Wisteria pruning - help please!

[paperbiscuit]

Hi all, I'm a complete novice and need to prune some wisteria in the next month.

Youtube videos say to prune at the 5th bud.

Do I cut before or after the 5th bud? Can't work it out from the videos.

Thank you and apologies for what is probably a silly question!

Right above. Diagonally, away from the rain.

But quite frankly now just snip off the long whispy shots. I February you can work on the frame because you will be able to see it much better.

Thank you. So just above the fifth bud, so that four buds are left on the branch?

Five buds stay.

Four would be if you cut bellow the bud.

I think!

Thank you but I'm not getting this! Just can't get my head around it! Don't know why.

Ok, take a look at the branch. Count 5 buds, take your —clean— secateurs and snip above, just past the 5th bud. Angle the cut, so then the rain comes down it won’t hit the cut.

Don’t try to imagine it, go out and do it and it will make sense.

Or, if you have neighbours who have a nicely pruned wisteria go and ask them to show. I’m sure they will be happy to.

Thank you!

Good luck!

Sorry I cannot explain it any clearer, I’ve been doing for years and it’s sort of instinct now.

No, you've really helped. Thank you!

So sorry to jump on @paperbiscuit 's thread but I could also use some Wisteria help and was just googling this morning actually!

The 5 bud thing and cutting away from rain is so helpful - thank you

Our wisteria grows up the side of our house and we've only started getting flowers right at the top the last couple of years. The bottom is quite dense and entangled and I'd like to thin it out but its so tricky to see what where what your cutting affects higher up.

I am hoping that thinning it out at the bottom will encourage more flowers in the fuller part of the plant (and that they last longer as they seem to only last a few days).

I know it's July and Feb you're supposed to cut but I'm due end of January and getting outside in Feb with a newborn to do this is probably going to be impossible so I'd like to do as much prep as possible in the summer.

Any advice on encouraging flower growth and giving it a more thorough pruning would be most helpful!!

I’m not a expert, just a desperate owner of a wisteria that needs taking care of.

I do think the winter pruning is the most important one though. Also, don’t do anything in autumn, pruning encourages growth, and if you prune later but the weather is still warm, then the plant will start shooting and might get frostbite on the tender shoots.

You want to prune in the summer to give the new shoots time to mature and harden up a bit, and then in winter so it can get going and blossom in spring.