Wisteria plants are lovely plants that can be trained to climb up structures like trellises that add a unique look to any home, especially when they are in bloom with their beautiful purple flowers. It is no wonder you would want to propagate this plant.
So, how do you propagate a Wisteria plant correctly?
To propagate your Wisteria plant, you need to take healthy cuttings from the plant using sharp and disinfected scissors or shears. Then you need to remove any excess leaves at the bottom of the cutting and dip this end into root hormone. Then gently plant the cutting into good soil.
Can you only propagate Wisteria into a plant pot, or can you use a spot in your garden? How do you help make an environment that is better for the Wisteria cuttings to start rooting? Let us find out!
Equipment tor Propagating Wisteria
Before you propagate your Wisteria plant, you will need to ensure you have the right equipment for the job. You do not require a lot, but here is what you should have on hand:
- Good-quality rooting hormone
- A good plant pot, if you are planting into a pot
- Sharp, disinfected shears or scissors
- Plastic wrap or a large plastic bag
- Extra sticks
- Potting soil
- Water
How Do You Propagate Wisteria?
Wisteria is an easy plant to propagate if you know how to do it correctly. This process does not take long to get started, and the cuttings should start rooting in a few months, ready to be given as a lovely gift or to be kept around your own home.
Let us go through the process of propagating Wisteria.
Take Cuttings from Your Wisteria
To start the propagating process with Wisteria, you need to get some good Wisteria cuttings. You need to ensure that these cuttings are healthy and do not have any pests or diseases that could fail the propagation.
An excellent time to get some good Wisteria cuttings that are generally healthy is when you prune your Wisteria if it has grown too large. But if you do not need to prune your Wisteria, you can take cuttings from the plant for the specific purpose of propagating the plant.
If you are taking cuttings for the specific purpose of propagation, you need to take cuttings from certain plant sections that will make the cutting root more successful. These Wisteria cuttings need to be taken from the softwood of the plant.
The softwood of the plant is the wood that is still green and has not yet developed woody bark. You should cut a piece off about 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 cm) long to ensure there is enough stem to stick out of the soil.
The cuttings that you take from your Wisteria should have at least two sets of leaves on them at the top of the stem, as this means that the stem is healthy and ready to grow. The best season to take your Wisteria cuttings and do your plant propagation is in the late spring to early summer.
You should never twist off a Wisteria stem for propagation as this will damage the stem and cause the chances of the cutting rooting correctly and surviving to go down drastically.
Instead, you should always use a sharp pair of shears or scissors that have been disinfected to ensure no disease or pests are possibly passed to them from a different plant.
Prepare the Wisteria Cuttings for Rooting
When you have your Wisteria cutting and are happy with its health, you can now prepare the Wisteria cutting for rooting. First, remove any leaves from the Wisteria cutting on the lower half of the stem.
You should remove these leaves carefully with the sharp shears or scissors you have as you do not want to damage the nodes where these leaves are growing from as this is where the new roots will begin to sprout.
Now you need to trim the stem so that the last node on the stem is only about ½ an inch to ¼ of an inch (1 to 6mm) from the stem’s bottom. If there are any flower buds on this stem, you should remove them as they will either die or cause the stem to die as they take too many nutrients from the stem as they try to grow.
Rooting the Wisteria in a Plant Pot
Once you are happy with the Wisteria stem and it has been prepared correctly, you can now begin the rooting process of your Wisteria cutting. We will first go through how you do this process using a plant pot.
You need to prepare a plant pot with a well-draining and good quality potting soil, and you need to ensure the soil is thoroughly moistened throughout. Dip the bottom of the stem of the Wisteria, cutting into some rooting hormone, which will help the rooting process begin faster.
Using a stick or even your finger, create a hole in the potting soil in the plant pot, not too deep, just enough to cover the nodes that will sprout roots and allow the Wisteria cutting to stand on its own.
Now carefully place the Wisteria cutting into the hole you have created, and gently press down the soil around it. Cover the entire plant pot with plastic, either a plastic bog or wrapping the whole thing in a plastic wrap.
Ensure that the plastic does not touch the Wisteria cuttings so you can place a few sticks in with the cuttings to prop up the plastic. The plastic will provide a humid environment like a greenhouse, which is more conducive to the rooting of the Wisteria cutting.
Place the cutting in a location where it will receive bright but indirect light and water the cutting when the potting soil feels dry to the touch. Your Wisteria cutting should begin to root within the next four to six weeks.
Rooting Wisteria in a Flower Bed
You do not have to Propagate your Wisteria plant into plant pots; you can do it directly into your garden too. When the soil in your garden begins to warm up in the spring, you should prepare a place for your Wisteria cuttings.
You need to pick a location where the cuttings will be in a sunny area with well-draining soil. Once you have taken your Wisteria cuttings and prepared them correctly, you can now poke some holes into the soil in your flower bed.
If you are rooting more than one cutting, you need to place the cuttings at least 6 inches apart. Once you have poked the holes that can accommodate the Wisteria cuttings, you can dip the bottom of the stems into some rooting hormone.
Place the cuttings into the soil, gently press down the soil around it, and cover the cutting with some plastic with some sticks propping the plastic up. Your Wisteria cuttings should begin to root within the next four to six weeks.
Final Thoughts
Propagating Wisteria is a pretty easy process and can be done in both a plant pot and straight into your garden. Unfortunately, not all of the cuttings will survive as they will get too stressed during the transplant, but that is why you root several cuttings at a time.
Good luck propagating your Wisteria plant!
Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.