think against the dark green holly leaves the blooms will look lovely. I have to say the plant looks really healthy. I am hoping it will explode after it's confinement in a pot. Buy one wagas. The moral of my rambling is you will find a place for it and you will enjoy it.