Wisteria is an impressive plant to have growing in your garden, and autumn is a good time to plant the bulbs for flowering next spring. It’s also the perfect time to take an extra bit of care of your wisteria plants to keep it protected during the coming winter.
Gardening expert and TikTok creator Ish shared some helpful advice for fellow gardeners to keep their wisteria in tip-top shape. He also urged gardeners to avoid one key task until late winter, despite the temptation. Ish wrote in the video’s caption: “Chances are your wisteria has been growing lovely all year and now it may be losing its leaves and ready to wind down for the year.”
Wisteria is a hardy plant and can handle the dropping temperatures throughout the winter months. What you will find is that its leaves will start to drop as it is a deciduous plant, meaning it will hibernate throughout winter.
Ish urged gardeners not to be disheartened if they do see some leaves falling off, as they will grow back next year. The fallen leaves may reveal some unpleasant-looking stems, however, Ish urged people to delay any drastic action.
While you may want to prune back the stems, Ish advised to “hold off” doing so until late December or early January. He said: “I find that late December, early January time, when this is completely dormant, is the best time to prune it.
“As a result, you’re doing no damage or stress to this, and you can have it in any shape you like. You can cut quite hard, and you’ll be fine.”
The Royal Horticultural Society shared how you should prune wisteria in winter, saying: “In January or February (when the plant is dormant and leafless), cut back the shoots you pruned in summer to two or three buds, to tidy up the plant before the growing season starts. This also ensures the flowers won’t be hidden by leaves.”
To protect wisteria throughout the winter, add a generous layer of mulch or strulch at the base to retain its warmth. If you have a wisteria umbrella, where the plant is grown around a support structure to bloom into a wisteria canopy, one of the main threats is its exposure to wind.
Ish said: “Now, whilst they’ll be absolutely fine in the cold, some wind can be quite heavy and damage the stems: so get some ties or some twine, simply train it around the final bit and tie it in place just to make sure it’s nice and happy.
“If it doesn’t move, it won’t snap.”