The Best Time to Propagate Wisteria

Basal Cuttings

• Take softwood basal cuttings from side shoots when the wood just begins to harden. Sever sprouts from the trunk, keeping a small piece of stem bark attached to each cutting. Remove leaf material on the bottom third of each cutting. Dip cuttings in water and then in rooting hormone to stimulate root growth. Use a rooting media of one-half peat moss and one-half sand or perlite. After dipping cuttings, punch a hole in the rotting media with a pencil or wooden dowel. Place the cutting one-third to one-half its length in the media and press the rooting mixture firmly around the cutting stem. Cover the pot with plastic wrap and keep it in strong light, but not direct sunlight. A propagating chamber with bottom heat speeds the rooting process.

Layering

• If your wisteria plants put out runners, you can propagate more plants by layering in the autumn. Select a location on a runner where it touches the ground. Nick the underside of the runner with a knife. Brush rooting hormone on the wound and press the wounded stem against the ground. Make loops of clothes-hanger-type wire and press one into the ground on either side of the wound, to ensure contact with the soil. Drive a wooden stake into the ground beside the wounded stem and tie the growing tip end of the runner to the stake. Cover the wounded portion of the stem with approximately 2 inches of dirt.

Seeds

• As a member of the legume family, wisteria produces seedpods that look like pea pods. Collect some of the brown pods in the fall before they pop. Twist the pods open to release the seeds. Hasten germination by scarification. Nick each seed with a knife or rub the seeds lightly over sandpaper. Soak the seeds in room-temperature water for 24 hours. Plant seeds in a soil-less mix, such as equal parts peat moss and sand or perlite, that is barely moist. Cover the pot with plastic wrap and place it in bright light out of direct sun. Uncover the pot as soon as seedlings emerge.

Culture

• A deciduous climber, wisteria grows best in full sun to light shade in moist, well-drained soil. Fertilize in spring with bonemeal, fishmeal or bloodmeal, or use a balanced fertilizer blended for roses or flowering ornamentals. In sandy soil apply 1 ounce per square foot of sulfate of potash. Do not use fertilizers with nitrogen if your wisteria grows vigorously but does not flower.