March is here, and one thing is certain. Somebody’s wisteria is going to bloom, and somebody else’s isn’t.
Until last year, I was among the have-nots. Back in the ’90s we planted one vine that thrived, with so many green shoots that from a distance it looked like we had another lawn growing out of our second story. The living vines have even tried to grow inside the house. But no flowers. Finally in 2003, we added another wisteria vine to keep the first one company. And kept getting the same results.
Every March I would see bunches of wisteria dripping from beautiful healthy vines all over Lake Highlands — and it would make me so mad! Why had my vines missed the memo, yet again?
Some people know the secret, and some are still wondering. Pruning is the key. And possibly the addition of phosphates to the soil. Theoretically, the pruning should happen in January, but I didn’t figure it out until February. After watching a you-tube demonstration, I climbed out our second story window and began hacking away.
Within one week after my pruning adventure, a bud appeared. I checked it about seven or eight times a day to make sure it wasn’t going to turn into a green leaf. Eventually I had 11 buds that transformed into the much anticipated flowers.
March is back. Where in Lake Highlands will the first wisteria bloom appear? Gardeners, I’d love to hear your tips if you have them. The picture above is my overhang that I pruned last week (barely made it into February) on the one day of decent weather that we had.
Will the magic happen again? The clock is ticking.
