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Juvenile to adult stage of Wisteria Floribunda

Last post 30-05-2012 4:42 PM by Robocop. 8 replies.

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  • 29/05/2012 09:21 AM
    • Robocop
    • Lymm/Mallorca
    • 23 Mar 2012
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    I aquired this Wisteria Floribunda Rosea last year already in a large pot but very sorry for itself. We have recovered it and it is growing vigourously now (about 4m high) I have been investigating why it has no flowers and I have found that the Japanese Wisteria will have leaf and flowers together (before I looked into it I was expecting it to flower first but that is W. Sinensis I now know)

    However I keep finding "It will also flower only after passing from juvenile to adult stage, a transition that may take many frustrating years just like its cousin Chinese Wisteria" Is there any way to find out whether it is "juvenile" or "adult" other than of course that it has no flowers? I believe at nearly 4m it must be a few years old and I think I pruned it correctly, after advice from this site, so I would expect it to be flowering now.
  • 29/05/2012 12:01 PM
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    What is the history of the plant, do you know?

    If you bought it from a proper retailer I would think it should be flowering before they sell it to you.  If you (or somebody else) have grown it from seed, then I believe they can take a VERY long time to get to flowering (up to 20 years!!)

    http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=173

    @courtyardgarden
    http://www.thecourtyardgardener.com
  • 29/05/2012 02:53 PM
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    • Robocop
    • Lymm/Mallorca
    • 23 Mar 2012
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    We got them last year in a large pot (Ali Baba - 70cm high and 50 cm wide) from a freind of ours. His business is house clearances and when there are any plants he lets us know and we try to nurse them back to health.

     These were growing but all collapsed on to the top of the pot. I know which type of wisteria they are because I found an old label under the weeds in the pot. They are now trained up on a south facing wall on wires.

    Having tidied them up and pruned them last autumn they finally burst in to leaf this spring (they were late because we had a very severe winter here) but up to now there is no evidence of flowers that I can see; hence the question about the juvenile/adult status. 
  • 29/05/2012 06:31 PM
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    Well, I'm not an expert (as you can probably tell!) but I can't imagine that anybody legit sells wisteria that are not ready to flower: so if it's got a label, my guess is it's just out of puff from being nearly dead last year, and that if it looks happy enough now it probably will leaf this year to build up its strength again, and then flower next ... so personally I would give it at least another year before giving up!

    @courtyardgarden
    http://www.thecourtyardgardener.com
  • 29/05/2012 06:48 PM
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    • Robocop
    • Lymm/Mallorca
    • 23 Mar 2012
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    Thanks for that, I will as you say give a chance. It is a beautiful healthy green so fingers crossed for next year. (my wife has decided that she is an expert now and says your comments were her's as well)
  • 29/05/2012 08:40 PM
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    • Snark
    • Suffolk
    • 12 Jan 2011
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    Perhaps we are just unlucky but our wisteria from a legit nursery,properly labelled etc took 7 years to flower. It was a picture this year (about year 20) but patience is the key.

    For the Snark was a boojum you see
  • 30/05/2012 12:19 PM
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    Well, I am far from an expert - just somebody who inherited a Wisteria and is trying hard not to kill it!  But I am very happy to agree with your wife of course Big Smile

     I just hope you don't have to wait 7 years .... Surprise

    @courtyardgarden
    http://www.thecourtyardgardener.com
  • 30/05/2012 12:25 PM
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    P.S. this link may also be useful: they reckon (a) don't feed (or at least not with nitrogen feed) as then it will just put leaf on and no blooms and (b) be fairly free with the pruning.  Both of which are fine by me!!

    http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=25944

    @courtyardgarden
    http://www.thecourtyardgardener.com
  • 30/05/2012 04:42 PM
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    • Robocop
    • Lymm/Mallorca
    • 23 Mar 2012
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    I had read about feed in the spring but I also thought that a nitrogen rich feed would just promote more green growth so I was not going to do that.

    The way it is growing I will probably have runners as long as I want them in a single year so I will give it a good prune back in the autumn and then give it is second pruning with a view to cutiing back for the flower nodes