Off With It's Head

[Nyboy]

4 years ago I bought 2 wisterias on clearance, I gave one to a friend. My friends flowered the next spring and every one after. Mine has had lots of growth , but never once flowered. I planted it in prime location side of garden shed.Vine as almost covered the shed, so I know it is healthy. This fall I told it " you have 1 more chance, no flowers this spring your history"" How long do you wait before calling a planting a failure ?

 

[seedcorn]

Depends.... If it isn't causing me any grief and I have no interest in using that spot for something else, I let it be. IF it causes me any grief, it's dead!

 

[baymule]

I wouldn't plant a wisteria to start with. They take over, I see them covering trees, everything in their path. They smell so good, I love to drive by a purple festooned half acre of strangled trees and breathe deep! But not in my yard! Even if kept trimmed closely, they sprout from the roots. My Mom had one in her yard, closely trimmed into a small bush on a trunk about 2 feet off the ground. But it sprouted from the roots all around the main plant and was annoying, so she cut it down. Those roots were still sprouting up even years later.

 

[so lucky]

I have read that some plants--shrubs, vines, etc, might need to be shocked into blooming. If it was mine, I would prune it back severely and give it another year or two, then off with its head. You don't want it to get such a foothold that you can't get rid of it. It could pull your garden shed down.

 

[seedcorn]

Sounds like a trumpet vine relative. Problem with trumpet vines is that only new growth blooms.

 

[thistlebloom]

Try root pruning it Nyboy. Go out 12-18" from trunk and cut down through the roots 3/4 of the way around. Then water it. Sometimes that will shock a plant into a bloom cycle.

 

[Nyboy]

I think its much more a problem in the South. Here the growth is slowed down by winter. OK 1 more year going to try root pruning 1st.

 

[Kassaundra]

Wisteria is highly invasive and even if you decide to remove it, it will never actually be gone. Growing it on the shed, Lucky is right it will destroy the shed. Sounds like you have plenty of nitrogen for leaf growth, have you tried adding phosphorus for flower development?

 

[Kassaundra]

Sounds like a trumpet vine relative. Problem with trumpet vines is that only new growth blooms.

I didn't know that, just planted some trumpet vine last year, so it needs to be cut back every year?

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

@Nyboy my parents swear at me every year when they keep trying to hack back the remaining roots of the wisteria i bought over 20 years ago. we let that thing grow for about 8 years & it never flowered but it did destroy a very sturdy fence-was growing in the corner where the 2 panels met. we tried everything to kill it. we did try cutting & hitting the trunk to get it to flower before giving up.

i may just ask my parents to dig up a piece & try keeping it in a pot as bonsai. wonder if i could finally get some to flower for me.