Wisteria Bonsai

From Brunswick Maine, New to Maine so zone is unknown. I have a wisteria I planted from seed approximately 4 years ago with a plan in mind to try my hand at making it a bonsai. The plant is approximately 2 feet tall now with a 1/4 in diameter trunk, if you can call it that yet. My question is this. When do I begin training my wisteria? When do I begin pruning it back? I have looked extensively online for the answers to these two questions. Would appreciate any help I can get.

Dulcinita,

there is a guideline of 1 inch of trunk to 6 inches of height.
How tall do you expect your Bonsai to be to best show off
your cones of flowers?
Laters.
Khaimraj

Wisteria tend to be grown as thinner, more sinuous bonsai since the leaves and flowers (racemes) hang down. The wood is also very brittle so I would get some bends into the trunk now if you can. A 1 inch (2.5 cm) trunk might actually work for a tree that is 2 feet (60 cm) tall with a spreading canopy.

Getting the trunk to thicken in Maine is apt to take some time since the plant probably needs some winter protection and will therefore have to be in a pot. I have several in the ground in Spokane and they are marginally hardy. Also keep in mind that they will likely take a long time to flower from seed. That being said, I have a couple of small ones that I am growing from seed as well.

I am aware this is going to be a long process. All my reading says 10 to 12 years before I get flowers. It has already gone through two winters in my garage by a window. I am hoping it will be about 1-2 feet tall as a mature plant. So does wintering get the trunk to thicken up?

Thickening only happens when the tree grows - more growth = more thickening.

Sounds like you have an approach to keeping it alive in the winter.

Dulcinita wrote:It has already gone through two winters in my garage by a window.

As an aside, once it has gone through leaf drop, it no longer requires light until spring...
And if I am not mistaken, Wisteria are heavy feeders, so proper feeding will help...

Wisteria can process nitrogen from the surrounding air, in fact, too much nitrogen fertilizer may inhibit flowering. I'd fertilize if I were you, however. You won't get flowers if you don't prune at the proper time and with certain technique. Fairly winter hardy, garage should work ok for over-wintering.


Enjoy!

Thanks for all of the replies. Now I have more questions...
The plant is about 4 years old now and stands 18 inches tall with two branches coming off. The trunk is almost 1/2 inch thick.
1. When is the best time to start pruning? And have you found any place to get good instructions as to how to prune? Like where do you cut, how much do you cut...?
2. When is the best time to get it into a bonsai pot? And what is the best size pot?
Most information I find online is regarding wisteria in general and not bonsai.