The hardy wisteria naturally grows as a vigorous climbing plant up to 30 meters high, but it can also be grown as a standard tree. However, it needs a special cut and the appropriate care.
How do I grow a wisteria on trunk?
To grow a wisteria on a trunk, select the strongest shoot as the main shoot and remove the other shoots. Support the main shoot with a stick and tie it down. Cut at the desired height in the 2nd year and remove unwanted side shoots in the 3rd year. From the 4th year onwards, carry out the normal maintenance cut.
How do I grow a wisteria as a standard tree?
Start regular pruning as early as possible and do it consistently twice a year. Choose the strongest shoot as the main shoot. Shorten this by about a third in the first spring and cut off all other shoots (side shoots). To ensure that your wisteria has enough support and grows straight, give it a stick to support it to the side.
Loosely tie the main shoot to the support rod. Repeat tying several times a year when the wisteria has grown again. In summer, shorten the newly formed side shoots by about half, later always to three to five buds.
In the second year, you decide how large your wisteria should remain and shorten the main shoot to the appropriate height. Only in the third year do you remove all unwanted side shoots below the crown. Now the wisteria can also be recognized as a tree.
How and where do I plant my standard wisteria?
As long as your wisteria is a stem rather than a fully grown standard, you can easily cultivate it in a container. This makes it easier for you to protect it from frost in winter. Later, the wisteria is definitely winter hardy. It prefers a sunny and wind-protected location, preferably on your terrace or balcony.
How do I care for a wisteria as a standard tree?
In general, wisteria is considered robust and easy to care for, but in addition to lots of sun, it also needs regular cutting so that you can enjoy its blooms without any worries. Carry out this maintenance pruning in spring and summer as soon as flowering is over.
Before and during the flowering period, wisteria does not tolerate drought, so make sure that the soil is evenly moist. The soil should not dry out, otherwise your wisteria may not bloom. From spring until after the second flowering, the plant also needs plenty of nutrients. Use a lime-free fertilizer with a low nitrogen content.
The most important things in brief:
- leave only one main shoot and cut it to the desired height in the 2nd year
- Support and tie the main shoot in the first few years
- remove unwanted side shoots in the 3rd year
- carry out normal maintenance pruning from the 4th year onwards
Tip
Even though wisteria is naturally a strong-growing climbing plant, it can certainly be grown as a standard tree. However, this will require some work from you.
