'You are the very patient gardener' was something someone said to me recently.
As I've been quite busy over this past week, I've only had a small amount of time to say hello to people via Twitter, Pinterest, etc. and I'm conscious that a fair number of my tweets included (or referenced) my delight at my Wisteria.
Only the fact that Louise (@gardeninbetween) commented that she liked I was keeping the Wisteria in a pot, I hadn't thought too much to explain at why I'm so happy to see it in flower.
You see, when you first buy a Wisteria, it's not like your regular shrubs or climbers - it doesn't flower in its first year of growing.
In fact it doesn't flower in its second year of growing.
Or third,
Or forth and even maybe not its fifth.
That's right, for those that have grown Wisteria, mostly they will say it takes about five years for it to begin to come into flower.
On top of this, I wanted to keep mine in a terracotta pot - an idea I came across years ago. This means it has to be pruned following a specific method (the same one used for grapes - for all the vinery fans out there). The Wisteria plant I selected at the time in the garden centre, was the smallest I could find, to suit the pot purpose.
So, this has meant watering, feeding, pruning, the occasional soil enhancement, and, plenty of patience to get to see the first flower.
And how delighted, and disappointed, I was. I remember thinking, 'Oh dear, after all this time, this flower is not what it looked like on the picture tag' (the flower truss was short and not overly impressive), and their was only one (truss).
Still it was a start.
The following year there was about three flowering trusses - slightly longer ones; then maybe four the year after that.
Fast forward another number of years, 3 or 4 or there abouts, and I'm now very happy to see my Wisteria in flower, producing long trusses of light mauve-blue, lightly scented pea flowers.
Perfect!
When it comes into flower, the long trusses are on almost bare stems, so they are very noticeable (for most varieties). After three weeks the new foliage begins to over shadow the flowers; I think the flowering period is between 4 and 6 weeks in total.
And then we continue to look after the plant, knowing we'll get the great burst of colour again next year!
Is it worth it? Yes, I definitely think so! At this point, my Wisteria is between 10 and 12 years old, and every time it comes into flower I really do enjoy it!
I hope you do too.
Happy gardening.
As I've been quite busy over this past week, I've only had a small amount of time to say hello to people via Twitter, Pinterest, etc. and I'm conscious that a fair number of my tweets included (or referenced) my delight at my Wisteria. Only the fact that Louise (@gardeninbetween) commented that she liked I was keeping the Wisteria in a pot, I hadn't thought too much to explain at why I'm so happy to see it in flower.
You see, when you first buy a Wisteria, it's not like your regular shrubs or climbers - it doesn't flower in its first year of growing.
In fact it doesn't flower in its second year of growing.
Or third,
Or forth and even maybe not its fifth.
That's right, for those that have grown Wisteria, mostly they will say it takes about five years for it to begin to come into flower.
On top of this, I wanted to keep mine in a terracotta pot - an idea I came across years ago. This means it has to be pruned following a specific method (the same one used for grapes - for all the vinery fans out there). The Wisteria plant I selected at the time in the garden centre, was the smallest I could find, to suit the pot purpose.So, this has meant watering, feeding, pruning, the occasional soil enhancement, and, plenty of patience to get to see the first flower.
And how delighted, and disappointed, I was. I remember thinking, 'Oh dear, after all this time, this flower is not what it looked like on the picture tag' (the flower truss was short and not overly impressive), and their was only one (truss).
Still it was a start.
The following year there was about three flowering trusses - slightly longer ones; then maybe four the year after that.
Fast forward another number of years, 3 or 4 or there abouts, and I'm now very happy to see my Wisteria in flower, producing long trusses of light mauve-blue, lightly scented pea flowers.
Perfect!
When it comes into flower, the long trusses are on almost bare stems, so they are very noticeable (for most varieties). After three weeks the new foliage begins to over shadow the flowers; I think the flowering period is between 4 and 6 weeks in total.And then we continue to look after the plant, knowing we'll get the great burst of colour again next year!
Is it worth it? Yes, I definitely think so! At this point, my Wisteria is between 10 and 12 years old, and every time it comes into flower I really do enjoy it!
I hope you do too.
Happy gardening.
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