Hello, I have a beautiful, very healthy wisteria, however in 13 years it has never bloomed! I am so disappointed as I know how stunning the flowers are. Do you have any suggestions on how to get her to flower. I do trim it back as required. It is on a beautiful pergola and gets sun from 1- sundown.Thank you so much.
Thank you for your question. It is unfortunate that you have not been able to get your Wisteria to bloom but you are not alone. We have had similar questions before and have developed a Gardening Guide to provide assistance.
This guide discusses issues that are important to consider in making sure your plant blooms – including sun and watering requirements, proper pruning, fertilizing.
You will find the link to the Guide below.
Several factors can impact whether a Wisteria will bloom. If the vine was grown from seed it can take up to 10 years or more to flower. Other potential explanations include too much shade, which does not sound to be your problem as you have indicated it gets a fair bit of sun. Also incorrect fertilizing, poor quality or juvenile plants can also inhibit flowering. Flower buds can also fall victim to late spring frost, but most often though wisterias failure to bloom indicates the vine suffers from improper pruning techniques.
The Gardener’s guide does not specify the month in winter to do the second pruning, but suggests that it should be done in late winter, perhaps a warmish day in February or early March.
Another previous post provided another similar perspective and additional advice, from the Farmer’s Almanac:
“Pruning is the secret to good flowering, as wisteria only bloom on new wood.
- Prune wisteria in late winter. Remove at least half of the prior year’s growth, leaving just a few buds per stem.
- If you want a more formal appearance, prune again during summer, after traditional flowering.
- For more blooms, try cutting back the rampant shoots every two weeks during the summer.”
https://www.almanac.com/plant/wisteria