Follow The Field’s guide on how to prune wisteria wisely to keep the walls of your house attractively covered. Wisteria is best pruned twice a year and now is the time for the summer prune. It can be left to ramble at will, but prune to prevent it from tumbling into gutters and to encourage even more flowers. Follow our guide on how to cut back the whippy green shoots in July or August. It will ripen the wood and encourage even more flower formation.

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HOW TO PRUNE WISTERIA

My husband has a tendency to prune large shrubs with a chainsaw, with dramatic results. He has offered to prune the wisteria, which has got rather out of control. It’s wonderful on the front of the house and I am determined to make sure it survives by pruning it myself. Help! When should I do this? Can you advise me how to prune wisteria?

The ideal time to prune wisteria is in July/August and again in January/February. It is important to keep the growth and size under control and this makes it more floriferous. To prevent the wisteria from raiding the guttering and windows, cut back the whip-like green shoots of the current year’s growth to six or seven leaves after flowering. This will encourage the wisteria to form flower buds instead of green growth. Take care to water it if there is a dry spell between July and September as the flower buds are forming for next year; a drought at this time can result in a failure to bloom. In January/February cut the same growth back to two or three buds – this will ensure that the flowers are not blocked by the leaves during flowering.