Installing horizontal garden wire

lgraham2812

Hi there,

I'm hoping for some advice regarding installing horizontal garden wire on a wall and fence. Please see photo below. In this spot the wire is to attempt to train a wisteria we have inherited, and in other spots will be for jasmine and a climbing rose.

I've measured 1ft up from the ground for the first wire, and spacing the others 1.5ft apart will mean 5 horizontal wires up the wall and fence. It seems quite a lot, do you imagine it really needs so many?

Many thanks,

Lisa

BobTheGardener

Personally, I would train it only over the fence part, and 2 strong horizontal wires threaded through vine-eyes every metre or so to help take the weight would be sufficient in my opinion.  Make sure you use 2.5mm or thicker wire and long vine-eyes to keep the wire a few inches away from the fence, and turnbuckles to tension it.

lgraham2812

Hi Bob, thanks for this. So this would mean removing even all the larger branches lower down?

Lisa

NewbiePlantAddict

Hi @Igraham2812 if you are on instagram "myrealgarden" as a IGTV on installing wires for climbers which is very helpful.

BobTheGardener

There are several expert growers of wisteria on the forum who may be able to help - I remember @Obelixx posting some lovely photos.  Can anyone help with the initial pruning/training?

Obelixx

I inherited my pair of wisterias, already old enough to have strong wooden trunks and main branches so now it's a case of maintaining and guiding.

Personally, to cover that wall and fence, I'd space the wires every 30cms/12".   However, if you only want to cover the fence part I'd make do with 2 or maybe 3 wires on that and none on the wall. 

You then have to decide which stems of the wisteria will be twined along the wires and that will then dictate which get removed back to 7 leaf nodes now and 2 in February to encourage flowering.  Same with the jasmine and rose - select the stems to be guided along the wires and remove the rest, especially those which insist on growing out, away from the wall rather than along it.

lgraham2812

Thank you all so very much, I'm rather daunted by the wisteria as a new gardener so the advice is much appreciated

Just to confirm @Obelixx , I tie the stems I am keeping against the wire and cut these back to 7 leaf nodes now, and then cut back to 2 leaf nodes in February?

Obelixx

Not quite.  Select the stems you want to keep to grow across your wires and either twine them or attach them loosely with twine so they don't get strangled as they grow sturdier and woodier.   Over the years they will need room to grow but also less support so keep an eye on the ties.   Let them grow as far along as you want the wisteria to extend and when they get there, cut off the ends to stop them.

All the other stems whether they are coming from the base, the main stems or the top get cut back to 7 in July and then 2 in late February.   Don't get too anxious about it tho as they're quite forgiving plants and really want to grow.   There's some helpful advice here - https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=242 

This is what one of my inherited ones looks like after it had been tamed back. 

The main trunk is in in the middle and then splits into two big more or less horizontal branches from which innumerable shoots burst forth.   In a good year ours have a second flush of flowers whilst in full leaf in July so I now just give it all a good haircut after the first flowers finish in May so we can walk past without being ambushed and then from July I shorten all the whippy shoots that form.   February, when it's bare, is the time to check for the 3 Ds - dead, damaged or diseased stems that need cutting out and any heading off under roof tiles or behind gutters.