Pruning during the formative years: The idea is you train your plant to form a framework that will be there for many years. Want the fantastic rewards that a well-trained wisteria will give you? Follow these guidelines:
Allow your new shoots to grow in length, choosing a leader shoot to train as vertical, allowing shoots coming off this to be trained horizontally.
Shorten these shoots and the vertical by a quarter in November.
The following year, allow to grow in length to further extend the vertical and horizontal frame – sending new horizontal shoots as the vertical extends up.
By the end of season two you should have a basic frame. Pinch these back just a few inches (unless they have grown enormously, then prune harder).
Year 3, framework is ready to do annual pruning, now you have the frame.
Summer and Winter Annual pruning:
Every July/August new shoots arising from your frame will be pruned to 5-7 leaf buds. Cut immediately above a leaf, a follow up may be needed.
A second prune is done in the dormant season (January February March not during very cold spells), reduce your last prune of 5-7 to 2 buds; remove any dead wood. Prune previous seasons’ shoots – they might have extended growth on from the summer. The important thing is taking them back to 2 buds.
The next season’s pruning is the same.
So: summer prune is 5-7 buds; winter prune is 2 buds. However, things start to change here because the last year’s winter prune to 2 may produce two new shoots that you will then prune to 5-7 and in winter to 2, this all starts to form spurs, rather like apple trees do.
One last word
Missed the summer prune?
Shorten growth to 2 buds on your winter prune. Be aware it will be spaghetti, difficult to sort out.
Remember 2 buds - February. July 5 - 7 buds.
Allow your new shoots to grow in length, choosing a leader shoot to train as vertical, allowing shoots coming off this to be trained horizontally.
Shorten these shoots and the vertical by a quarter in November.
The following year, allow to grow in length to further extend the vertical and horizontal frame – sending new horizontal shoots as the vertical extends up.
By the end of season two you should have a basic frame. Pinch these back just a few inches (unless they have grown enormously, then prune harder).
Year 3, framework is ready to do annual pruning, now you have the frame.
Summer and Winter Annual pruning:
Every July/August new shoots arising from your frame will be pruned to 5-7 leaf buds. Cut immediately above a leaf, a follow up may be needed.
A second prune is done in the dormant season (January February March not during very cold spells), reduce your last prune of 5-7 to 2 buds; remove any dead wood. Prune previous seasons’ shoots – they might have extended growth on from the summer. The important thing is taking them back to 2 buds.
The next season’s pruning is the same.
So: summer prune is 5-7 buds; winter prune is 2 buds. However, things start to change here because the last year’s winter prune to 2 may produce two new shoots that you will then prune to 5-7 and in winter to 2, this all starts to form spurs, rather like apple trees do.
One last word
Missed the summer prune?
Shorten growth to 2 buds on your winter prune. Be aware it will be spaghetti, difficult to sort out.
Remember 2 buds - February. July 5 - 7 buds.
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