Pruning made easy: wisteria

Confused about the pruning needs of this whippy but elegant climber? Here’s all you need to know

We explain the seasonal pruning needs of these whippy climbers

Everyone dreams of having a well-groomed wisteria draped around the front of their house, yet its bi-annual pruning regime can seem daunting. If you prune it right – shortening the whippy tendrils at the end of summer then cutting them back again in winter – you’ll be rewarded with a neat framework bearing cascades of dangling purple, pink or white flower panicles in spring. With an established plant like the one shown right, pruning seeks to restrain spread and create more flowering spurs. “Vigorous whippy growth soon becomes a tangled mess,” says National Trust gardener Rachel Brown, who works at Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire. “The new growth will creep into gutters and twine around telephone cables, but they won’t ever flower. That’s why they need to be cut back in summer to form the short spurs on which the following year’s flowers will grow. By cutting them back in summer, you increase air flow and allow more sunlight to reach the remaining stems, encouraging flower buds to form and creating an

attractive cascade of flowers next summer. “The technique for pruning wisteria in summer is to cut back the new, whippy green stems to just five to six leaves; that’s about 15cm (6in) from the main framework. Cut just above the leaf to remove the long green growth. “It’s important to be able to tell the difference between this year’s growth (green) and last year’s growth (brown). The older brown stems form the permanent framework, which needs to remain intact – tied securely into trellis or wires using twine or soft ties looped into a figure of eight. “When pruning in summer you can also remove any dead, diseased or damaged stems. Basal stems and unwanted sideshoots can be removed too. “In winter, you can cut back any subsequent long whippy stems that grew after the summer prune. Once the leaves are off and the plant is dormant, it’s easier to see the difference between the plump flower buds and flatter vegetative growth buds, so you’ll get a clearer idea of how many flowers to expect next year. Make the cut just above the third bud, about 2.5-5cm (1-2in) from older wood.”