How to grow Wisteria
How to Grow Wisteria Successfully
Wisteria is a vigorous, beautiful climber that originally grew in woodland settings, where its roots nestled in the rich, organic matter of forest leaf litter. Naturally, the plant’s top growth stretches upwards to find light, often climbing trees. To grow wisteria successfully in your garden, it’s important to mimic these natural conditions both when planting and through annual maintenance.
Planting Wisteria
Choose a planting spot where the roots will remain cool and shaded, but where the upper growth can climb toward sunlight—ideally against a wall or fence. Prepare the planting site by digging a generous hole and forking the bottom to loosen the soil. Incorporate plenty of well-rotted organic matter such as garden compost or stable manure into the soil. Avoid using fresh manure or compost, as it can damage the plant’s roots.
Ongoing Care and Feeding
Each spring, apply a top dressing of organic matter around the base of the plant to enrich the soil. For additional feeding, use a general-purpose fertiliser like Grow More in early spring. From late May onwards, apply a liquid tomato feed every two weeks to support healthy flowering.
Training and Pruning
Wisteria produces flowers on short flowering spurs that develop along the stems. To encourage these spurs, train the side shoots and branches to grow horizontally. The most effective method is to secure galvanised wire horizontally along a wall or fence using vine eyes, and then tie in the stems.
In nature, wisteria climbs by sending out long shoots that coil around branches in a clockwise direction. When training your plant, always guide stems in this natural clockwise direction. Forcing them to twist the other way wastes the plant’s energy and slows progress.
During the first three summers after planting, perform light summer pruning to control wayward shoots and manage excess foliage. This helps shape the plant and supports better flowering in the long term.
Dealing With Non-Flowering Wisteria
If your wisteria has been in the ground for several years and still hasn’t flowered, it may need more drastic action. In late autumn, once the leaves have dropped, prune the plant back by 50%, removing thin stems and leaving only the main framework. Check the soil’s pH—if it’s alkaline, apply a light dressing of iron sulphate to lower the pH slightly. Finish with a top dressing of organic matter around the base.
However, be aware that some wisterias fail to flower simply because they were planted without adequate soil preparation, or they were propagated from non-flowering parent plants. If all else fails, consider replacing the plant with one known to have been grown from a reliably flowering variety.
