RENTAL OF THE WEEK

up what you did in summer, cutting back the already-pruned shoots to two or three buds in January or February, when the plant is dormant and without leaves.

If your wisteria has become so overgrown that you need to hard-prune, cut back older stems to just above a strong young branch or growth shoot lower down, or even cut back an old branch to ground level. Take your time. You may need to trace and mark stems which are twining around each other, so that you don’t cut off the wrong bit lower down. In the end you should be left with a framework of well-spaced branches.

Remember not to let wisterias grow too tall or you will have your work cut out pruning and training them.

Good varieties to choose

For strong colour: Wisteria floribunda Royal Purple, a Japanese wisteria, produces stunning tresses of vivid dark lavender, pea-like flowers in racemes up to 50cm long, and also offers eye-catching autumn colour when its leaves turn to vibrant golden yellow.

For subtle hues Wisteria sinensis Alba, a Chinese wisteria, produces subtly scented white flowers with a hint of lilac in narrow tresses 25cm long.

For heavenly scent Really fragrant varieties include Wisteria Burford, which has deep blueish-purple and lilac flower racemes around 40cm long, and Wisteria sinensis Amethyst, a vigorous type with violet-blue flowers.