Blooming Springtime—Wisteria and Iris
Just sharing a couple of things that made me smile, blooming in the garden this week-
The fact that they both have lavender blossoms was purely coincidental…I have a tense relationship with the color lavender, but I did like these—
Chinese Wisteria, Wisteria sinensis—This tree has been a prolific bloomer for the past five years. When the blooms are done, leaves form at the base of the bloom spike, so we cut them back to those leaves, leaving a short spike. That becomes our ramification in a wisteria bonsai.
Iris cristata—When they get really senile they don’t bloom so often, so this one is still a teenager. Was potted only a couple years back. To restart the bloom cycle, repot your iris. There’s a Maidenhair fern that blew in there unexpectedly, like a hitchhiker, tucked in on the left… I like it so I left it. Foliage with very different sizes/feelings are good in an accent.
Michael Hagedorn 
9 Comments
Your wisteria is wonderful. I am having a problem with my wisteria. The leaves are yellowing and burning on the edges. Do you have any ideas of what I could do. Patricia
Leaf burn on any deciduous tree is generally a watering problem—usually too little—although it might be a water quality issue as well. Looking into those issues usually corrects the problem, although you might not see a change for a year-
Try putting a pan of water under the pot, so it can soak up as much as it wants. Especially in the spring/summer in your hot area…in winter or whenever the temps are cooler this isn’t needed, or wanted, really. But that can help with the hydration issue, if that’s the problem.
Nice Wisteria. Regarding ramification, how much ramification do you want? Is crowding together acceptable or should there be a space between each of them?
Too much ramification is rarely a problem with wisteria, getting it is the tricky part…
Do you ever use 3X phosphorous?
I don’t…just mild stuff from organic sources, outside of the occasional use Dyna-Grow ‘Grow’.
Hi, Do you prune hard when repotting? Should the roots by tight in the pot in order to flower? What soil? Should it be in a deep pot?
The Wisteria does not need to be pruned hard when repotting, although some is fine. I have not found tight roots to be necessary to flower. Very good sun, water, and fertilizer seem more important. A well draining soil. I use the same as in other bonsai. And yes, wisteria seem to do best in deep pots. Supports the flowers better, and more soil holds more moisture, too.
How to cut my wisteria on spring,of course after flowering. I have wisteria since last year ,so i need a few tips about my beautyful tree to get many flowers on next year.