Looking to add a Wisteria to my garden....but have some questions

Reading through a couple of posts I have learnt that some people have been waiting 5 years+ for their Wisteria to flower! Is there a subspecies I should go for that won't take that long to flower.

This is the sort of thing i'm looking for.....isn't everyone?

 

If you get a cutting from an established plant, it will flower earlier, maybe even the first year. I'm sorry you didn't mention wanting one earlier, I had access to a lovely wisteria up until last month. Good luck. They are beautiful!

 

I agree with luckyboo the bigger the plant you buy the quicker it will establish then of course there is the pruning!!!

I have written a bit about it here; http://tinyurl.com/yx8dfb

 

I think that if you buy a wisteria floribunda it will flower a lot sooner than a wisteria sinensis. It doesnt grow as large either, sinensis is a potentially huge plant. I bought a floribunda and it flowered within 2 years of buying it.

 

Hi Garden Fiend, how big was the Wisteria when you purchased it?

 

It was in a 3ltr pot,and about 2ft tall.It was a couple of years before it flowered.They grow at an amazing rate.I just went into google on the web and put wisteria into the search bar and found loads of info. Try that and see how you get on.Good luck. GF.

 

Ok guys I have bought some small Climbers:
Clematis 'Fireworks'
Passion Flower 'Amethist'
Wisteria Sinesis

Should I plant these now or what???

 

I wouldn't plant the passion flower - that's not incredibly hardy - at least, not if you're in the north of Wales. I keep mine in a pot, and take it in over winter

The clematis should be fine, and if you're planting the wisteria against a south facing wall, and it's sheltered, it should be fine.

 

Im i South Wales (Swansea)

 

Of course, I remember you said that before, re your art college, didn't you?

You might get away with it there - I know in Herts it was pretty safe, as I dealt with plenty of very happy passion-flowers that lived in the ground all year round with no protection. Do you have mild winters?

See what some of the others think about this - my feeling is that it would probably be ok if it's south-facing and sheltered, with the possibility of putting up some protective fleece if a prolonged frosty spell is forecast.

 

There is a reason why Wisteria and other plants take a time to flower. All plants have two major phases in their life. Juvenile and Adult. There can be a number of differences - leaf shape, spines or no spines, etc. But a major one is that only adults can produce flowers and then seed. A perennial plant may reach adulthood within a month or two, but some trees can take 40 or even 60 years to reach adulthood.

Wisteria can take 15 or 20 years from seed to adulthood. Consequently you never buy a seed raised plant. When you take a cutting you get an identical clone. If you take a cutting of a juvenile plant the cutting is a juvenile. But a cutting of an adult plant remains an adult -if somewhat small.

 

Thanks for that Peter I didn't realise that they took that long to mature no wonder they seem to take forever to flower

 

I would also like to have a wisteria which flowers . I have bought some beautiful plants from the Duchy of Cornwall nursery and so enquired of them whether they sold any wisterias which were big enough to be flowering. I received an indignant reply that all their wisterias were of flowering size , and could be expected to flower the spring after purchase! Their plants are not cheap and postage costs a lot but if you want one that flowers they have 3 pages of different varieties. Here is their search page:-

http://www.duchyofcornwallnursery.co.uk/plantshop_search.asp
Have a browse!

 

In my experience of pot grown wisterias they vary widely in their flowering. A general yardstick I use is don't buy one if it isn't in flower /bud at the time. I know it limits the options, but at least you can't go far wrong. Have to say some do take a few years to settle in though.

I thought a lot of pot grown wisterias were grafted and this certainly might influence flowering behaviour. Check the RHS page below:

http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0600/wisteria.asp

 

The Wisteria Sinesis that i bought was only �£3 from Wyevale & very small, about a 4" tall stick poking out the pot. There are signs of what look like buds on it, it seems! :confused: