Rooting a Wisteria

I had a casualty at the weekend when in high wind the top of my garden Wisteria broke free of its trellis and snapped away from the rest of the plant. I thought about air layering as it is stll hanging together by a slender piece of bark, but it is in a very windy corner and I fear it would get too much blown about to be viable. Has anyone tried rooting a Wisteria with a diameter of about 1inch? Thoughts/experiences please.

Fiona

Use a rooting hormone and you should have no problem. Use a sharp knife and cut the stem just above the break, so you have a clean and not jagged surface. Root it in medium sand, if you can.

I was recently shouting at the radio as Bob Flowerdew pronouinced that Wisteria are impossible from cuttings and seed and can only be propagated reliably by grafting. He's obviously never tried air layering them. They are among the easiest. I regularly get a bag chock full of white roots after three weeks. Now is almost the optimum time to do it, but I'd stake or secure the piece somehow to prevent any wind rock. If you can get the layer in a position where it will be warmed by the sun, that will definitely help.

I've tried cuttings a few times and not had any success. Jim is used to wisterias in Florida and not those in Scotland.

Jim is used to wisterias in Florida and not those in Scotland.

Oh. That would make a difference. You can still try, then layer your plant at some other point. I wonder if you have a long enough growing season for a cuttng to take. Do you have a greenhouse?

Took both sets of advice and went for cuttings from excess bits and bits of the long fresh growth I had to remove anyway, but I also set up an air layer with the whole thing secured to the trellis. It's in full sun (south facing) all day so I'm hoping for a good and quick result like yours Kev. With any luck the weeks (months?) of blustery winds will now fade. The layer in its little bag doesn't look bonny as it is quite clearly visible but hey, if it works...

The cuttings I will keep in the greenhouse. We're hitting temperatures of no less than 9C overnight in there and something stupid like 38C on the hottest days so it should be fine.

When do you think it will be safe to sever the air layer, Kev, if you think I'll see roots in 3 weeks or so?

Cheers

Fiona

Once you see a lot of white roots in the layer, it's time to remove it. Just make sure when it's potted it is wired securely to the pot, so the new roots aren't severed, if it gets knocked or blown about.