How to clone your Wisteria

I have a wisteria in my backyard. It's not in the greatest spot because it takes the full force of the winter wind and cold. It all depends on the severity of the winter if it will bloom or not. Normally the blooms will freeze and drop off depriving me of yet another year of beautiful wisteria flowers. The picture here is from 2008, one of our very few 'lucky years'.

This year I have decided to do something about it. I have been collecting all of the information I can find on cloning my wisteria. I think my wisteria is too big to move, so I'm making little ones to put where I want. This article contains all of the info I have found so far, it should save you a lot of time.

The first method is the best (in my opinion). Simply take a branch that will reach to the ground and cut a small slit into the bark. Sprinkle the slit with rooting hormone, lay the branch on the ground, bury it with dirt. After a few weeks the injury will have grown roots and you can cut the branch from the rest of the plant and put it where you want.

If the branch doesn't reach the ground you can set out a chair with a pot of dirt on it. Just make sure to keep the dirt moist (not dripping wet).

A second method, similar but different. Take any branch anywhere on the plant, make a little slit, sprinkle on rooting hormone, pack with wet sphagnum moss mixed with potting soil. Then wrap loosely with plastic wrap and tape. This can dry out fast on a hot day, so it takes a lot more care than the previous method. Some people use a hypodermic needle to keep water in the sphagnum. You would probably have to do it a few times daily.

The absolute easiest method, which doesn't always give the greatest results, is to just cut some new growth and put it in a vase or directly into wet dirt. 'New Growth' is the all-green branches that don't have any bark yet. You'll know in less than a week if any roots are growing. I think most people use this method because it's so easy to do.

The last method, the one I won't try because I have no patience, is to get some seed and plant it. The main problem is you have to have blooms to be able to get seed. You also have no idea of the genetics from the seed until you grow it. Also, it will be 3 to 5 years before you will see flowers from a wisteria grown from seed.

Well, that's all of the info I have. I hope I have given you the help you need to clone your favorite wisteria. These methods will work with a surprisingly large variety of plants. Go ahead, give it a try....