Wisteria

[Robinjay]

Posted a similar thread about our Virginia creeper recently and got some good advice.

I have a similar question about this Wisteria. Again we want to keep it and have it trail over our back windows. But there's just so much wood and branches here. Wondering how much we can cut back of this now during the winter and not risk killing it off?


Would be happy to cut it back substantially and let it take a few years to trail over the windows again if it means we can tidy up some of these branches?

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Have a look through Sean Regan's threads, he grows wisteria and keeps it well ordered, he mentioned stripping leaves off and starting to prune recently in the 'What did you do in the garden today' thread recently.
I reckon you could make a good start taking out the crossing over stuff. The recommended time for doing it is Jan to Feb, but with most of the leaves off I reckon you could start anytime. Sean seems to take his back pretty hard and reduce the number of branches.

 

[Sean Regan]

It's a big job.

We can't see the whole plant, but you need to decide what you want to keep.
It's then a question of tracing each branch back down to the root. Then marking them so you don't accidentally cut them.
You can then start stripping out what you don't want to keep. Start near the root and progress upwards, cutting out a manageable section of each branch, one at a time. Don't try to pull them all out in one go.

At the moment, the energy of the plant is going in far too many directions.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Taking it in small sections makes sense, trying to strip out a long length might well damage the bits you want I guess.

 

[cpp gardener]

Or the house.

 

[nilsaflorida]

Taking it in small sections makes sense, trying to strip out a long length might well damage the bits you want I guess.

You are right!

 

[blenor]

There is à mature wisteria in the front garden - originally a cutting from a grandmother's bush - which has been cut back quite hard a number of times to keep away from the windows and to allow decorating or building work. It is still vigorous and is a mass of flowers every year with a sweet scent. I do clip back the last year's growth to about three buds from a branch (Jan or feb) and keep it trained like a smallish tree or bush. A sprinkling of bone meal around the roots also seems to help. I also prune the long tendrils which shoot out during the growing season. It certainly does no harm!

 

[Sean Regan]

The best description of a wisteria is that it's like a weed. Hard to kill.

 

[blenor]

I wouldn't like to try to kill it. I'm sure that it would fight back and sprout up in the middle of the lawn again as it has once or twice.