Wisteria monster

This shows our falling over arbor. Can I replace the arbor without killing the wisteria? If I cut it back, will it come back?

Frankay,
can you brace up the wisteria so you can cut the arbor in pieces and remove it without cutting off too much of the wisteria? Maybe use 3 2x4's to make 2 legs & a flat top to lay it on. Then get the new arbor in & let the wisteria lay on the new arbor? I would really try that first, because the pruning times for wisteria are August & February.
If you whack it back you are gonna have to wait possibly years to get blooms again. If the suggestion of bracing while rebuilding is too overwhelming, maybe you can thin out the wisteria so you are working with less? At least then what you are able to leave would bloom for you while you wait for new shoots to form. Good luck, hope you post more pics of your progress.
Donna

Frankay,

You can cut your wisteria way back, and it will live just fine. You will sacrafice some blooms, but if you prune well, you will still get blooms next year. Here is an excellent site with instructions on pruning: http://www.plantamnesty.org/pruning_tips/pt_wisteria.htm Your next arbor should be made of a strong material, like steel, to help support your wisteria.

I guess we will leave it 'til August or after blooms. I'm thinking about 2"copper, 4 to 6 uprights per side. Each corner will go 3' under with a 6"x1' blob of concrete at the bottom of the holes. The trellis in the pic was here when we moved in and had been "repaired" already. It wasn't done deep enough as the frost has pushed it every winter. Hopefully my "repair" will last at least as long as I do. The wisteria was 2 ft tall in a pot 6 yrs ago. I guess the Dewalt sawsall will be used. I'm pretty good with my chainsaw but one slip... plus the Dewalt doesn't mind nails. Thanks for your help. Frank

Looks like the Wisteria is the boss in this garden! It could take on the job of an arbor, itself. I agree......this arbor should be made of metal! Elaine,.......... who grows Wisteria and the vine has a base similar to that of a grown elephant's foot!

Frankay, I don't really think copper is strong enough to bear the weight of a wisteria. Steel would be far better for the arbor for such a heavy plant. OR reinforce the copper with steel.

Good luck.

I always thought the best time for pruning wisteria is right after bloom cause they bloom next year on this years new growth..I would think pruning in August, one would cut off most of the new growth..am I mistaken in these thoughts?

Earthling, I think some wisterias bloom at different times of the year in different environments, and so there is different pruning times for people in different parts of the country. Mine bloom in December, January, or February and sometimes again in the late summer. After flowering usually comes the growth phase. After the growth phase, the vine drops its leaves, and that is when I trim. Yes, it is true that this vine flowers on old growth so one needs to prune bearing that in mind. That means that you prune what you need to but that you be sure to leave yourself several nodes per limb for flowers the following season. Check out that Plant Amnesty link that I posted above for some really good pruning instructions.

Clare, that is a terrific site. Thanks so much for posting it. Here in Texas, the best time for pruning was about 2 weeks ago when the blooming was finished. I dont get another flush of blooms later in the year. My plant had grown all over the roof and was really taking over, so we had to trim it back drastically because I was afraid of roof damage. That happened late last summer and by doing it then, we lost a lot of the blooms for this spring. It can be a bit unruly at times, and I waited many years for it to bloom...but I think we have come to terms.

Sure, Earthling! It is good that you protected your roof from your wisteria:-) We've had some really hot and dry weather here in Southern California lately, and another heat wave will be here tomorrow and the next day. My wisterias don't like that kind of weather at all, and some of the leaves got fried.
I bought this trellis at Big Lots for around $60. It's a nice metal frame that my two tree standards can lean on until I've had a chance to prune.