The Rippingale Nursery
Wisteria FAQ.

1) "Were do Wisterias come from?"

The most commonly seen spieces are natives of China, Japan and Korea. There are 2 lesser known spieces that are native to North America.

2) "How many spieces of Wisteria are there?"

The most common spieces are:

		i)	W. floribunda		Japan
		ii)	W. sinensis		China

			
	Other lesser known spieces are:
		iii)	W. frutescens		USA
		iv)	W. macrostachya		USA
		v)	W. brevidentata		China
		vi)	W. praecox		China
		vii)	W. villosa		China
		viii)	W. brachybotrys		Japan
		ix)	W. ventusa		Japan 
				(Probably W. brachybotrys 'Shiro Kapitan')

3) "How cold hardy is Wisteria?"

I have no personal experience with Wisteria outside Zone 7 or 8. It is my understanding that almost all are hardy between zones 5 & 8. Some of the New Zealand clones may not be quite as hardy. Perhaps the hardiest are the W. floribundas which are sometimes listed as hardy to zone 4.

4) "What are the zone minimum temperature ranges?"

		ZONE1			Below 50F
		ZONE2			50 TO -40F
		ZONE3			40 TO -30F
		ZONE4			30 TO -20F
		ZONE5			20 TO -10F
		ZONE6			10 TO 0F
		ZONE7			0 TO 10F
		ZONE8			10 TO 20F
		ZONE9			20 TO 30F
		ZONE10		  	30 TO 40F.

5) "Do Wisteria require any special growing conditions?"

No not particularly, they do best in a good fertile soil in full sun but are quite adaptable to a less than perfect location. They are not tolerant of chalky or high lime soil.

6) "Do Wisteria have any serious Pests or Diseases?"

No, there is no particular pest that is particularly damaging to Wisteria.

7) "Will a Wisteria climb a wall by itself?"

No, Wisteria is not like Ivy it needs something to twine around, such as a trellis, pagoda, or other tree.

8) "Can I make Wisteria grow like a tree?"

Yes, with a strong stake and lots of pruning you can grow a free standing tree Wisteria.

-The Wisteria should be pruned back to one shoot and this should be trained up a stake to about 6 feet.

-It should then have the growing tip removed.

-After a few weeks it will start to grow new shoots, all the new shoots below 4 feet should be removed and only the ones between 4 & 6 feet left to grow.

-When these shoots are 12 to 18 inches long they should be pruned back to 1 or 2 buds.

-By continually repeating this process over a few years you will develop a Wisteria that will have a strong central leader and branches that are self supporting.

9) "When should I prune Wisteria?"

Wisteria can and often needs to be pruned several times during the growing season especially if it is being grown as a tree form. probably the best or most common time is late in the winter just before the plant comes back to life. The main thing to remember is that all the Asiatic spieces flower on the previous years wood, if all this was removed there would be no flowers. Generally it is good to cut back all the new growth to 3 or 4 buds each Spring before bud break. (Once the plant has reached the desired size.)

10) "When do Wisterias flower?"

As a general rule the Asiatic spieces flower in the Spring on the previous years wood. The cultivars of W. sinensis tend to flower before the leaves emerge, the cultivars of W. floribunda tend to flower after the foliage has started to emerge. The American spieces flower in the early summer on same years wood.

11) "This darn Wisteria is years old but I have never seen it flower!"

The most common complaint about Wisteria. Unfortunately there are still many nurseries that sell seedling Wisteria. Wisteria seedlings can take 10 years, 15 years or even longer to flower. There are many fine Wisteria cultivars that will flower in 3 years. When you buy a Wisteria for your garden make sure that it is a true to name cultivar that has been either grafted or grown from a cutting.

12) "What is a cultivar?"

A cultivar is a genetic variant of the spieces. When you sow 100 seed of any spieces you do not get 100 identical plants as the seeds are the result of sexual propagation between plants. A cultivar is a particular plant of a spieces that has been selected for some improved characteristic such as better flowers or a particular growth habit. Seed from this plant will not produce the same plant. If the characteristics of the plant are to be maintained then it must be propagated asexually by some form of vegetative propagation such as cuttings or grafting.

13) "How are Wisterias propagated?"

All three traditional propagation techniques are used:

i)Seed

Wisteria seed germinates very easily and requires no pre treatment. As discussed earlier seedling Wisteria should only be used as rootstocks and not sold for their ornamental value.

ii)Cuttings

Many Wisteria cultivars will root easily from cuttings, others will not. Depending on the cultivar a rooted cutting may have less vigor than a grafted plant.

iii)Grafts

The most traditional method of Wisteria cultivar propagation. The drawback of grafted plants is that they will often sucker from the rootstock. This problem can be avoided by root grafting.

14) "What are the pros and cons of the different propagation methods?"

METHOD			PROS.				CONS.

SEED		Cheap production costs		Plants will not be true
						to name and may not flower.

CUTTINGS	Cheaper than grafts to		Not all cultivars will root.
		produce.			Some cultivars will be less
		No suckers from the 		vigorous.
		rootstock

GRAFTS		All cultivars can be		Potential risk of suckers
		propagated by grafting.		from the rootstock.
		The plants will be 		More expensive production
		vigorous.			costs.

15) "Can I propagate my own Wisteria at home?"

The commercial methods of Wisteria propagation can be adapted for the home gardener who just wants to make a few extra plants.

i) Seed
Wisteria seeds (either picked or purchased) will germinate and grow easily. The best time is probably March or April, the seed can be soaked for about 24 hours in a jar of water. It can then be sown in a pot or flat of any good seedling compost and left to germinate in a greenhouse, cold frame or windowsill. After germination the seedlings can be transplanted into their own pots and grown on like any other plant for the rest of the year.

Remember Seed picked from a named flowering Wisteria cultivar will NOT produce seedlings with the same characteristics. They will vary in how long they will take to flower and in the quality of the flowers. They will be subject to all the disadvantages of Wisteria seedlings outlined elsewhere in this FAQ.

ii) Root Cuttings & Suckers.
If your plant already has suckers growing around it, these can be dug up and planted separately. Alternatively if the plant is large but has no suckers some of the root can be dug up, removed from the plant and planted separately. The root piece removed s hould be at least a foot long with a caliper of half an inch or more. It should be replanted so that the top of the removed root is just below the soil surface. It will generate new buds and send up a new Wisteria shoot.

Remember root cuttings and suckers will produce new plants that are the same as the original plants roots. If the original plant was a seedling or a rooted cutting the new plants will be the same. However if the original plant was grafted the new root cut tings will not be the same as the original plant.

iii) Layering
Perhaps the easiest if not the quickest method for the home gardener who wants a new plant that is sure to be the same as the original. A long one year shoot that can be pulled down to soil level is needed. A portion of the shoot is buried in the soil, bu t with the shoot tip still above the soil line. The part of the shoot that is buried can be wounded with a sharp knife, (a slice of bark is removed). After a year the shoot can be cut away from the main plant as the part that was buried should have made i ts own roots. This can then be transplanted to a new location.

iv) Softwood Cuttings
Some Wisterias root easily from softwood cuttings others do not. This method will work with some cultivars and not with others. Cuttings should be made from the new years wood in June, July or August. The cuttings should be about 6" long with one or two l eaves, they should be nodal (the base of the cutting should be just below a leaf node.) They should be dipped in a rooting hormone with an IBA concentration of 0.5% to 0.8%. The cuttings should be stuck in a pot or flat of any good cutting compost. A clear plastic bag should then be put over the pot or flat and sealed. The whole thing can be left on a windowsill or greenhouse out of direct sunlight, if rooting is going to tak e place it will probably start within 4 to 6 weeks. It is important that the cuttings are sealed inside the poly bag to keep the humidity up and prevent them from drying out.

16) "Can Wisteria be used for Bonsai?"

Yes, Wisteria are used in the art of bonsai and penjing (a Chinese method of producing miniature plants.) I have no experience with either. In his book Peter Valder suggests that the shorter racemed types would lend themselves more easily to this art form .

17) "Is there a good book about Wisteria?"

Yes there is an excellent new book published by Timber Press: Wisteria by Peter Valder.

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