Wisteria: How to prune popular plant in August for a ‘good floral show’ next year
A WISTERIA expert has shared how to prune the popular plant in August to "keep it in check" and "ensure good flowering". The plant needs pruning twice a year for a "good floral show" next year.
Wisteria: Expert shows how to prune plant in summer months
Wisteria is a stunning climbing plant that produces beautiful, mauve flowers in the early summer. In full bloom, the plant drapes over homes, walls and pergolas with its flowers. The plant is relatively easy to grow but can be vigorous which means it needs to be pruned twice a year.
Lucy Ponsford, a horticulturalist at RHS Garden Wisley, shared how to prune wisteria in August.
The gardening expert explained in a video for the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) that it’s worth pruning wisteria twice a year to “ensure good flowering”.
She said: “Here we have wisteria, a woody perennial that needs regular pruning to keep it in check and ensure good flowering.
“But unlike other woody perennials you need to prune it twice a year.
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“Once at the end of summer, and then in winter and that ensures that the wood will ripen and you'll get a great floral show come May.”
Ms Ponsford said the plant at RHS Wisley is ready for its later summer prune.
The plant had “whippy growths” which needed to be taken back to its original structure.
Gardeners need to cut the plant back to five buds.
The buds, which can be seen on a stem, can be counted.
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Pruning wisteria allows the plant to have more airflow and sunlight.
The gardening expert continued: “By cutting this back I have allowed airflow through the plant and sunlight to get in and ripen up this wood therefore allowing the buds here to develop and produce more flower.
“I’m going to carry on and take things back to five.”
Ms Ponsford will return in late winter (January/February) to do the second pruning.
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In late winter, wisteria will get its “final cut”.
The long shoots that are cut back in August will be reduced further to two or there buds.
This process allows the plant to produce spurs which allows the fatter flower buds to continue producing larger blooms.
In the winter months, gardeners can also tidy up any lax growths.
These can be tied in to leave for next year to train and other wispy growths can be cut away.
Wisteria needs to be pruned regularly, ideally twice a year, to form fat flower buds.
However, if you don’t prune in late summer, wisteria can simply be pruned in the winter.
Pruning wisteria will ensure gardeners get the the most “amazing” flowers in May.