Growing Wisteria

About my Wisteria

My Wisteria is ten years old. I planted it just after having the patio laid, I got the builders to leave a 2ft by 1ft gap along the wall between the two doors just so I could plant it. It is a spectacular climber I think every garden should have one.

The variety of my wisteria is Floribunda Domino, it originates from Japan. It is described as a compact Wisteria suitable for smaller gardens, growing quickly to 6/10m by 3m, which means its at full size now.

The flowers are a combination of pale lilac and deep violet with a yellow spot at the centre, they can grow to 20cm long, putting on an amazing show throughout May. The foliage is also very attractive providing a lush backdrop to my patio throughout the summer into autumn when the leaves turn yellow and drop.

I have found this wisteria to be perfect for this wall in my garden, it has grown fast, was easy to train into shape and gives almost year round interest. The flowers attract bees and smell wonderful.

The above pictures show ( from top left) winter, spring, summer and autumn.

Floribunda Domino is drought tolerant, and is best grown in a south or west facing situation as it should be in full sun or part shade. Mine is on a west facing wall it flowers later than if it were on a south facing one.

Things to consider before buying

All parts of wisteria are poisonous, especially important if you have young children or pets.

Which way does your wall face? Nearly all wisteria will only do well on a south or west facing situation.

Choose you variety carefully, a website I found particularly informative was gardenia.net and also rhs.org.uk having comparison features and a list of stockists.

Wisteria are propagated by cuttings being taken from a mature plant and being grafted onto a strong root stock. This process will ensure your plant grows quickly and most importantly flowers. Make sure that the plant you are buying is grafted, it will state this on the information label and it will be expensive. Mine cost £30 ten years ago. Most good nurseries will be selling grafted plants. I did however see wisteria plants being sold in supermarkets last year for £5 I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t flower for years!

Wisteria are self supporting, the stems twist around each other as they grow. This means they won’t damage your wall, but you will need to train the plant into shape. You should decide where the main stems should run and fix wires to the wall in anticipation of the growth, tying the plant in as it grows. You will also need to prune wisteria during the summer months to control the growth and ensure it flowers the following year. There is a good pruning guide on rhs.org.uk

Planting your wisteria

Once you have your plant dig a hole much bigger than the pot it comes in. Put in compost and mix in some blood fish and bone ( or similar ) fertiliser, it is important this is mixed with the compost and does not come into direct contact with the roots or it could burn them. Water in well. Continue to water regularly with a whole can of water to encourage the roots to grow deeply, especially during dry hot periods.

Once the plant is established they need very little care ( unless you are growing in a container) only the pruning and tying in to shape mentioned above.

Press here to see my instagram story about wisteria

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