Anyone who sees blooming wisteria for the first time cannot believe for a long time what is in front of him. living plant. Long floral brushes look so impressive that the first thing that comes to mind is a designer with a wild imagination, and not Mother Nature. Wisteria, often called wisteria, is one of the most beautiful flowering vines. From a distance, its clusters resemble a foamy waterfall; it blooms so generously that branches and leaves are often not visible behind the purple, blue or white clusters. Wisteria is magnificent; growing and caring for it will be the topic of our article.
Wisteria (Wisteria) is a small genus of woody vines, consisting of only 9 species, belonging to the Legume family. It originates from China and Japan.
Tree-like deciduous liana, depending on the species, reaching from 8 to 20 meters with pinnate, unpaired beautiful leaves with 7-19 segments - this is what wisteria looks like. This plant blooms in spring with purple or white flowers, collected in fragrant inflorescences-tassels ranging in size from 30 to 50 cm. The fruit is a bean up to 15 cm long.
Wisteria loves warmth; growing it in areas with temperate and cold climates is difficult; the further you move north, the better shelter this vine requires for the winter. It should be noted that its plantings tolerate the polluted air of cities well.
Although the plant is represented by 9 species, in the territory of the former countries Soviet Union the most commonly grown wisteria chinensis and wisteria profusely flowering or multi-flowered.
Chinese wisteria grows up to 15-20 meters; its imparipinnate leaf, about 30 cm in size, has from 7 to 11 (sometimes 13) leaflets, pubescent at the beginning of the growing season, later smooth. The stems wrap around the support counterclockwise.
Loose racemes up to 30 cm long consist of an abundance of fragrant flowers, usually light purple, less often white. Chinese wisteria blooms at the same time as the leaves appear, and all its flowers open almost simultaneously.
At good care in August-September, re-blooming may occur, not as abundant as the first, but also very attractive. This species can withstand short-term temperature drops to 20 degrees below zero.
Description of the most popular varieties:
Chinese wisteria "Alba" 
Chinese wisteria "Blue Sapphire"
More frost-resistant wisteria is profusely flowering or multi-flowered, very similar to Chinese, but blooms 2-3 weeks later and only after the leaves appear. Its leaf blade reaches 40 cm and has 11-19 segments. Wisteria grows profusely flowering up to 8 meters, its shoots twist clockwise.
Flower racemes reach half a meter, but in varietal plants they can exceed a meter in length. The flowers located at the base of the brush bloom first, then at the top. The most popular varieties:
There is a form of “Variegata” - with multi-colored leaves.
Wisteria profusely flowering or multi-flowered "Rosea" 
Wisteria profusely flowering or multi-flowered "Variegata"
Wisteria macrocarpal is represented by a single variety. Wisteria called “Blue Moon” is the most frost-resistant of the existing ones and can withstand frosts up to 40 degrees, it grows quickly and blooms up to 3 times per season with lilac-blue flowers.
The variety with double purple flowers “Double Black Dragon” is unusually beautiful. Interestingly, its origin is unknown, as is its species - this flowering purple wisteria has the characteristics different types, experts attribute it either to Chinese or to multiflora.
Wisteria large-tasseled "Blue Moon" 
Wisteria "Double Black Dragon"
Japanese wisteria usually blooms with white flowers less profusely than the species listed above, and its frost resistance is much lower.
Wisteria is propagated by cuttings, seeds and layering.
Growing wisteria from seeds is easy, but you need to keep in mind that wisteria from seeds does not inherit varietal characteristics, and it may not bloom at all. Sometimes, though quite rarely, a vine grown from seeds surpasses the mother one in decorative qualities.
Wisteria seeds do not lose their viability for 2-3 years. Sowing time: end of November – beginning of December; directly into the soil - early in the spring, as soon as the snow melts. For seed germination, the substrate is composed of the following composition:
Wisteria seeds
The seeds are placed on the ground and lightly crushed with sand or peat, then covered with glass or film and kept in a dark place at a temperature of 20-25 degrees. It is very important that the soil does not dry out, but is also not waterlogged - wisteria seeds can easily rot.
Shoots usually appear in a month, and after another 10-15 days they need to be placed in a bright place, slightly shaded, in order to accustom them to the sun. Wisteria seedlings are planted in separate pots in the phase of two true leaves, removed from the soil with a tablespoon so as not to damage the root. On permanent place seedlings are planted only the next year after germination.
Caring for wisteria grown from seeds will be much easier than caring for one grafted or obtained from cuttings. But it will bloom no earlier than in 4-6 years.
Shrubs and woody vines with soft wood are difficult to propagate by cuttings, including wisteria. But propagation by cuttings is still possible.
Take apical cuttings about 15 cm long at the very end of flowering or immediately after flowering. The lower leaves are torn off, the upper leaves are shortened by 2/3, the lower cut is treated with heteroauxin and planted in a mixture of sand, peat and fertile soil. Planting is done with a slope of approximately 30 degrees, burying one bud completely into the ground, the second should be at soil level. From this it is clear that very elongated shoots with sparse internodes are not suitable for cuttings.
The box with cuttings should be in a shady place, protected from strong wind, but with good ventilation place. It is best to cover the plantings with a transparent film, ventilate and spray them daily. A few days after new leaves hatch, the cover needs to be removed.
Such plantings should overwinter either in cold greenhouses, if in winter the temperature there is about 10 degrees, or in a room with the same temperature and dim lighting. Right in open ground Cuttings can only be planted in the south, otherwise the wisteria will die. Growing cuttings can be considered successful even if 30% of the plantings survive by next spring. When the buds swell, it will be possible to plant the wisteria in a permanent place. The planted cuttings must be protected from the sun for the first time.
Each of ornamental plants, decorating our garden, has some kind of “zest”-feature. For example, blooming...
What is the easiest way to grow wisteria? An easy, reliable, but unproductive method of propagation is layering. In the spring, at the very beginning of the growing season, you need to select a good, low-lying annual shoot, bend it, cut it, and powder the wound surface with heteroauxin. Then plant it cut side down either in a pot placed nearby or in the ground, securing the branch with bent electrodes for reliability.
A varietal cutting is grafted in winter onto the root of a plant grown from seeds. Only a specialist can vaccinate the roots; caring for and growing a grafted plant for the first time cannot be called easy either. Let's leave this method of propagation to nurseries.
Beginner gardeners are often interested in the question of when to plant wisteria: in spring or autumn? It is planted and replanted in the spring. Before planting wisteria, choose a well-lit place, sheltered from the wind, with nutritious, well-drained soil.
Dig a hole measuring 60x60 cm and about 50 cm deep. If necessary, lay drainage, then fill the hole with fertile soil. Plant at the same depth at which the wisteria grew before. Its planting is completed by tying it to a support and abundant watering.
Spring and summer are full of bright colors and a wide variety of flower shapes. Thanks to which at this time our gardens...
Planting and caring for wisteria is not particularly difficult.
During active growth, the vine is watered systematically, but without over-wetting. In autumn, watering is gradually reduced, but do not forget that if the autumn is dry, it is necessary to do pre-winter moisture recharging. Wisteria tends to freeze, and this procedure cannot be neglected.
For the first three years, wisteria needs regular feeding. From the beginning of the growing season until the end of flowering, it is fed twice a month with complex mineral fertilizers. At the end of August and September, feed the plant with monopotassium phosphate or any other phosphorus-potassium fertilizer that does not contain nitrogen at all.
Starting from the fourth year after planting, you can feed wisteria 4 times per season:
Don't feed wisteria organic fertilizers– they contain high doses of nitrogen, and the plant belongs to the legumes that produce it themselves.
During flowering, regularly remove faded inflorescences. The wisteria has bloomed. Further care consists of watering, loosening, fertilizing, removing weeds and pruning.
From this vine you can easily form small tree or bonsai. Wisteria at the age of several decades has a rather thick trunk - up to 20-30 cm. But even at a younger age, old shoots cannot be called thin. If you want to get something exotic and not like a vine, you need to start forming it from the first years of life.
Proper and timely pruning is the key to abundant, long-term flowering. For getting large quantity flower buds immediately after flowering, trim last year's shoots, leaving no more than 30 cm (the remaining cuttings can be rooted). In mid-August, shorten the current year's growth, leaving 4-5 buds, and in the spring, after removing the cover, trim another 2-3 internodes.
This is perhaps the most difficult stage of caring for wisteria. In the southernmost regions it grows without shelter, a little further to the north it is spudded like roses. The further north wisteria grows, the more serious shelter it needs. In the fall, it is removed from its support, laid on the ground, covered with spruce branches, covered with agrofibre, if necessary, additionally covered with leaves.
But there will come a time when you simply cannot remove the wisteria from the support. Then you will have to install a special covering structure around the support. The older the plant, the more frost it can withstand.
Wisteria rarely gets sick and is affected by pests. Use insecticides to control insects.
If the soil is excessively alkaline, iron may stop being absorbed - treat the wisteria leaf with a complex of chelates or water it with iron chelate.
Why doesn't wisteria bloom? There may be several reasons:
Wisteria is beautiful in itself and does not need to be emphasized. But it will look great against the backdrop of green plantings or in company with tulips growing at the foot.
Wisteria will look especially beautiful against the background of a building wall or as a frame for a gazebo, balcony or terrace.
Formed as a standard tree or bonsai, the plant will look impressive as a tub plant anywhere in the garden or home; during flowering it should be placed in the most visible place.
The bloom of wisteria is a whirlpool of bright colors, when long brushes - purple, blue, white and pink clusters, emitting a sweetish aroma - rush down like an unstoppable waterfall. It’s not for nothing that the reserved Japanese compare a garden with blooming wisteria to a walk in paradise.
Growing wisteria in garden culture It is actively used for the site, because it occupies a minimum of space and has exceptional decorative properties. With the help of wisteria, you can not only decorate a wall (it’s not for nothing that they call it a “garden climber”; it grows by easily climbing up supports), a fence or any building, but also disguise visually unsightly “technical” parts of the garden, zone the yard with green screens and get protection and shelter from wind and sun.
Wisteria as a genus includes 9 species, but in our country only a few are most widespread:
Wisteria cannot be called too demanding to care for; it will not require much time. It is necessary to observe enough simple rules care so that the plant grows actively and blooms profusely.
Choosing a location. Wisteria is photophilous, under sun rays must stay at least 6 hours a day. At the same time, it must be well protected from a cold place, so optimal place will become southern (southwest, southeast) house wall. When used in vertical gardening, durable and strong support should be selected for wisteria shoots. Due to the high windage of the vine, it must be stable and able to withstand sufficiently high wind loads.
Advice! The shoots must be tied up, otherwise they can entangle themselves around the support, and in the fall it will be very problematic to remove the vine without damage in order to press it to the ground for shelter for the winter.
The soil. Wisteria loves fertile, light, well-permeable, not very wet soil. It is very difficult to tolerate calcareous soils - in this case it develops chlorosis - the leaves become very light and lose their decorative appeal. The best thing, landing hole(dimensions 60x60x50 cm) fill with a mixture of humus, peat and sand and turf soil in a ratio of 1:1:1:3 - this mixture contains many nutritional components and promotes the active development and further flowering of wisteria.
Watering. Wisteria does not like too wet soil - excessive soil moisture can cause the shedding of leaves and buds. In very dry spring, wisteria should be watered generously so that the buds do not dry out and fall off due to lack of moisture. From the beginning of flowering until the end of summer, moderate watering is carried out - the soil should be only slightly moist. In order not to cause stagnation of water at the wisteria root, in hot weather carry out watering better method spraying. At the end of September, watering is practically stopped - the plant slows down its growth and begins to prepare for winter.
Wisteria is a plant that forms a long (up to 20 meters) vine. The foliage of the plant is covered with down, long, and not paired with pinnate leaves. The flowers form cyst-shaped inflorescences and have a strong scent. The color of the inflorescence is usually white or purple.
This tree is often used to decorate gardens and house facades. At home, you can grow this flower as a bonsai, but most often it is found as a garden plant. The most common types of wisteria in our country are:
A species reaching 20 meters. Its foliage is initially covered with down, but loses it over time. There are two varieties with regular and double flowers.
Or Japanese this species is half shorter than its Chinese relative, but has more large leaves, as well as a large number of them on the vines. In addition, the size of the Japanese wisteria inflorescence is also larger.
Let us remember separately Wisteria Blue Moon , which is the most frost-resistant variety and can withstand temperatures down to -30°C.
Caring for any plant begins with planting it. If you get wisteria seeds and want to grow them, remember that the resulting individuals may not bloom at all.
Wisteria seeds should be sown in late autumn or early winter. To do this, prepare the soil from leaf soil, turf and sand (4: 1: 1). The seeds are placed on top of the substrate and a little sand is poured on top. Next, the material is moistened and covered with a transparent film.
Before germination, the container with the crops should be stored in the dark, at a temperature of at least 20°C. Moisten the soil a little all the time so that it does not dry out.
After about 20-30 days, shoots will appear, and after another 15 days it will be possible to place them in a lighted place, but so that direct rays do not reach the pot.
When the flowers have two true leaves, they should be planted in separate pots, along with the substrate on the rhizome, and watered with slightly diluted manganese.
After diving, the plants begin to harden off every day for two to three hours a day. For example, you can place them in more cold room or keep it near the window, but make sure that the plant does not show through.
You need to plant a flower in the soil when the threat of frost has passed. Although wisterias withstand cold well, young individuals are still quite sensitive.
The planting area should be well lit half the day, and it should also be protected from strong winds. Wisteria needs nutritious soil, with good drainage and slightly alkaline.
The size of the hole for the plant should be 50 cm in depth, length and width. Before planting in the substrate, during digging, add mineral fertilizer.
Do not be alarmed if at first the wisteria looks weak or does not develop - this is quite normal, since the first few years after planting it rarely forms strong shoots and does not bloom.
In spring and summer, wisteria needs to be watered. Try to keep the ground always damp, but not wet. In the absence of rain, watering is increased, but remember that if moisture stagnates, the roots may rot.
To enhance flowering, you need to apply fertilizer every 7 days during the period of growing green mass, alternating mineral and organic agents. Watering the plant with chalk water once a season also has a good effect on the plant.
Sluggish inflorescences are removed so that they do not take away the plant’s strength. You also need to cut off the dried shoots, and direct the living ones to Right place and tie to supports.
Before the arrival of cold weather, the rosette of the plant is hilled up, the vines are placed on the ground next to the base of the wisteria and covered with foliage, and then insulated with lutrasil.
If you are sure that the winter will be snowy, then there is no need for all these preparations, but in the absence of snow there is a high probability of the plant dying.
To wait for wisteria to bloom, you need to be patient, because Chinese variety It begins to bloom only in the third year after planting, and the Japanese one in the tenth!
For abundant flowering, as well as for a more attractive appearance, you need to prune the plant.
To form standard wisteria, leave only the main shoot. If you have a climbing form, then some of the side stems also need to be cut off, otherwise they will take too much energy.
In spring, you need to cut off the young stems that cover the inflorescences with leaves. In addition, a flower may appear on a young stem only if it is cut to 30 cm.
In summer, the side stems are shortened by 30 cm, and at the end of summer by another 15. This is done to improve the shape of the plant. But try not to prune the shoots too much, otherwise the wisteria may not bloom well.
How to grow wisteria from seeds was discussed at the beginning of the last section. Since this method has a significant drawback, it is better to resort to propagation by layering.
With the arrival of spring, you need to take an annual stem, cut it in the middle and place it on a container with clay-turf soil. The layering is secured and buried, leaving only the top of the stem outside.
It will be possible to transplant the young plant from its parent next year.
To propagate wisteria by cuttings, at the end of autumn you need to cut off the vine and divide it into parts. The cuttings are placed together in damp soil and a cellar is placed. In the spring, they are placed in a “school” or immediately in an area for jars.
Although cuttings seem the easy way reproduction, but it has a significant disadvantage - low survival rate, which is often below 50%.
In general, wisteria rarely gets sick or is attacked by pests.
If the soil is too alkaline, then wisteria may develop chlorosis, which is manifested by yellowing of the foliage.
Most questions about wisteria are related to the lack of flowering.
Wisteria, or wisteria, is a popular flowering vine. They grow quickly, winter successfully and bloom stunningly in many countries with mild climates. It is not surprising that gardeners, fascinated by the beauty of blooming wisteria, want to have such a wonderful plant on their site!
Many residents of central Russia, having seen the riotous flowering of wisteria while on vacation in Crimea, Black Sea coast or in warm foreign countries, they only sighed with regret... After all, when trying to grow wisteria in the open ground of your garden, as a rule, disappointment set in. In the best case, several modest inflorescences appeared on the wisteria seedling, and in the worst case, the planted wisteria died after the first winter.
These unsuccessful attempts by Russian gardeners to grow wisteria in their garden are quite natural, since until recently they could only find it on sale here.
Our gardeners are usually offered either wisteria chinensis(Wisteria chinensis), or wisteria profusely blooming, or multi-flowered (Wisteria floribunda), or numerous of them decorative forms. Unfortunately, these types of wisteria tolerate temperatures down to -20 degrees, and only for a very short period of cold snap.
Wisteria settled in our garden several years ago (spring 2008).
Moreover, at that time, the acquisition of wisteria was rather an impulsive act, dictated by necessity. We made a rest area on our site and placed a support above it. We needed an interesting vine that would form a shadow over the benches.
The choice of beautiful vines in our climate is small, but I wanted to plant something
unusual...
We were offered to buy cold-resistant wisteria, which can withstand even severe frosts (-40C). That's how we got it wisteria macrostachia, or large cyst (Wisteria macrostachya). And my acquaintance with her variety “Blue Moon” (“Blue Moon”, translated as “Blue Moon”) began. The homeland of this plant is the USA, Minnesota.
The purchased wisteria seedling was small, no more than 30 cm long. Now, looking back, I can honestly admit: at that moment I had great doubts that this baby would quickly braid the provided support and provide at least some shade...
I didn’t even dream about wisteria blooming then.
Imagine my surprise when a wisteria seedling planted in early June (in standard Voronezh black soil) began to develop rapidly a month after adaptation. By August the height of the plant was more than two meters!
Before the onset of the first frost, we removed the wisteria from the support - along with the ropes to which its shoots clung. They laid the vine on the boards, covered it with lutrasil on top.
After successful wintering, already in the second year of its life in our garden, wisteria “Blue Moon” pleased us with its first two inflorescences in June. Although they were still small, the main thing is that the young wisteria bloomed!
Before the second wintering, it was no longer possible to remove our powerful wisteria from its support. The winter turned out to be very cold, and we were worried about our vine. But our worries were in vain: even the young growth of the vine was not affected by severe frosts(-34C).
Photo: two-year-old wisteria; wisteria inflorescence; wisteria fruits
And by the third summer, our expanded wisteria already had 46 full-fledged inflorescences!
Moreover, which also surprised me a lot - after flowering, seeds began to form on the wisteria vine!
By autumn, the wisteria seeds are fully ripe. I collected the ripened beans with seeds.
I sowed one third of the wisteria seeds in a box immediately after harvesting and left it in the garden to grow naturally.
I stored the remaining wisteria seeds in a cool place (+10C) until spring. At the beginning of March I sowed them in light soil. Kept the wisteria crops warm, at a temperature of + 25C.
My experience has shown that Wisteria Macrostachia seeds begin to germinate
already on the fifth day. The germination rate of these seeds was almost one hundred percent.
Photo: wisteria shoots; wisteria seedlings
In the garden in the spring, I saw that the seeds of Wisteria Macrostachia, which had undergone cold stratification, also sprouted. However, their germination rate was no more than 60 percent.
And last spring (2011) I discovered self-seeding in our wisteria. The shoots appeared from the seeds that fell in April from the few beans that I left to overwinter on the vine. This fact is the most important evidence of the successful adaptation of Wisteria macrostachy. After this, we can say with complete confidence that our flowering and fruiting plant is fully adapted to local climatic conditions.
Now it is too early to talk about the prospects (or vice versa) of seed propagation of wisteria macrostachia variety “Blue Moon”.
Regarding this wisteria, no one can unequivocally state how high the percentage of failure of varietal characteristics is in plants grown from seeds.
This will show the flowering of my wisteria seedlings (and whether they will bloom at all...). On professional level No such studies have yet been conducted.
I planted some of my last year’s wisteria seedlings in open ground, and left them there in the first winter.
In the spring of this year (2012) it will be possible to draw at least some conclusions regarding the winter hardiness of Wisteria macrostachy seedlings; but, alas, not their flowering.
Only vegetatively propagated planting material wisteria gives complete confidence in the preservation of all varietal characteristics of the plant.
I haven’t yet worked on the formation of our wisteria as such. Recommendations for pruning wisteria found on the Internet turned out to be very contradictory. That’s why I haven’t cut our vine yet, and it grows “in free flight.” I think that with strength
With its growth, it will be difficult to give wisteria a strict shape...
Last summer I planted another specimen of winter-hardy wisteria in the garden - especially for experiments in shaping, and I will start doing this this year.
One young wisteria has been growing in my 5-liter pot for two years now.
years - I’ll try from it, but that’s still to come...
Regarding the vegetative propagation of wisteria (cuttings and layering), I can say that there are no difficulties in this matter.
In order to obtain cuttings, I cut off some shoots of wisteria. At the same time, I choose shoots for propagation without any rules, purely intuitively: I liked the whip, cut it off from the mother plant and cut it into cuttings.
During the three years of life of our wisteria macrostachy “Blue Moon,” the development and flowering of which I described in detail earlier, the number of its inflorescences could still be counted.
But already the fourth season of growing wisteria has exceeded all my expectations in terms of the abundance of its flowering - it has become impossible to count the numerous inflorescences!
According to the stated characteristics, the wisteria macrostachy “Blue Moon” should undergo three waves of flowering over the summer. I have not yet observed this in our four-year-old vine.
Her abundant flowering lasts more than a month.
Wisteria inflorescences exposed to bright sun are the first to bloom. A little later, those inflorescences that are shaded by the openwork leaves of the vine bloom.
In the photo: abundant flowering of Blue Moon wisteria
In our garden, the first wave of wisteria flowering occurs at the end
May-early June. Believe me, this is a wonderful sight worthy of admiration!
The lilac-blue flowers of Wisteria macrostachy "Blue Moon" have an amazing scent, and its cascading inflorescences resemble huge bunches of grapes.
The support along which we let the vine grow in the first years of its life is located not far from the window. The enchanting aroma of beautiful wisteria flowers penetrates the room.
“...and the house is bewitched
An airy branch of blue wisteria..."
Anna Akhmatova
Four years of observation of our wisteria vine, of course, do not yet provide grounds for drawing categorical conclusions about various aspects of its cultivation in the middle zone. It remains to be found out: where on the territory of our country are the northernmost borders that allow the successful cultivation of wisteria macrostachy “Blue Moon”. Even the microclimate of a specific area will play a role here, not to mention regions and regions.
But taking into account the fact that in the recent severe winter (2009-2010) my young wisteria suffered frosts of -34C, and after such an extreme wintering it bloomed, I can afford to express my opinion.
I have no doubt that this wisteria variety has a great future in central Russia. I think that today Wisteria macrostachya “Blue Moon” is unlikely to have
worthy competitors in terms of vertical gardening. After all, the growth of this beautifully flowering vine over the summer is 4-5 meters!
The success of wisteria flowering depends not on winter cold, but on the sum of positive summer temperatures. It is important to find a suitable location for this vine in the garden.
In a favorable place, the vigor of wisteria growth and the abundance of its flowering will be many times greater - precisely because of the successful planting of the seedling. Our wisteria grows near the brick wall of the house (on the south side), which gives it additional warmth in the summer - what this vine needs. During a prolonged spring, wisteria unfurls its leaves and opens its buds relatively late.
In the conditions of our garden, wisteria "Blue Moon" in just four years created a gorgeous green wall and the “ceiling” in the family recreation corner (see title photo).
Now we no longer have a question about construction or acquisition. Indeed, even in the hottest time, the abundant foliage of wisteria provides such dense shade that the summer heat is not felt under it.
The liana retains its green outfit throughout the fall, until snow falls.
The shoots of Wisteria Macrostachia will easily twine around any support that is provided - be it an arch, a pergola or any type of trellis. The main thing that supporting structure was strong enough to support the weight of this large vine. You can plant wisteria along a strong fence, on the south side.
Wisteria macrostachy "Blue Moon" growing in the garden will delight you with its unforgettable flowering and aroma for many years.
Olga Vladimirovna Milyaeva (Voronezh)
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Wisteria is an amazingly beautiful tree-like vine from the Legume family. Prefers a subtropical climate, with favorable conditions blooms profusely and for a long time. IN southern countries the plant is a welcome guest at any personal plot. You can most effectively use it to decorate arches, high brick walls, gazebos... Unfortunately, in central Russia the liana does not feel as comfortable as they say knowledgeable gardener, blooms more modestly. However, with good care, wisteria can be grown in both the central and northern regions of the country.
The deciduous vine grows slowly, but its life expectancy is several decades. Its stems are tree-like, the bark is light brown, and the young shoots are pale green. The leaves are large, bright green, imparipinnate. The leaf can reach a length of 30 cm and usually consists of 7–13 small leaves. The flowers are small, collected in racemes. The color of the petals depends on the type of plant; most often, you can see lilac or purple wisteria, less often - white. The flowers emit a delicate aroma that spreads throughout the garden.
Before you start planting and caring for wisteria, you need to choose its type and variety. The most popular are 2 types of wisteria:
The soil on the site should be light, rich nutrients, neutral or slightly alkaline in composition. Great content in the composition of lime, it threatens the loss of the decorative color of the leaves; they noticeably turn pale. When growing wisteria, one should not forget about drainage, especially if the soil’s natural composition is quite dense and heavy. Stagnation of water in the roots can be detrimental to the plant.
To achieve beautiful and long-lasting flowering, you need to allocate a lighted area for wisteria. It is good if it is in direct sunlight in the first half of the day, or, conversely, in the second. Thus, perfect place for placement - arches or gazebos facing east or west.
Daffodils, white tulips, and dark purple hyacinths will look great next to wisteria.
Graceful wisteria - planting and caring for it requires patience. Experts advise beginning gardeners to purchase a seedling, while more experienced ones can try growing seedlings themselves. You can buy a bag of seeds at a large flower shop or order online.
Given the slow growth of the vine, sowing is carried out in the first half of December. The substrate selected is loose and moisture-permeable; it is better to prepare it yourself from the following components:
The resulting mixture is filled into a box, at the bottom of which several drainage holes are first made. The substrate is moistened, seeds are sown on the surface in random order, and then sprinkled a small amount land. The top of the box is covered with plastic film or ordinary glass. Seed germination should occur at a temperature between +21 °C and +25 °C. When sowing Chinese wisteria, the box with the substrate should be kept in complete darkness, for example, in a closet or pantry. The first shoots will appear after 20–30 days, and they can be gradually accustomed to the sun. As soon as the plants have a second leaf, they should be thinned out; the strongest specimens should be planted in separate containers.
Residents of the southern regions in early spring can sow seeds directly into open ground.
Wisteria seedling - planting and care in the future is not much different from growing other garden plants. Seedlings purchased from a nursery or grown independently are planted in the garden in the spring, but only after the soil has warmed up well and the threat of night frosts has passed. Still, do not forget that the plant is a heat-loving species.
The planting hole is dug with dimensions of 60x60x50 cm, where 50 cm is the depth. To increase fertility, compost or humus is added to the soil, acidic compounds are diluted dolomite flour or a small amount of lime. Drainage made from fragments of ceramics and pieces of brick is placed at the bottom. Experts recommend applying complex mineral fertilizer for digging at the rate of 25 grams per 1 m² of site.
When growing wisteria in the northern regions, gardeners prefer not to take risks and keep it as a potted crop. As the seedling grows, a standard tree is formed; in the spring-summer period, a tub with a plant is placed in the yard or on open terrace, and for the winter they put it in a cool room and water it periodically. In order for the vine to successfully overwinter, it is necessary to maintain the air temperature within +8–10 °C.
Having planted wisteria on the site, it should be given Special attention. The most important thing is to control the level of soil moisture.
Experienced gardeners recommend watering the vine more often, but little by little. It is necessary that the soil always remains moderately moist, but in no case soggy. It is especially important to prevent the soil from drying out in early spring, when the buds are forming; due to lack of moisture, they can crumble without ever opening. With the arrival of autumn, watering is gradually reduced. To make caring for wisteria easier after planting, it is recommended to mulch the circle around the trunk with mowed grass or compost. This will not only stifle growth. weeds, but will also keep the soil moist for a long time.
Starting in spring, the vines are fed every 10 days. It is advisable to alternate complex mineral fertilizers and organic matter, for example, mullein infusion in a ratio of 1:20. Once a season, it is necessary to water the wisteria with water with chalk dissolved in it (100 g of the substance per 12 liters of clean water).
To enjoy the beauty of blooming wisteria every year, you need to prune it twice a year. The first procedure is carried out after the vine has faded. All side branches are shortened, but not more than 2/3 of their original length. The second pruning is carried out in late autumn, after leaf fall. Both old side branches and young shoots are trimmed, leaving 4–5 buds.
To the delight of Russian summer residents, several winter-hardy varieties, capable of withstanding frosts down to -20 °C, this helps the plant survive the cold, but does not mean that it can overwinter without shelter. Growing wisteria in central Russia is a responsible step. To protect root system, the ground around the base of the bush is covered with a thick layer of mulch (15 cm). You can use peat, compost, dry oak leaves. Overgrown vines are removed from the supports and laid on the ground, while the plant needs to be littered with spruce branches so that there is no direct contact with the cold soil. Having laid the wisteria, it is covered with spruce branches, burlap or other suitable material.
