Image – Wikimedia/Michal Klajban
Wisteria is one of the most vigorous deciduous climbing plants that exist. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be pruned; In fact, recovers quite well from pruningso it is possible to have it as a small tree or a bush as you see in the picture.
As it also has long branches and fairly large leaves, it is very interesting to arrange it in large trellises, or on a roof. Now well, How to prune wisteria?
When is the best time to prune wisteria?
Image – Flickr/Mike DelGaudio
Of course, before we start pruning, we need to know if it’s the best time. Well, about wisteria or wisteria, it must be said that it is a deciduous plant, which loses its leaves in autumn-winter and regrows in spring. But it also flowers relatively young, in spring.
It is for this reason that we advise to prune it only at the end of winter if it is a young specimen, that is, if it is one meter high or less. In case it is larger, we recommend waiting for it to finish flowering, otherwise it will produce fewer flowers than usual.
When should you NOT prune it?
There are certain situations where pruning has to wait. And it is that, whatever you want, we must take into account that pruning is not the solution to everything; Also, I would dare say it’s only for a few things. For example, this work will be done if we have a fruit tree and we want it to develop lower branches so that it is easier for us to harvest its fruit, or if we have a very sick plant and we are going to remove branches that are dead.
But what about glycine? well that nothing should be removed in these cases:
- if it blooms,
- in the height of the growing season (i.e. in spring and summer),
- if it is winter and there is still frost,
- if we suspect it is wrong, but it only has the leaves affected.
What pruning tools are needed?
Not a lot actually. just a little bit anvil scissors (like these) to prune or remove branches that are beginning to become lignified but are very thin (less than 0.5 centimeters thick), a small hand saw (on sale here) for the thicker branches, and some conventional scissors so we have to cut some that are green.
But yes, you have to clean them well, conscientiously, before and after using them. Microorganisms, such as fungi, bacteria or viruses, which are not visible to the naked eye, may give the impression that they are not there, but it is not necessary to take risks. If we clean the tools with dish soap, we will prevent the wisteria from getting sick.
How to prune wisteria?
Wisteria is a plant that resists pruning very well, so what we recommend doing first is to see if we want to use it as a climber or as a shrub. And it is that, of course, we will not remove the same in one case as in the other.
The pruning of wisteria as a climbing plant
If we are interested in having him as a climber, what we will do is the following:
- Remove branches that are dry.
- Cut the others a little so that they branch out. The cut should be made above a bud where the leaves are growing.
- Put a guardian or a guide. Wisteria does not have tendrils, so you will need help to start covering an area. Also, we will have to tie it with zip ties to hold it.
Pruning wisteria as a shrub or small tree
In case we prefer to have it in the form of a bush or a small tree, we will proceed as follows:
- As it is a woody plant, which over time develops a more or less wide trunk, we will prune its crown. The branches must be maintained at an adequate length taking into account the height of the said trunk; that is to say that if for example it measures about 30 centimeters, the branches must not be more than 35 centimeters long.
- Therefore, branches will need to be pruned; and if we see that they grow too much, prune them when the time comes.
- If we remove thick branches, which measure more than 1 centimeter, we will put healing paste like this to seal the wound.
Once we have given it the shape we want, all we have to do is keep the branches with the length that interests usby cutting them out.
Pruning wisteria is not too complicated. In fact, being a resistant plant, it is quite simple. If you take into account what we have discussed in this article, surely it will not be difficult for you to have it with the look you want.
Remember to use the right tools at the right time. This will prevent problems from occurring.