chineese wisteria design ideas?

[amatbrewer]

I have a Wisteria sinensis ,Chinese wisteria, that I started from seed (don't recall exactly when maybe 5-8 years ago) and am looking for some development ideas.

It is very two dimensional with very little front/back movement in the trunk and only the one back branch. It does not seem to back-branch as prolifically as my American wisteria do. I do like the graceful curves in the trunk but obviously it could use more taper. I believe the small 2nd branch is dead and will need to be removed. The foliage is a bit of a mess right now as I have chosen to not do anything until I can figure out what direction to go from here. There is some wire in the upper section of the trunk that I have not gotten around to removing yet.

Last year I tried to get some front/back movement to the trunk but I am finding this to be more difficult to bend than my American wisteria (harder wood and seems to be more brittle) so I gave up rather than risk damaging the trunk.

Note that I am working on a couple of American wisteria that have dramatic bends and twists (as well as a small cascade style), so my preference would be to keep this one simple and graceful. As it is something I grew from seeds my kids gave me, I value its survival over its development, so 'do nothing for now' is one possible option.

I also know I could probably speed up its development if I put it in a grow box, but my wife likes how it looks in that pot, so for now that is were it is going to stay.

Thanks in advance for any ideas you may have.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

The trunk is bolt upright coming out of the soil. I would repot it to at least 15 degrees off vertical, possibly much more. Depending on which way you tilt it, the change should add a lot of movement without bending anything.

I would put it in a large nursery container, let it grow out for a couple years, then cut it back to something smaller than your current size. The resulting explosion of new back buds should give you much better design options.

But given your constraints, you might have to keep it in the current container.