Wisteria

The plant wisteria (Glicinia), also called wisteria (Wisteria), is a member of the legume family. It grows in East Asian countries (Chinese forests are considered their homeland), as well as in North America, where imported specimens were able to take root. Vines thrive best in subtropical climates: these plants prefer warmth and humidity.

The genus includes tree-like deciduous vines with drooping climbing shoots. The name of the plant comes from the word "sweet", and the word "wisteria" refers to the surname of the American professor Wistar.

Due to their unusual and very attractive appearance, wisterias are very popular in horticulture and in warm countries are often grown to decorate plots. Vines are especially common in Asian countries - China and Japan, but gardeners from all over the world were able to appreciate the beauty of wisteria. Today, American and European breeders are also engaged in the development of new varieties.

Description of wisteria

Wisterias are tree-like shrubs up to 18 m tall. Their shoots hanging like lianas may have pubescence or be bare. Graceful feathery leaves have a bright green color, often changing to yellow by autumn.

During flowering, clusters of inflorescences from 10 to 80 cm long appear on wisteria. They contain flowers of blue, white or pink color. They exude a strong and pleasant aroma. Inflorescences can bloom both simultaneously and gradually, starting from the lower branches.

The flowering time of wisteria and the peculiarities of their development depend on the species. American shrubs are considered less frost-hardy, and flowers appear on them in the second half of summer. Wisterias native to Asia bloom in spring, from late March to summer. Chinese wisteria sometimes has two waves of flowering: in late spring (when its leaves are blooming) and in early autumn. After flowering, pubescent beans about 15 cm long are formed on the vines. They contain round and shiny brown seeds up to 1.5 cm in diameter.

Despite its delicate appearance, wisteria is considered a poisonous plant - a dangerous substance is found in all parts of the bush.

Brief rules for growing wisteria

The table shows brief rules for growing wisteria in the open field.

Planting wisteria in open ground

The best place to land

Before planting wisteria in open ground, you need to find the most suitable place. The shrub has a long life span and, in good conditions, can exist for up to 150 years. For healthy growth, you will need a bright corner of the garden, where direct sun shines for at least 6 hours a day. In shady places, the vine will start to hurt. Another important condition for growing is warmth and good protection from icy winds. During the day, the bushes need at least 20 degrees, they do not tolerate cold nights. It is best to plant wisterias on the southeast or southwest side of the garden. So that the vine does not lean under the weight of the shoots, it is fixed on a reliable support. Due to the heavy weight of the growing branches, a solid foundation should be used that can support the load of non-lignified horizontal shoots. The mature branches are able to support themselves. But directing the wisteria directly to the walls of houses is not worth it - a large bush can damage the gratings or gutters. Unreliable rickety fences for support will also not work.

The soil for growing wisteria should be nutritious and light. Retention of moisture in the soil and its liming can result in the development of chlorosis and other diseases. The decorativeness and health of the plant can be significantly affected because of this. In general, the bush is undemanding to the composition of the soil, but it is believed that it prefers slightly acidic soils.

Usually, the stems of wisteria independently cling to the support, twisting around it counterclockwise. But this must be monitored by regularly tying the shoots in the right places so that they do not intertwine too much. This procedure simplifies preparation for the winter season, when the bush has to be detached from the supports.

Landing features

Planting wisteria can be done in spring or fall. The process is not particularly complex. For the plant, a hole is prepared with a depth of a little more than a soil coma, the width of the hole should be 2-3 times larger than its diameter. Compost and nitrogen fertilizers are added to the soil for planting. The roots of the bush are placed in the center of the resulting hole. In this case, you should not deepen the wisteria - its root collar should rise slightly above the ground level. After placing the seedling in the pit, fill in the remaining soil, tamp it and water it well. The root collar is mulched to a height of 10 cm. For this, you can use dry grass or peat.

Wisteria care

Wisteria is not too demanding to care for, but still needs some care. In order for the bush to develop better and bloom more magnificently, you will need to regularly take care of it.

Wisteria should not be transplanted without the need, therefore, the optimal place for its cultivation should be chosen immediately. If the bush nevertheless had to be moved to a new place, it can remain for a long time in a "frozen" state, without developing the aerial part. The plant spends this period on the restoration of the root system. Sometimes wisteria seedlings, planted in spring, remain the same throughout the summer, releasing young shoots only by autumn. They try to cover such branches especially carefully. By the second year of life, the bush should develop normally.

Watering

Wisteria grows in regions with high levels of humidity, but does not like waterlogged soil. Constant stagnation of liquid at the roots can lead to the dropping of branches and buds.But you shouldn't dry out the soil too much. In dry spring, the plant is watered abundantly, during growth the volume of watering is slightly reduced, and by the beginning of autumn they stop altogether. This will give the vine the opportunity to better prepare for the coming winter.

To prevent wisteria from suffering from dry air, plants can be sprayed during periods of summer heat. Such measures will reduce the number of watering, thereby insuring the plant from waterlogging. Adult bushes have time to form powerful roots that can extract moisture from the depths.

Top dressing

You can feed wisteria systematically. During the growing season, the bush is able to grow about 5 m in height, so it will need a sufficient amount of nutrients. Mineral additives for lianas alternate with organic ones. At the beginning of the season, 10-20 g of the complex composition per 1 sq. m area. After that, you can feed wisteria and organic matter, for example, fertilizing them with mullein infusion.

But it is worth remembering that an excess of nitrogen supplements will have a bad effect on flowering. During the budding period, they cease to be introduced. Some gardeners do not use nitrogen at all for feeding wisteria. Like all legumes, the plant is able to fix it with special nodules on the roots, so the main part of the added additives can be potassium and phosphorus. If the bush was originally planted in nutrient soil, feeding is sometimes not carried out at all.

In spring, it is also recommended to bring ash under the bushes. This will not only serve as a nutritional supplement for the vine, but also protect it from the effects of pests. If the soil in which the wisteria grows has become too acidic, you can water the plants with a solution of chalk (100 g per 1 bucket of water).

Pruning

The abundance of wisteria flowering depends on the pruning. This procedure is carried out in the spring, as soon as the plants are freed from the shelter. The bushes should be cut before they are fixed on the supports. All last year's growth is shortened by 2-3 buds. The crown of the plant is formed in the same way.

In order for wisteria to bloom more abundantly, at the beginning of summer, last year's branches are removed from it, cutting them to a level of 30 cm. At the very end of August, another pruning is carried out, shortening the new growth by 4-5 buds.

If the wisteria is grown climbing, the side stems will be removed. They only contribute to the growth of foliage, reducing the number of flowers on the bush, so they are shortened to 30 cm. Such measures allow the flowers not to hide from view and to be more spectacularly located on the branches. But too much pruning is not worth it: a certain leaf mass is needed for flowering liana.

The stem plant must have a strong trunk, so the remaining branches must be cut off. Young vines with one main shoot are suitable for such a formation.

Preparation for wintering

Although some varieties of wisteria are able to withstand frost, most varieties of the plant do not tolerate significant drops in temperature. So that the plantings do not freeze over the winter, they are removed from the supports and covered. Plants are not placed directly on the ground, placing them on a plank flooring. This will help avoid damping off in the spring. The stems laid on the substrate are covered with earth, covered with a layer of agrofibre or spruce branches are used.

Young immature wisteria will need such a reliable shelter especially. Fresh growth usually freezes over the winter, but these branches would still have to be removed during pruning, so this does not harm the plant. Mature and strong bushes are left to winter on the supports. Woody stems will be too difficult to remove and may be tough enough to withstand the cold.

Reproduction of wisteria

Wisteria can multiply by seed, but this method is considered to be more time-consuming and does not always guarantee the transfer of the characteristics of the variety. To be sure to get the plant you need, vegetative propagation is most often used.

Growing from seeds

If wisteria is nevertheless decided to grow from seeds, at the beginning of December they are sown in a greenhouse. Spring sowing in open ground is also possible. For planting, use a mixture of turf and sand with leafy soil (1: 1: 4). Seeds are distributed superficially, only lightly sprinkling them with sand. After that, the container with crops is covered with foil or glass and tidied up in a dark place - these are the conditions that seeds need for germination.

It takes up to 4 weeks to germinate. Seed germination is usually low - only a quarter of the seeds germinate. After the sprouts appear, the film is removed, but the young wisteria continue to be kept in partial shade. After the formation of a pair of leaves, the seedlings dive into separate pots. If the weather is warm enough on the street, they are transferred to the air every day for about a couple of hours, trying to protect them from drafts. The seedlings obtained in this way begin to bloom only 6-10 years after sowing, but the abundance of flowering and the color of the flowers are not guaranteed.

Cuttings

Cuttings from wisteria can be cut in spring and summer. They are taken from the middle part of the shoots of the current season. The length of the cutting should be about 5-7 cm, each should have up to 3 buds. The resulting cutting is planted in a substrate that includes peat, humus, turf and sand. Such cuttings usually take root without problems, but for reliability, they can be pre-treated with a rooting stimulator. The upper part of the seedling is strengthened on a support. At the beginning of autumn, the rooted seedling is transferred to a permanent place. If the cuttings were cut in the fall, they hibernate at +3 degrees in moist soil, in the spring they are transplanted into containers with sand, and by autumn the rooted plants are transplanted for growing up for a year.

Root cuttings of wisteria can also be used for propagation. To do this, in March, a bush is dug out of the ground and its roots, both large and small, are slightly pruned. Then the plant is returned to its place. After that, the wisteria will begin to form new roots, on which the adventitious shoots will develop. By autumn, young shoots with roots are separated from the bush with a sharp tool, treated with a fungicide and transplanted into a container with suitable soil. Such plants spend the winter in a warm place, and in the spring, with the final onset of heat, they are transplanted to the chosen place. The main disadvantage of this method is the risk of too much damage to the adult bush from which the layers will be taken. Root damage can significantly affect the development and flowering of wisteria.

Reproduction by layering

The separation of layering is considered less dangerous and time consuming. To do this, in the fall, after the foliage has fallen off, a strong lower shoot is chosen on the bush, slightly incised and fixed on the ground in a prepared groove. From above, the branch is covered with soil, leaving its top with 2-3 buds on the surface. She is tied to a peg. In the spring, before the active development of the vines begins, the layers are separated from the plant. Over the summer, he manages to finally take root, and in the fall, the wisteria is transplanted to the final place. The procedure can be carried out in the spring, while the separation is carried out next spring or autumn. If the seedling has not developed enough roots, you can transplant it into a growing container.

You can also graft cuttings of a plant of the desired variety on a bush of a species of wisteria. For this, winter root grafting is used.

Pests and diseases

Wisteria is not a highly immune plant. In order to timely notice signs of illness or the appearance of a pest, plantings must be regularly inspected, as well as preventive treatments must be carried out.

The most dangerous pests of vines are aphids, leafhoppers, and clover mites. Sometimes the foliage of plants can be devoured by caterpillars. You can try to treat small lesions with folk remedies, but usually an appropriate drug is used against pests.

In too alkaline soil, wisteria can develop chlorosis. At the same time, its foliage begins to turn pale.Foliar feeding with an iron-containing preparation will help against chlorosis. If signs of chlorosis have been seen on a young seedling, it may be growing in the wrong place. It is recommended to transplant such a bush.

Powdery mildew is another potential problem. At the same time, a white cobweb-like plaque forms on the leaves of the affected wisteria. To destroy pathogens, fungicide treatment will be required. They are used strictly according to the instructions.

Types and varieties of wisteria with photos and names

The genus includes 9 species of wisteria, of which only two are most widespread - Chinese and profusely flowering. It is these plants that are usually chosen to decorate gardens or parks. Both of these wisterias prefer warm climates, so not every country will be able to grow them.

Chinese wisteria (Wisteria chinensis)

The height of such plants reaches 20 m. Young vines of Wisteria sinensis have pubescent shoots, and in adults, the branches are shiny and smooth. Flowers form lush racemes up to 30 cm long. Most often they have a lilac or lilac color, but in double forms there is also a white color.

Blooming of such wisteria begins on all branches at the same time. The inflorescences bloom with the appearance of the first leaves and stay on the tree almost all summer. Together with feathery foliage, the flowers look especially impressive. Some forms of such wisteria have two waves of flowering - in May and in August-September. Young plants bloom around the 3rd year of cultivation.

These vines are considered to be resistant to urban air pollution, so they are well suited for landscaping. Despite its thermophilicity, the Chinese wisteria is capable of withstanding short-term frosts down to -20 degrees. The most popular varieties:

• Alba - white-flowered variety.
• Blue Sapphire - with bluish blue flowers.
• Prolific - with violet-blue inflorescences.

Wisteria abundantly flowering, or multi-flowered (Wisteria floribunda)

A more compact shrub up to 10 m high. The foliage of Wisteria floribunda reaches 40 cm in length. Simultaneously with it, two-colored violet-blue flowers, collected in bunches, appear on the branches. At the same time, the flowering of the species begins several weeks later than that of the Chinese wisteria. The inflorescences do not bloom together, but gradually, starting from the lower branches. Usually this period falls on June, but in some varieties in the second half of summer, a second wave of bud formation begins. Seedlings begin to bloom only in the 10th year of cultivation, but garden forms, propagated vegetatively, can form inflorescences much earlier.

The high decorativeness of wisteria is of great interest to breeders. Garden forms of this plant can have different colors of inflorescences, double flowers or variegated foliage. Some varieties are notable for their higher frost resistance - they can withstand frosts down to -22-24 degrees.

• Japanese wisteria or Japanese wisteria - is considered synonymous with multiflorous. She received the second name according to the place of origin. Sometimes Japanese are called forms of wisteria, which form white or pink inflorescences. Among them is the "Rosea" variety. Most often found in the Caucasus.

Beautiful wisteria (Wisteria venusta)

Another not too tall view, reaching up to 10 m in height. Wisteria venusta blooms from late spring to almost mid-summer. The flowers can be white, lilac or purple and literally turn the shrub into a blooming cloud.

Shrub wisteria (Wisteria frutescens)

This species is grown in the Crimea. Bushes of Wisteria frutescens are kept in special containers and give them a standard shape. The height of such a wisteria reaches 12 m, and its inflorescences are painted in a delicate purple-bluish tint.

Large wisteria (Wisteria macrostachya)

Wisteria macrostachya starts flowering in June and lasts about 2 weeks. At this time, blue flower clusters up to 25 cm long bloom on the branches. Among the most famous varieties - "Blue Macrostachia". The species is also notable for its particularly high frost resistance.Some varieties are able to survive frosts down to -36-38 degrees.

Wisteria in landscape design

Due to the peculiarities of the structure of the bush, wisteria is most often used in vertical gardening, planting near a house or fence. Gradually, the bush turns into a spectacular green hedge. In the garden, wisteria can wrap around gazebos, arches or pergolas. Fragrant flowers hanging from them will add attractiveness to the landscape. A lush bush can perfectly disguise unsightly corners of a garden or serve as a means of zoning it. Despite the length of the stems, the plant takes up little space, so it can fit even into a small area.

Wisterias can be planted singly, in groups or in combination with other flowers. Delicate blue-violet flowers that appear in springtime look good with bulbous plants. Sometimes wisteria bushes are not planted in open ground, but in a portable container, keeping it on the veranda or in the winter garden. Wisteria can also be used to create bonsai.