Wisteria out of control!!

Caro, MI

Hello everyone! One of the selling points when my husband & I purchased our house was the beautiful, not one, but two, wisteria vines in full bloom! One of them had been planted on a wooden trellis at the end of the walkway between house & garage - absolutely spectacular! However - it is incredibly overgrown. The main trunk, that is twisted and gnarled all around the trellis, is about the diameter of my husbands wrist if not larger. It has pulled the trellis down to about a 45 degree angle.

We know we have to do something drastic, which will also include cutting the trellis away from it.

The only way I can see to rectify the problem is to cut the whole top off about 8-10 feet above the ground. My theory is it will preserve the beautiful trunk and hopefully tame the beast.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!!

Powder Springs, GA(Zone 7b)

Yes you can cut it back hard - it will put out new vines soon. If you cut before it blooms though you will cut off this year's blooms. Watch for ground runners as well. Wisteria is one vine that is very hard to get rid of. I have cut one back to the ground and sprayed it with Round Up as well but it always comes back.

http://voices.yahoo.com/make-brutal-cuts-pruning-wisteria-encourage-flower-3230741.html

http://www.plantamnesty.org/pruning_topics/pt_wisteria.htm

http://www.almanac.com/plant/wisteria



Cambridge, United Kingdom

Once the wisterias are back in control, you should start a regular pruning routine to maintain them: a late summer prune and a late winter prune are needed every year. (Look up details.)

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