How to "re-start" a wisteria

We bought a new house this spring, and found the stump of a wisteria vine with several two inch branches. It has now sprouted all over the place.... dozens of branches. What is the best way to encourage it back to just 3 or 4 main branches?

tia
las

Cut off the ones you don't want, keeping the strongest vine, and paint the 'stubs' with paint or the product Lowes carries just for this application - it prevents those cut ones from re-sprouting. It will continue to sprout new growth, so it's a matter of cutting maintenance, once you get the shape you want.

Kay, I am wondering about the product you mention, I have a can of spectricide that is black tar-type stuff that I use when I cut off a tree branch, seals the wood and prevents bacteria or bugs. Is this sort of what your product does?

Yes, that's the one!

thanks :)

Let me know how it works for you, but remember - be looking for runners 20 yards out from the original plant - it can be a terrible pest.

Excellent advice, wisteria are the plants that nightmares are made of. A friend had to have hers removed, it was planted against the house and was literally lifting the roof and she had runners cropping up great distances away. Talk about resilient plants. I have 2 vines, they grow in pots and I am training them into single trunk tree form. One is at the top of the 8ft stake and is now starting to do that wonderful waterfall that tree wisteria do, the other one is almost to the top.
They will stay in pots. On cement. LOL
One thing you might consider Las, with green vines, is braiding them for the trunk. A very pretty look once they turn to hardwood. :) It is very easy to do, my first wisteria tree I had done that & it was very visually pleasing. Unfortunately, I killed it with my "love=water" attitude.

PM, what a great idea about braiding. Sounds perfect for my situation.

And KJ, thanks for the warning about runners!