Wisteria

[getonwithit]

I have a10 year old wisteria which covers 60% of my house south facing it was green 6 weeks ago now it a mass of brown twigs which are very brittle has it died ? Thanks

[LoftyLottie]

Maybe. If it were me I would cut it back quite severely and see what happens, cutting it back will encourage new growth.

But I am no expert on Wisteria. Someone else might be.

[hammerman]

I don't really understand your question. You say it was green 6 weeks ago ? do you mean it had leaves on ? Wisterias are deciduous and drop their leaves every autumn. if yours has just dropped its leaves then i can only presume it's either under glass or you live in another country (which would be hand to know as this is a ".co.uk" site.)

One test to see if any plant is still alive is called the thumbnail test. Using your thumbnail, scrap away a small section of bark from the stems in question. If there's any green wood underneath, the plant is alive. If it's brown, chances are it's dead.

Now this test will only work for the section your scraping....eg that bit might be dead but the rest of the plant is alive so check several areas.

[LoftyLottie]

Thank is what I thought was meant when getonwithit said it was green 6weeks ago hammerman. I thought he/she had done a thumbnail test. Which is why I suggested pruning quite severely.

[hammerman]

Maybe lottie...the question was a little vague. Wisterias do respond to severe pruning but generally, they are as hard as nails and would survive the hardest winters.

[katerich48]

Mine has got all its new flower buds on - have the Chinese Wisteria that gets flower buds before leaves.and iive in London and so it may be a bit milder than where you live...I usually get mine flowering pretty early...The thing with pruning it back you have to be careful you don't cut off the flower buds.

[hammerman]

Bit of an art to pruning wisteria. Any long growth needs to be cut back to about 6 buds in august. Then, those 6 buds need to be further cut back to about 2 buds in febuary. do this each year and you will end up with what's known as a "spur" system which the wisteria will flower on.

[billyspinola]

We have a Wisteria just outside Barcelona, Spain, that has blossomed beautifully every year for the last 20 years or so. It's the 12th April now & I can't see even one leaf. I thought it might be dead but there is green under a lot of the branches. The other Wisterias in the area are in full blossom but ours looks dry and hollow. Any ideas?
Thanks.