Bonsai Tonight

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Developing branches on Chinese wisteria

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For the last year and a half, I’ve been working to increase the branch density on a Chinese wisteria. Last fall, I was able to see the results.

Here’s what the tree looked like in fall.

Fall color - November, 2020

Fall color – November, 2020

After removing the leaves

After removing the leaves

Seeing that the new shoots were 4-5″ long, I reduced them to two or three buds each.

After cutback

After cutback

At this point I was happy with the branch development, but I wasn’t sure if the tree was going to bloom after producing flowers twice during the previous summer.

By February, I had my answer.

Flower buds swelling - February, 2021

Flower buds swelling – February, 2021

If we look closely, it’s easy to see the result of the pruning over the last year and a half. Here’s where I pruned in December of 2019.

Site of first cutback

Site of first cutback

The branch just above this point developed in early 2020.

Shoot from early 2020

Shoot from early 2020

Above that was the most recent growth extension from last summer.

Shoot from late 2020

Shoot from late 2020

In this one example, two cuts have yielded five branches and nine flower buds over twelve months.

The results were similar around the rest of the tree. I didn’t count all of the flowers, but there were plenty.

Flowers starting to open

Flowers starting to open

Much of the tree’s ability to produce flowers can be attributed to the cultivar. The tree is a Wisteria sinensis ‘Caroline’ – a cultivated variety that’s known to produce ample blooms.

Caroline Chinese wisteria

Caroline Chinese wisteria – 33″

I plan to keep the tree in the sun again this year and provide lots of water and fertilizer. My goal is to continue improving the branch density so I plan to let the tree grow out before cutting back to three buds in spring and again in fall.

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Comments

  2. Jonas the tree is looking good. I have a pair that I dug up from the overgrown yard of a friends mountain cabin 2 years ago and they are in early development, but they are old enough to bloom. I am allowing the branches to grow out and cutting them back to 2-3 buds. It is a slow process but in time the branch structure will mature.

  3. Jonas, I have been told to only fertilize wisteria with 0-10-10. I have done so and have gotten a couple of flowers on three trees and none on two older trees for the last 5 years.
    What type of fertilizer do you use on wisteria?
    Thanks,
    Bill

    • Hi Bill – I haven’t used 0-10-10 for any bonsai, flowering or otherwise, and I’ve only used relatively balanced fertilizers (mostly fish emulsion and Dyna-Gro) on this tree. It’s likely that most of the flowers are a result of the cultivar as it’s known as a good bloomer, but beyond that, I just keep the tree in a sunny spot and use the same fertilizer I use on the rest of the garden.

  4. I noticed the racemes are quite short which makes the whole plant look balanced. Lovely. Just wondering, how often do you repot your wisteria? There are a lot of differing opinions.

    • Thanks, Terence! I’ve only had the tree for the last year and a half so I’ve only repotted it once. My plan is to use the same criteria I use on my other trees and repot it when the pot fills with roots and the drainage slows down (which is likely going to be next year).

  5. Great blog Jonas. Do you treat all species of wisteria in the same way with pruning? I have several wisteria but their species is unknown.

  6. Jonas, you mentioned pruning twice a year, in spring as well as late fall. If my dwarf wisteria has not leafed out yet, can I prune it now in early April?

    • Hi John – I prune based on how much the tree has grown. For my dwarf wisteria, which is actually Millettia japonica ‘Microphylla,’ I only prune once during the growing season after the first flush hardens off (usually in June or July). Depending on how much it grows over summer, I may prune again in fall.