Wisterias

I am kind of groping for some information on the Japanese wisterias. The show stopping varieties of wisteria floribunda are grafted and therefore expensive.

Do any of you folks have any information about why they graft them and what they graft them onto?

Fourty years ago I visited the gardens of the Portland Oregon Archdiocese, and there I saw
Wisteria floribunda "macrobotrys" in full bloom, in all its glory, with racems hanging down nearly
4 feet. The memory of it still gives me goosebumps. Now is the time of the year you would expect it to bloom here in Oregon.

If you have never seen pictures of this plant in bloom, google it. It is breathtaking in its maturity.

My quandry is that I have lots of space, and would buy a large plant to propagate from, even if I have to do the grafting myself. All that to plant it everywhere I can.

I would like to know why they graft it, and what they graft it onto... Hope some of you know.
Frank

I can't answer what they graft it onto, but typically when plants are grafted it's because that's the most efficient way for someone who grows it commercially to create a lot of plants quickly. In many cases, if you just want a plant or two for yourself you could start them from cuttings just fine, but in the world of commercial propagation grafting may be a faster or more reliable method. So if you can get some cuttings from someone I don't see any reason not to try propagating them that way. I wouldn't suggest seed--the Chinese wisteria is notoriously slow to bloom when grown from seed (and flower quality can be variable) and I think the same thing may be true for Japanese wisteria.

I don't know your definition of expensive, but Forest Farm has a bunch of different floribunda cultivars starting at $35 for a 1 gal plant which may be more affordable than what you're finding at local nurseries. http://www.forestfarm.com/products.php?params=plantName:wisteria%20floribunda

Ecrane, thanks for your answer. I knew that the answer was a real long shot, and the real answers might even be industry secrets.

I am suspicious that they are difficult to root compared to others. This would not be surprising. But then you have to go to "soft wood cuttings" in June. Soft wood meaning the cuttings have not hardened off yet, like when they root Magnolias. With this type of rooting, the cuttings go limp the same day you stick them, and you have to keep the tops cool, and humid, to keep them from drying out and dying. If you can manage that for about three weeks, then they will strike root. This may take a shaded greenhouse, with a rooting bench. What does strike root then within 3 to 4 weeks, is what you have left.

Then there is the consideration of grafting them on seedlings. This is not a good Idea if the blooming is important. Because the sexual maturity, ie blooming age, is determined and transmitted by the rootstock. Therefore, knowing a W.floribunda that
roots easily, and can therefore transmit sexual maturity to the scion, W.f.macrobotrys,
would be the answer to the main question.

I am still hoping to find someone here with experience in propagating W.floribunda.

When I posted here, I knew I was trolling for someone with experience, and that it was a very long shot. All the college degrees in the world cannot substitute for experience, and the people here have experience.

Experience growing wisteria is a treasure. Experience growing Wisteria, is like magic.
Sadly, most of us don't value the observations that we have made, but they are like science too. It just may take another person to tell you what your observations really mean. That is the magic of these forums. Strangers meet Strangers.

Thanks again ecrane for the encouragement of your interest and answer. I am too old to wait out another W.sinensis bloom, from a rooted cutting, ie. 15 years.

W.floribunda growing experience reports are needed here! Frank

There are numerous sites out there that say it can be propagated by cuttings. And cutting-grown plants shouldn't take 15 yrs to bloom...seed grown ones can take a really long time but cutting grown ones should bloom in ~3 or so yrs if other conditions are right (wisteria need plenty of sun to bloom, and if you grow them in a situation where they're getting lots of water and fertilizer that can cause them to grow rampantly but not bloom).

Here's a sampling but there's lots more similar info out there:
http://www.tropical-plants-and-flowers-guide.com/japanese-wisteria.html
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1246.html
http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/19930322902.html;jsessionid=A0DE51D72273C78F4C2C2E2CC7B351E8
http://grow.ars-informatica.ca/plant.php?L=440&nm=Wisteria%20floribunda
http://www.bonsaiempire.com/tree-species/wisteria

None of these sites mention it being particular difficult to start from cuttings--the time of year of course is important but if you take cuttings at the right time you should be able to get some to take. Grafting must just be faster for the commercial propagators, and also the time of year you do it wouldn't be as important as it is for cuttings, so it gives them the flexibility to propagate year-round.