Wisteria Alba: sudden death

My beloved young-ish but established wisteria alba failed to show any sign of life this spring, and on cutting the stems there was no green to be seen.

It's on a chalky soil, at the foot of an east facing wall, but most of the growth is above the wall in full sun. It was supported on a frame.

No sign of disease and I had watered and mulched as usual throughout the growing period.... can't think what killed it. Any ideas?

PS. One stem has layered itself so there might be hope for a resurrection

Hi rockette, you say it is planted at the foot of a wall. I wonder if it is too dry? The immediate area next to a wall gets very little rain, known as a 'rain shadow'. That, coupled with the extremely dry autumn, may have contributed to the plant's demise.

Fingers crossed the bit that has layered itself will spring to life!

Kate

Thanks Kate

I did water during the very dry spells in the autumn. I have around 200ft of east facing wall with plants all along, but this is the only loss.

Also, any tips on how to look after the one shoot that has layered itself? Am tempted to cover with more compost ...

Oh, has it layered itself or is it a shoot from the base? It could be graft failure, which isn't uncommon in wisterias. If it's a shoot from the base (rootstock), then the new plant will be different to the cultivar you've grown, so it might be worth just getting rid and starting again. If you want to keep it to see what it turns in to then a little compost wouldn't do any harm, and keep the plant watered (I imagine you've had lots of rain recently though ). Then just see what happens!

Kate

Thanks Kate! Will have a look and see. Yes - plenty of rain! Appreciate your help