Hi,

Anyone have any suggestions on how to repair the split in this picture? I have will be ready to remove my wisteria tree from the pot in a couple of months to plant it in its permanent location and while the tree is super happy, I would like to figure out how to repair this so down the road it does keep splitting or snap once it gets larger and more weight is added. Thank you for your time!

Be VERY careful about planting your wisteria directly in the ground. Once in the ground , you will need to watch for it popping up elsewhere in your property, or worse, a neighbors property. Wisteria really likes to spread. I've had it pop up 15-20 feet from the parent.

If you can, keep it in a large pot. Seal the drainage hole(s) in the bottom and make new holes on the side near the bottom.

Hi, thanks for the response.

Is there some way to repair the trunk split?

I'm not seeing anything that looks unusual for chinese wisteria.

As noted above, this exotic invasive tends to be incredibly difficult to control, almost always escaping our yards and destroying the local environment.

As far as the cracks? Don't worry about them... the vine is not having a problem with them.

It's hard to tell exactly what that is—a wound or disfigurement. I wouldn't plant a tree or large vine with pre-existing trunk damage, especially at soil level. Needs further examination. Can you pull the soil away from it and take more pictures?

Did you purchase it like that?

NMoasis said: It's hard to tell exactly what that is—a wound or disfigurement. I wouldn't plant a tree or large vine with pre-existing trunk damage, especially at soil level. Needs further examination. Can you pull the soil away from it and take more pictures?

Did you purchase it like that?

Hi @NMoasis , I have attached an additional pic per your request if it it helps and yes, unfortunately it came with the split as well as shipped on it's deathbed. I have nursed it back to life over 4 months lol.

Let me know your thoughts

clawwd said: unfortunately it came with the split as well as shipped on it's deathbed. I have nursed it back to life over 4 months.

It's unfortunate that you are so worried about this invasive exotic.

Nothing, Absolutely Nothing inhibits Chinese wisteria once it gets started.

Extremely fast grower, and when it starts sending out adventitious vines from the root zone across the lawn, they send roots down too far to dig back out... and regenerate every time that you try.

While an interesting specimen if it was possible to keep tree form... requiring constant near weekly pruning... tends to require far more effort than most of us are willing or able to provide...

And worse, most of those mail order plants are seed grown and will not bloom for a very long time (decades).

I once worked on a garden with one of those that never bloomed in the 15 years or so that I was there, and It was 10 years old when I got there.

I brought a vine that I rooted from next door... it bloomed in season as well as producing off-season bloom...

I used to have pictures of entire wooded lots covered in wisteria... Once this invasive escapes, there's not much that can be done... incredibly aggressive, far worse than kudzu in my personal experience.

Clawed, we have knowledgeable tree experts on this site who could give you the specifics about why planting anything with a trunk in that condition is a bad idea and maybe they'll weigh in. I'm just a lowly dirt gardener who recognizes trouble waiting to happen when I see it. That split is an invitation to disease, insects, rot and instability. The problems might not manifest for a while, which is actually worse than immediate issues, because by then you've got a large, ailing established vine to deal with.

As to your original question about suggestions for repair, I have none. Usually a bark wound higher up will repair itself, but below the soil line in moisture seems mighty risky, no matter how resilient wisteria might be.

Perhaps you can show that photo to a local knowledgeable nursery person? Maybe someone like @ViburnumValley might have better suggestions.

Hi clawwd:

Since no one else has yet asked, I will. Why don't you post pictures of your WHOLE plant, and then present the difficulty which you are encountering? I will always hesitate to offer advice when I only have a small part of the story.

While I don't disagree with stone's experience and take on the Asian species, clawwd hasn't even provided the identity of the Wisteria at hand. There are many species and selections in this group of vines - native and exotic - though they are all relatively rampant growers under normal soils and moisture regimes in the eastern US.

You have mentioned that this is a "tree". That could mean that this is a top-graft of a named selection on a seedling understock, or it could be a rooted cutting (or seedling) trained up as a single stem. Thus, the need for more imagery to know more about what is being evaluated. What you are calling a split might simply be the space between two roots on a shallowly planted rootstock, or possibly something more worrisome.

Wisteria in general are so vigorous that I really don't think that gap in the stem/roots will last much past next spring's growth spurt. I think you have longer term considerations to decide upon - or not.

Heh heh. Thanks John. That's why I call in the experts.

My ears were burning...

ViburnumValley said: My ears were burning...

Mine too… just reading about what was originally asked was the split on the trunk. I have to agree wisteria are very invasive if not kept in check. I am guilty of have them in the front of my entry door and across the front of the garage doors for over 25 years. As much as I hate constantly trimming them I have to admit they add needed shade especially since climate change they shade with summer temps off the charts, and they put on a beautiful spring show.
I planted it in earlier years when I didn't know any better. But now yikes…Every year I threaten them that this is the year I will take the whole plant out. I have trunks on them as big as a small tree that are split and they heal over just fine. Just leave the trunk area alone it will heal over in no time.
Warning ⚠️ they need to be trimmed vigorously 4-5 times or more during the growing season.

bumplbea said: I have trunks on them as big as a small tree that are split and they heal over just fine.

I thought I said that...

Incredibly aggressive and destructive vine.

Some things bear repeating.

stone Sorry.. got caught up in my own experience lost track…

I'm caught in this luv / hate war… one day I'm ready to get the chain saw out the next the blooms are addicting and appreciate the shade in summers. Hopelessly stuck

bumplbea said: stone Sorry.. got caught up in my own experience lost track…

I'm caught in this luv / hate war… one day I'm ready to get the chain saw out the next the blooms are addicting and appreciate the shade in summers.

I didn't have a problem with your post... I appreciated the confirming information...
Apologies if I gave an impression otherwise.

Kudzu gives pretty flowers and shade too... Kudzu is blooming like mad in my area.

stone said: I didn't have a problem with your post... I appreciated the confirming information...
Apologies if I gave an impression otherwise.

Kudzu gives pretty flowers and shade too... Kudzu is blooming like mad in my area.

No problem..I also have kudzu tri-color leaf in my garden for 20 years.
Great for long lasting leaf filler used in my floral displays. I never let it grow to bloom. Just wack the buds off and keep it small in constant shade helps slow down the growth…or maybe the gophers munching on their roots also help keep it in check.

Did you know kudzu root helps with addiction issues.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p...

It would be nice to know gophers were good for something!

Exactly.. Also pocket gophers are responsible for loosing many plants in my garden. The flip side they are also responsible for bringing back the landscaping plants and trees in Washington state after the volcano eruption.
I trap the gophers and moles the only way to stop them . So the kudzu plant is a good attractant and trap them too.

Maybe the gophers are addicted to the kudzu roots, tho.