Wisteria is a deciduous, woody flowering climber native to China, Korea, Japan, Southern Canada, and the Eastern United States. Wisterias are popular for their highly scented cascading flowers, which come in purple, blue, pink, and white colors.
Wisteria bonsai tree would make it to the top of a bonsai artist’s wish list. The visually stunning and scented wisteria bloom throughout spring and early summer is a feast for the senses. Despite their stunning display of flower shows, keep in mind that all parts of wisterias are poisonous to pets and humans. Wisteria is very invasive when they are grown as a garden tree.
Types of wisteria – There are five Types that you can make bonsai of:
Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda)
Silky wisteria (Wisteria brachybotrys)
American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens)
Kentucky wisteria (Wisteria macrostachya)
Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis)
Chinese wisteria can grow up to 15 meters. It flowers from early spring to early summer with smaller racemes (flower clusters) than its Japanese cousins. The vine of all wisterias except Japanese twines counterclockwise so are the Chinese varieties. Chinese wisteria is considered an invasive species in the US.
Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda)
Japanese wisterias are the most popular wisteria with heavily scented flowers in long racemes that can grow up to 3 feet long. It comes in many colors and cultivars. Unlike other wisterias, Japanese wisteria grows twining clockwise.
Silky wisteria (Wisteria brachybotrys)
Silky wisteria is native to Japan. Its natural habitat is the hills of eastern Japan, and it is a very popular plant there. Silky wisteria flowers have the strongest scent among all wisterias which blooms in pale violate and white color. Some recent cultivars produce violet and pink flowers such as “Okayama” and “Showa-Beni” respectively.
American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens)
American wisteria is native to bottomlands such as swamps, riversides, and floodplains in the southeastern side of the United States. The plant can grow up to 9 meters high. American wisteria is not as aggressive as Asian wisteria. The flower racemes are also almost half as long as their Asian cousins, the racemes are rounded and more compact. Although it does not have any scent it blooms repeatedly from spring throughout summer on new growth.
Kentucky wisteria (Wisteria macrostachya)
Kentucky wisteria is native to the lowlands of the south-central United States. It is the hardiest wisteria. Kentucky wisteria grown from seed can take 10-15 years to bloom. So, it’s better to get one from cutting. The most famous is the “Blue Moon” variety which has a bluish-purple scented flower that blooms three times a year. The spring bloom is the heaviest.
Wisteria propagation methods:
How to grow wisteria from seed:
The cheapest way to get a wisteria tree is by propagating from seeds, but as mentioned earlier wisteria grown from seed can take up to 15 years to bloom, and it may not resemble the parent plant. Though many seedlings are propagated to use as rootstocks for grafting.
Collect wisteria seedpods in autumn just before they pop. Soak the seeds overnight in water and plant them in a medium with good drainage the next morning. They should germinate in about two weeks.
How to grow wisteria from cuttings:
Cutting is the best way to propagate wisteria. Softwood cuttings of wisteria roots easily. Take cutting from the green part of a branch. First, clean your bonsai tools with rubbing alcohol and take 3-6 inches of cuttings. Cut across a node leaving 2-3 nodes above. Remove the leaves from the bottom nodes and leave one set of leaves on the top node. Clean the cuttings thoroughly and soak them in an antifungal solution for a couple of hours. Then dip the bottom of the cuttings in rooting hormone. Use a stick to make a hole in the potting soil then put a cutting in the hole and gently press the soil down around the cutting. The cuttings should root within 4 to 6 weeks. Make sure to keep the soil moist during this time.
Wisteria grafting
This is an advanced method Professionals use to make numerous copies of a selected cultivar. In this method, a stem of a selected cultivar is grafted on a seed-grown rootstock, which ensures the root strength of a seed-grown plant and desired flowering above the graft. If you buy a grafted wisteria plant, make sure to check the join is a firm of grafting.
Air layering wisteria
The easiest way to air layering wisteria is to take a runner and bury the stem under the soil and leave the tip/top section of the stem above. To force fast rooting you can lightly scar around the nodes and dap some rooting hormone on the scarred areas before burying it under the ground. It can take 4 to 6 months to root. Once the branch has roots, cut it from the main stem.
Wisteria Bonsai Care:
Wisteria bonsai Placement
Wisteria bonsai requires full sun. The more direct sunlight it gets in the growing season, it will produce more flowers. Place your wisteria bonsai where it gets at least 6 hours of direct sunlight. If you are living in the USDA zone 1-11 you should keep your bonsai sheltered from the frost during winter. If you live in zone 12 and above or in a tropical or subtropical climate, then you can leave your wisteria bonsai outdoors throughout the year.
Potting mix
Wisteria can grow virtually in any soil condition in nature but when it comes to bonsai it’s completely a different story. Wisteria loves water and it grows in lowlands or around swamps in nature. Prepare your potting mix by keeping that in mind. The potting mix should drain well but not as aerated as the potting mix used in junipers. One-part garden soil, One-part coarse sand, and one-part sphagnum moss or perlite do the charm.
Watering
Wisteria loves water, and it will take up a lot more water than other bonsai trees. Make sure they are on a well-watering schedule. The potting mix should always be moist, but not wet. Never! I repeat Never let the plant completely dry out. Put a water tray under the pot during summer. If you notice the water is still there after a couple of days, then remove the tray. If you notice that the water is gone, it means the tree is drinking from the tray and the extra water is doing no harm to the plant.
Fertilizing
Wisteria bonsai needs proper fertilizer to produce flowers. The wrong kind of fertilizer can end up with very few or no flowers at all. Apply a balanced fertilizer throughout the summer. If your variety produces a second bloom around august then start applying high Phosphorous content fertilizer from late July or early august till Spring bloom. Go back to regular fertilizer after the spring bloom and again switch before the second bloom around august. Too much nitrogen will result in lush green vegetation with no flowers. We don’t want that for our wisterias, do we?
Pruning wisteria bonsai tree
Besides fertilizer, pruning is a major factor for good bloom in wisteria bonsai. Keep pruning the empty flower stems during the blooming season. When the bloom is over cut back the growth down to 2 to 3 nodes. When the new growth appears let it grow 1-2 feet and then again cut back leaving 2-3 nodes. Keep pruning till July if your variety blooms twice or keep pruning till September to a tree full of flowers in spring.
Wiring
Wisterias are best for the clip-and-grow method. But if you need to shape any branch by wiring then do it in the winter, when the plant is dormant. Wisteria branches are tricky to bend, even a soft thin branch can snap easily. So be careful when wiring and bending wisterias. Like many other species, stop watering for a few days before wiring, it’ll help to bend the branch.
Repotting
Wisteria likes to be root bound and the flowering also depends on the root. So don’t repot wisteria bonsai until it’s heavily root-bound. Bring the tree out of the pot and trim away 1/3rd root from the sides and then repot. The best time to repot wisteria bonsai is early summer after the bloom. Repotting in spring-like other bonsai may affect flowering.
Pests and diseases
Wisteria is a strong plant with no common deadly pests or diseases, but there are some rare conditions that can be deadly. The most common is Fungal leaf diseases such as Powdery mildew, leaf spot, etc. These problems don’t require much attention more than plucking the infected leaves in the early stage. Spraying antifungal or Neem oil once a month should keep your wisteria bonsai safe.
Root rot is a deadly condition that can kill your plant. Root rot occurs from waterlogged conditions. Planting the plant in a potting mix with good drainage solves the problem. Watering less during dormancy will also keep your bonsai away from root rot.
Wisteria borer is an insect that bores a small round hole in the woody parts of the Wisteria and creates tunnels in the tree. If the insect manages to create tunnels in the transport tissue it can kill the plant by severing the roots from the tree. Once infested it’s very hard to control. The best way to keep borers away from your plant is to perfect watering and feed them regularly. The borers seek unhealthy or stressed plants, so as long as your plant stays healthy and well-fed, borers will stay at bay.
Oldest Wisteria Bonsai Photo for your Inspiration
This wisteria bonsai tree is the oldest Wisteria bonsai in the world. Please take a cup of coffee and check our oldest bonsai list for your inspiration, I check ’em often 🙂
Key Points to remember
• Wisterias Love water but waterlog can kill the plant.
• Some wisterias bloom multiple times a year and some are single bloomers, prune your wisteria accordingly.
• All parts of wisteria plants are considered poisonous to pets household animals and humans.
