Wisteria Tree

Last year I was given a wisteria tree in bloom. This year I have not gotten any blooms or signs of getting blooms. It is in full sun. I was wondering if it could be the soil I have it in. I have in a raised bed of straight compost with a thick layer (3") of mulch on it. Does it do well in rich soil? Can I force it to bloom? It was so beautiful last year with all the blooms on it. Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated.

Debby

There are lots of things that can contribute to it not blooming. Too much TLC (in the form of water, fertilizer, rich soil, etc) can definitely be a factor, as can not getting enough sun, or pruning at the wrong time (assuming it's one of the Asian wisterias, they bloom on old wood so if you pruned too late in the fall or too early in the spring you cut off the flower buds) The other possibility is that it's just settling into its new home. Perennial vines can follow the same "first year they sleep, 2nd year they creep, 3rd year they leap" rule that is true for some perennials, so if it was just planted last year it may have spent enough energy getting its roots established that it didn't have anything left to use on flowers. They will bloom better in poorer soil, but it also really could just be the time factor, I can't count the number of shrubs I've planted that were blooming in their containers when I bought them, but then took a year off after planting and then came back blooming the following year. So if it were my plant, assuming it is truly in full sun I'd probably leave it where it is and just not give it any supplemental fertilizer at all and see what happens in the next couple years.