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Wisteria not flowering why?

Hi

Please can you advise on a very healthy wistria 8 years old and not one flower- ever.  Pruned 1 year as per the experts -near to the ground but that didn't work either. 

 Well-fed in spring, and in large trough and plenty of sun and shelter, grows well every year but doesn't produce any flowers- any suggestions at what I am doing wrong?.

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  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,139

    Hi, did you buy this wisteria as a named plant from a nursery, or did you get it from a friend or a plant stall or similar?   Wisteria do take a while to get to maturity  but those grown from seed rather than cuttings can take for ever to flower!  

    As it's in a container, make sure it gets plenty of water in the late summer, as that's when the flower buds are forming.  

    What sort of fertiliser has it been getting? - something with plenty of potash in it might nudge it into action - I'd sprinkle some sulphate of potash around it, or you could use a rose or tomato fertiliser.

    And I'm a bit confused by your description of the pruning - you say you pruned it near to the ground one year?  What happened then?  Have you pruned it since?

    Wisteria needs pruning twice a year to encourage the formation of the side shoots that bear the flowers http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?PID=242 I know it says do it after flowering, but just go by the time of the year if it hasn't flowered.

    Good luck image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Thank you we will try the potash feed and tomato feed.  The plant was a young plant from the plant centre.

    Checking hte websites the buds I can see look to be new growth rather than flower buds so may have to wait another year, but stop using all multi purpose feeds and high nitrogen feeds and use feed on the NPK of  e.g.0 20 0

    Many Thanks

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384

    Fully agree with Dove.  I grew 2 wisteria from seed over 10 years ago and neither has yet flowered, despite being fed and pruned properly.  If anyone is interested in having a wisteria, I would highly recommend only buying one which is actually in flower in a garden centre.  That way you know what colour the flowers are and how fragrant they are.  Seed grown wisteria are extremely variable in those areas, and the 'good doers' are almost all grafted.  I'm now seriously considering buying a wisteria in flower and grafting pieces on to the ones I grew from seed, effectively demoting them to mere rootstock!

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • Cat4Cat4 Posts: 3

    My wisteria has been flowering successfully for several years, but it hasn't flowered this year. It gets pruned properly at the right times and I can't think of anything that would affect it other than the weather although other wisterias close by are flowering.

    many thanks 

  • We have 3 different varieties of wisteria, all proper nursery grown plants that all had flowers when we bought them but we have never managed to get a single flower ever since. We have followed the twice annually pruning to the letter, tried all the different techniques we could find online, asked the experts at the Gardeners World show etc (feeding potash, treating mean, lots of water late summer) but all to no avail. We have 2 in large patio containers and 1 in the ground now and despite looking healthy and producing many buds for beautiful foliage, that is all we ever get! 2 neighbours have very old wisteria that appear to grow from under tarmac/concrete patio slabs who spend no time pruning feeding etc and yet they are now covered in flower buds about to burst forth!! Very frustrating!! We will wait in hope though that one day they will finally provide us with the amazing fragrant flower display we bought them for!!

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,139

    I would return to the nursery where you bought them and discuss it with them. 

    Good luck. image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • They were all from seperate nurseries over the past 5 to 10 years! Have asked them all and have followed their advice and still no flowers!! We have great success with everything else in our garden including some fantastic results with propogating tricky plants which makes this even more frustrating!!
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,139

    How frustrating!!!

    Can you swap houses with your neighbour and get them to look after your wisteria for a while? image

    Perhaps copying your neighbours with a bit of benign neglect/tough love etc.  

    I'd continue to prune properly but withold any feed for the next two or three  or even four years - I know that's ages but it's only the twinkle of an eye in wisteria terms -  you still have very young plants.  

    Let them think that their lives may be shortened and they need to reproduce - but if your garden soil is good it may take several seasons before they notice the lack of feed.

    Good luck image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Tough love it is then!! Anythings worth a try now!! Cheers
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,139

    Let us know how you get on image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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