Strangled my wisteria!

tails007

Hi. I have a wisteria which I have been supporting to grow up my house with horizontal garden wire. To stop the wisteria falling sideways I tired more wire around the plant and then to the horizontal wire. As a result the main trunk of the wisteria has been strangled, stopped growing, and has indents where the wire has been. As a result realy long branches have come from the Base of the plant and now overtaken the main branch. Should I prune the plant to below where it got strangled? If so when should I do this?

Strangle indents:

Base roots overtaking main stem:

 

 

 

Hostafan1

try to establish if the shoots from the base are coming from above, or below the graft union.

Hostafan1

tails, from photo no 1 it's clear the plant has been tucked behind the wires. 

This should never be done. Tempting , but wrong. 

Tie the plant to the wire otherwise you can never undo it later.

Dave Morgan

Tails can you post a pic from further back please. Plus take one of the strangulation point. This sort of mistake is easy enough to sort out but I'd need to see more first.

tails007

Hi dave. Strangulation point is in the first picture about 2cm below the wire... will get some more photos up asap.



Thanks!



Thanks also hostafan, photos shoukd help with your question too I think. Will post up asap

tails007

 

 

 

tails007

Hope the new photos above help?  1st photo shows full view so you can see the two new shoots (is that the right term) that have now overtaken the main branch.

Since strangling the main branch, which you can see in the third photo it has not grown any taller.  Leaves dont look dead, still healthy and green looking.  But should I cut below the strangluation point somewhere?  Would that encourage more vertical growth?

Second photo shows where the two new shoots are coming from, there the two lighter coloured branches on the right hand side in the photo.

 

Thanks all for your helpful replies so far!

Dave Morgan

Right the strangulation isn't as bad as it seems. The damage has prompted the new growth but you want to encourage new growth from the existing main stem. 

You can do one of two things, first you can create a new main stem from one of the new stems, or, and probably the best option remove the new growth to encourage new growth from the existing main stem.  You need to remove the new stems as far below soil level as you can go, just like removing a rose sucker.

Nothing much will happen this year but you should see new growth next spring from the bushy growth at the top of the main stem.

Just remember to tie in with the wire behind the stems in future. I'm sure you won't repeat the mistake.

tails007

Thanks Dave.

What's the reason for wanting the main stem to grow again - is it somehow better than the new ones? - just curious

Also, how would you go about making one of the new stems the main stem?

Really appreciate the advice here btw - I am clueless!

Thanks again!

Hostafan1

as it's in a fairly confined space. maybe try training in to go left on one wire, curve up onto the next , then right across that , up to the next the left and so on?

I did this on an entire house side and it worked wonderfully. I reckon the plant was over 50 years old, at least, and I untangled it and started again.

Dave Morgan

Tails wisteria tends to sucker and suckers take away energy which reduces flowering. So one or at most two main stems gives better flowering. Getting a new main stem can be tricky so that's why the preferred option is to use the one you already have as a new main stem will take a few years to get going.