How to prune Wisteria: Winter pruning guide

Unbelievably Beautiful 144 Year Old Japanese Wisteria 2014 HD 1080p

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This perfectly purple climbing plant is one of Britain’s favourite plants to adorn a home with. However for good coverage and colour, you need to prune this plant in winter as well as summer. Here’s everything you need to know about pruning wisteria.

Wisteria is a gorgeous climbing plant which aims to blanket whichever surface it grows on with its luscious purple flowers.

However, without regular pruning, this plant will grow out of control.

An overgrown wisteria will not just look untidy, but could damage the health of the plant and those around it.

As a general rule, wisteria should be pruned in summer and in winter.

Young wisterias don’t need such regular pruning until they’ve become more mature and established.

If you want to encourage a strong wisteria to climb up a wall, regular pruning is key to the plant having the strength and structural integrity to climb.

Have you pruned your wisteria this winter?

If you haven’t pruned your wisteria yet this winter, now is the time to do so.

The best time to give your wisteria a winter-pruning is in January and February, while the plant is in its dormant state and has yet to start its spring growing season.

Winter pruning will make sure the flowers of your plant have the space to bloom, and aren’t obscured by old or overgrown leaves.

Winter and summer pruning work together to ensure you get your wisteria to the desired shape and size ahead of the spring and summer growth.

In summer pruning, which should take place around July or August, you want to cut back the green shoots down to a length of about five or six leaves, or roughly 30 centimetres.

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Then, when you get round to your winter pruning, you should cut the same growths back to about two or three buds – or roughly 10 centimetres – to make it look clean and neat, while preventing leaves growing in the way of the flowers.

Older plants may need more vigorous pruning, as old and tough branches get out of control and start looking unsightly.

But don’t forget the more vigorously you prune, the more forceful your plant will grow back.

You’ve got a few months before you need to worry about summer pruning, but this is just as crucial for your plant’s growth and health.

By cutting back growth in the summer, you’ll allow more sunlight to reach the young growths, and more air to circulate freely around the plant.

The more sunlight the lower parts of the wisteria receives, the riper the wood and the better chances of flower buds forming.

Wisteria is a beautiful plant, and when looked after properly it’s not uncommon for it to reach over 10 metres in length.

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