Care of Dwarf Wisteria

Location

• Dwarf wisteria grows best in full sun and needs at least six hours of sun a day to bloom. It's best to plant the vine in the correct location when you acquire it, as it does not transplant well. Though dwarf wisteria is smaller than other types of wisteria, it still needs sturdy support as the mature plant is quite heavy. It should also be planted away from buildings, as the vine can harm roof shingles or get into gutters and spouts if not carefully controlled.

Water and Fertilizer

• Young vines need 1 inch of water per week for the first year until they are established. Then water when the top inch of soil is dry. Established plants are fairly drought-tolerant. Established vines do not need fertilization unless they have trouble blooming. Avoid fertilizers containing nitrogen as nitrogen will encourage vine growth rather than flowering, but using a 0-20-0 fertilizer in the spring will encourage blooms.

Training

• To train new dwarf wisteria to climb a structure, let the wisteria twist itself around the structure as it grows. Attach the vine with twine or wire hooks to keep it in place. Once the vine reaches the point where you want to encourage horizontal rather than vertical growth, prune the tips of the shoots to get side shoots to develop. Once the vine grows and attaches itself to the support, remove the twine or hooks.

Pruning

• Pruning is needed twice a year to control the growth of the dwarf wisteria. In the summer after the blooms fade, cut side shoots that grow from the main stems back to 6 inches. Remove suckers that sprout up from the ground as they appear. In the fall, root prune by cutting 18 inches into the soil in a circle with a 4-foot radius from the vine base. In the winter, cut main stems back by about one-half if they were not previously pruned during the year. Cut side shoots back to about 2 inches.