First year with wisteria, would love some advice.

[LeoB]

This Is my first year with this yamadori wisteria that I collected in the spring. It has grown very well over the spring and summer. We are about to get our first frost this week. And I know that in the ground they can withstand the cold. Just wondering if it should be ok in the pot as well? I’ve read conflicting opinions on it. Also in regards to pruning, at what point can/should I prune back the shoots? I like that the nodes are very close together. And I might have a flower bud on the end of one (pictured below) which I would hate to remove? Any advice or thoughts on this matter is greatly appreciated! Thanks! The first picture is when I originally planted it. The rest I took yesterday.

 

[nuttiest]

Nice one - simulate the inground conditions as much as possible to have it growing like them. Laest pruning to preserve flowering would be same as the inground as well.

 

[LeoB]

Nice one - simulate the inground conditions as much as possible to have it growing like them. Laest pruning to preserve flowering would be same as the inground as well.

Thank you! With pruning, should I just cut back the branches with leaves to the main branch?

 

[nuttiest]

It depends on what other plants you have. If you think you can keep it alive, then give full bore growth which means you cut no more roots, top, whatever until wound heals. You might need lots of other plants before having control of that.

 

[rockm]

Thank you! With pruning, should I just cut back the branches with leaves to the main branch?

This requires no pruning at this point. Leave it alone, put it's pot under mulch for the winter (and watch for new shoots outside the mulch pile next spring, as these are pretty invasive). You want GROWTH for this one. Wisteria make poor mame-sized bonsai. The larger the better. Allowing this to grow (just like having a wisteria bonsai in general) requires some room and thought. Wisteria is incredibly invasive for one, --allowing the pot direct contact with the ground can mean the plant "escapes" into your yard. They will run 30 feet and then push new leaves, etc. Once escaped, wisteria is not easy to control.

Additionally, wisteria bonsai has to be large to extremely large to support the compound leaves and foot long blooms. A tiny trunk like that one will topple over easily under the weight of a couple of flowers.

Also to grow them out requires allowing their green growth to extend as much as possible in the spring and summer, with dramatic cut back in the late following winter (there are a few pruning programs you can use). That growth, if it's allowed to grow up a structure can damage (or even destroy) the structure in a short time. New tendrils can burrow under siding, for instance and pull it off. Keep the growing wisteria away from buildings.

 

[rockm]

This requires no pruning at this point. Leave it alone, put it's pot under mulch for the winter (and watch for new shoots outside the mulch pile next spring, as these are pretty invasive). You want GROWTH for this one. Wisteria make poor mame-sized bonsai. The larger the better. Allowing this to grow (just like having a wisteria bonsai in general) requires some room and thought. Wisteria is incredibly invasive for one, --allowing the pot direct contact with the ground can mean the plant "escapes" into your yard. They will run 30 feet and then push new leaves, etc. Once escaped, wisteria is not easy to control.

Additionally, wisteria bonsai has to be large to extremely large to support the compound leaves and foot long blooms. A tiny trunk like that one will topple over easily under the weight of a couple of flowers.

Also to grow them out requires allowing their green growth to extend as much as possible in the spring and summer, with dramatic cut back in the late following winter (there are a few pruning programs you can use). That growth, if it's allowed to grow up a structure can damage (or even destroy) the structure in a short time. New tendrils can burrow under siding, for instance and pull it off. Keep the growing wisteria away from buildings.

FWIW, larger wisteria are easy to collect, so if you have small ones like this around in the woods or the area around you, you should scout out larger ones. Chinese and Japanese wisteria are incredibly invasive around here in Va. They grow everywhere. You scout then in April when they're pushing flowers and purple blossoms give them away. those blossoms are usually hanging from many trees, sometimes high up in oaks, etc. The bases of the wisteria are typically at the foot of those trees. With some looking and experience you can find stuff like this--calf-thick or more trunks you can saw out of the ground with only a few feeder roots. Plant them out in a pot full of regular garden or top soil and keep them mostly wet through the spring and summer and you've got a trunk to work into a bonsai...

 

[Shibui]

Thank you! With pruning, should I just cut back the branches with leaves to the main branch?

I'm pretty sure the 'branches' you have marked in the photo are actually leaves. Wisteria have compound leaves which consist of a main stem, side stems and the leaflets. The leaves will all drop off just below the red lines you marked on that photo so no point pruning there.
Not sure that flower buds will be showing this early. Wisteria flowers normally come from the first few nodes of last year's shoots, rarely from the tips of shoots.
Also agree with @rockm that this one is way too small to prune yet. Wisteria flowers are long so where will they hang if you grow a small bonsai?

 

[LeoB]

I'm pretty sure the 'branches' you have marked in the photo are actually leaves. Wisteria have compound leaves which consist of a main stem, side stems and the leaflets. The leaves will all drop off just below the red lines you marked on that photo so no point pruning there.
Not sure that flower buds will be showing this early. Wisteria flowers normally come from the first few nodes of last year's shoots, rarely from the tips of shoots.
Also agree with @rockm that this one is way too small to prune yet. Wisteria flowers are long so where will they hang if you grow a small bonsai?

Thank you, this was so informative! I have been searching for the actual definition of the branch structure! Th only pruning I did this summer seems to be leaf set pruning which I hope didn’t affect the tree too much! From my knowledge working with it this year it is definitely different than my other bonsais as far and branching out. As far as the flower buds go I appreciate that I just saw a larger node on the end of one of the new branches and was not for sure. Within the topic of branching, will the tertiary branches grow from the nodes of the secondary branches from this year?

 

[Shibui]

New branches will grow from the axillary buds which are where each leaf joins the branch but not all of the nodes will grow a new shoot. Usually just a couple near the tips of any branch will shoot next season. If we need branches lower we need to prune the shoots to force buds from the lower nodes. In any case yours does not need pruning yet. Just let if be and watch what happens in spring.

Th only pruning I did this summer seems to be leaf set pruning which I hope didn’t affect the tree too much!

Many wisteria growers trim leaves during summer. That reduces excessive vigour and allows light into the tree. It will slow down growth a bit but won't hurt the tree.

 

[rockm]

Thank you! With pruning, should I just cut back the branches with leaves to the main branch?

What you have marked are not branches. They are leaf stems. Cutting them will not induce branching. What those stems are growing off of is the "branch," although it's very very small and not worth cutting. Cutting anything on this will only slow it down and delay development. I'd simply let it alone for a few years to grow.

 

[czaczaja]

I would definitely hold off with any pruning for at least one more season until that green branch has hardened off and new shoots appear. Make sure its cozy for winter and some new shoots should appear next year.

 

[LeoB]

Little update before spring hits! I repotted in a 11x14 unglazed pot, I love the natural tones think it blends well. And if I’m not mistaken is that a flower bud I see in the second picture? Haven’t pruned off anything in hopes of some secondary branches this year! Also there is some inverse taper halfway up the trunk, should I worry about that or will it even out over time?