Nursery Wisteria

mdavis27

Sapling
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Baton Rouge, La
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Got this wisteria at my local nursery, decent root structure and about 2” trunk but the trunk does not really taper, and the third branch is actually three coming out of one spot. It needs to be chopped to correct the taper and proportions, so I guess my question is where would you chop it and why? Just before the first branch or just before the second smaller branch? Ultimately this one would be styled similar to a willow just to accommodate for the large flowers it will inevitably produce.
 

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sorce

Nonsense Rascal
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Nice. Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce
 

Forsoothe!

Imperial Masterpiece
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The reason why you're not getting many responses is the stock is not really amenable to bonsai. If you can take it back and swap for something else that has something to keep that lends itself to bonsai, I would. Size of the trunk is one characteristic, but just one. The "roots" are just that and nobody would call them ~nebari~. They look more like obscene fingers hanging on to the soil.:rolleyes: Wisteria is a vine and doesn't normally grow tapered anything. It grows looooong. They need to be chopped at a internodes to achieve anything like movement, or wired. If you find an older one that has been chopped back a bunch of times, that's good luck, and rare. New people tend to buy by size and by canopy. Old people buy the first six inches. Live and learn. If you are stuck with this, chop it above the first branch and that branch at two inches and hope for buds in good locations that you can select, grow, and chop at short nodes, and over time create a bunch of 45 to 60° angled branches close-in to the trunk that will be good architecture for bonsai. Sorry to the bearer of bad news, but everybody goes through the buyer's learning curve the same way. Almost exactly the same.😢

Almost any vendor will allow you to swap for a like-value plant or an up-priced plant that you pay the difference. That's good customer relations, so consider that seriously. Look for an ugly top which you'd cut off anyway. The first six inches!🕵️‍♀️
 

mdavis27

Sapling
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Baton Rouge, La
USDA Zone
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Sadly, this was the only amethyst wisteria available so this is what I have to work with for now. The good news is I only purchase from the clearance section so any of my nursery funds are cost effective.

I never really considered that there was “good v bad” surface roots/Nebari but now that I think about it, I suppose it seems pretty obvious. That and the “first 6 inches” mentality is definitely something I’ll keep in mind for future trips, hopefully it’ll guide me towards some better stock.

Thank you again for your input! Everything for me at this stage is a learning experience, either what to do or what not to do so I try not to let the wrong choices discourage me. At the end of the day I still love working with the plants/trees under my care so I really appreciate the knowledge and perspective.
 

mdavis27

Sapling
Messages
30
Reaction score
16
Location
Baton Rouge, La
USDA Zone
9a
The reason why you're not getting many responses is the stock is not really amenable to bonsai. If you can take it back and swap for something else that has something to keep that lends itself to bonsai, I would. Size of the trunk is one characteristic, but just one. The "roots" are just that and nobody would call them ~nebari~. They look more like obscene fingers hanging on to the soil.:rolleyes: Wisteria is a vine and doesn't normally grow tapered anything. It grows looooong. They need to be chopped at a internodes to achieve anything like movement, or wired. If you find an older one that has been chopped back a bunch of times, that's good luck, and rare. New people tend to buy by size and by canopy. Old people buy the first six inches. Live and learn. If you are stuck with this, chop it above the first branch and that branch at two inches and hope for buds in good locations that you can select, grow, and chop at short nodes, and over time create a bunch of 45 to 60° angled branches close-in to the trunk that will be good architecture for bonsai. Sorry to the bearer of bad news, but everybody goes through the buyer's learning curve the same way. Almost exactly the same.😢

Almost any vendor will allow you to swap for a like-value plant or an up-priced plant that you pay the difference. That's good customer relations, so consider that seriously. Look for an ugly top which you'd cut off anyway. The first six inches!🕵️‍♀️
Posted reply, still working on mastering the thread lol
 
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