Shrubs & Hedges, Flowering Trees
How to Plant Wisteria Vines
When your new Purple Wisteria arrives, let it relax for a few days. A shady to afternoon shade spot is best and water it well. This will help your new flowering vine easily adapt to your soil and climate. Moisture retention will be important the first year after you plant your Wisteria Vine. It’s always a good idea to add compost to the existing soil. If you have clay that is really heavy, amending for better drainage is suggested.
It is important to thoroughly saturate the root ball before planting. The fastest way to loose a new plant is to cover dry roots with your soil. Putting your new Purple Wisteria – pot and all into a bucket of water for 5 minutes can make a world of difference in adjusting well. You want roots to spread past the container soil and into the ground for better growth. Water regularly for the first year as it gets acclimate to your climate and soil.
Purple Wisteria is fast growing but you can help it along. Newly-planted cold hardy vines will give you more abundant blooms and rapid new growth with booster feedings.
MiracleGro is an excellent way of getting your wisteria bush to really get going quickly. Feed the day after planting and once a month until early fall. Your bonus will be more vigor and increased bloom as a reward.
You can easily train Wisteria to fill different roles in your yard. To create a wisteria tree, you will want to train it up a stout metal pole that is well sunk into the soil. To growing wisteria on a trellis or arbor, choose one of sturdy enough construction to hold the weight of this blooming vine. Wisteria is great for espaliering, a classic art of training plants to grow flat along a wall or even create a unique living screen.
Wisteria Vines are spectacular specimens that bear large fragrant drooping bluish purple blooms in late spring to early summer. Wisteria Vines are twining climbers that can wind their way up to at least 25'-30’ with the correct support. Supports must be sturdy, because the mature vines are considerably heavy. Wisteria is a colorful, versatile, fast growing, easy-care vine. The hanging clusters of flowers provide quite a show for the home gardener who will be the envy of the neighborhood with such a show stopping display of color from these unbelievably fragrant vines.
The most important factor to consider when growing Wisteria Vines is location. Open areas in the landscape are always a great place to plant the Vines so they have some room to grow, or some people prefer to plant them near a heavy duty trellis. Wisteria feels right at home in a bright sunny spot but can live in partial sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in a slightly acidic, rich, well-drained soil, but can tolerate other soil conditions. Once planted, Wisteria Vines need very little care.
Being drought tolerant is a huge advantage in the prolonged summer heat and these vines do not require fertilizing. Vigorous pruning is required to keep this vine manageable for the weekend gardener that has little time to maintain their landscape.
How to Plant Wisteria Vines: Dig a hole wide enough to allow about 12 inches of clearance all the way around the vines container. Dig the hole deep enough to allow the vine to rest in the hole with its soil mark slightly higher than ground level. Carefully remove the vine from its container and place it in the hole. Fill in the hole with soil and moisten each layer of soil with water. Tamp the soil down firmly with your hands and remove all air spaces. Apply a 2- to 4-inch layer of mulch around the vines which will help to retain moisture, keep down the weeds and also protect the roots from extreme temperature changes.