Training a Wisteria on a Wall

robin 435

Hello

I have a young Wisteria Clara Mack which I am training up a wall which is fitted with horizontal wires 15 inches apart. The plant is currently about 7 feet high and has two woody stems growing from the bottom, one vertical and the other at about 45 degrees.

If you read the various guides on the web they suggest you have one vertical central stem and then train horizontal branches along the wires. However does this strictly matter? If you look at photos of wisteria on walls they often have multiple stems coming from the base.

In the winter I could just trim my plant to have one central stem, but am reluctant to go ahead because this would reduce the plant size by half.

If I keep both stems and train their branches along the wires then they will overlap each other as they grow in opposite directions, but again does this really matter?

Thanks for your advice

 

 

BobFlannigon

I don't think it really matters, it's better that you get something you're happy with aesthetically and maintainably speaking.  They grow pretty quickly so I'm sure if you chop too much off it won't take long to grow back next year.

purplerallim

I have an Alba Wisteria planted March. One 7 foot whip and growth near the graft, cut back whip by third as informed by plants man and he said new growth would come from the base too. Now have three main stems and starting to side shoot. Done the summer chop in August taking ends off main stems but will have little to remove in March as yet to put on much side growth. If the stems are woody would leave them and concentrate on the positions of the new growth. It will grow fast and if you want flowers it has to be hard pruned on the side shoots in March, but like mine yours is young so we will have to see if we get much flower next spring.😀

robin 435

Thank you for your replies, the two stems are woody so think I will leave them in place. It's been interesting and fun watching the plant grow and training it on the wires, during our warm summer it was growing 2-3 inches per day! 

Make sure your stems are all from the woody graft at the base, earlier in the year I had one stem emerging from the soil and was advised to remove it since it was probably from the root stock. 

purplerallim

That's right, it's like anything grafted you don't want it below the graft 😀