Wisteria is one of the showiest deciduous vines grown in the home flower bed. The twining vines allow the wisteria to grow upwards of 25 feet or more. The purple-pink spring blooms often hang down in clusters 12 to 18 inches long. Grown on a trellis, arch, or over a doorway, the wisteria in bloom can make a person stop in their tracks just to admire the beauty.
Root wisteria in one of two ways. The first is by damaging one of the existing vines and layering it until roots form and a new plant emerges. Damage the vine by making a slice diagonal to the vine but not all the way through. Bury this vine in rich soil and cover with a little mulch. Water well and leave it alone to root in a natural manner. This process done in the spring should give results in about 3 weeks.
Use rooting compound to root the wisteria vine cuttings taken in the spring. Clip several cuttings about 4 to 6 inches long from the wisteria vines. Make sure there are at least two or more leaf nodes on each cutting. The nodes are where the vine will start producing more roots.
Pour 2 to 3 tablespoons of rooting compound into a dish and reseal the bottle. Powdered compound goes a long way and making a separate dipping tray keeps any diseases from spreading to the rest of the bottle.
Fill the growing tray with the soil medium and poke holes into the soil in a uniform pattern using a pencil or straw. The preformed holes keeps the rooting compound on the cuttings instead of brushing it off onto the soil surface when adding the cuttings.
Dip the cuttings into the rooting compound and place in the holes of the growing medium. When all the clippings have been placed in the growing tray, spritz the cuttings with a spray bottle of water. This adds moisture to the soil for the new cuttings to grow.
Place the cuttings in an area where they will get plenty of filtered light. Direct sunlight will kill the cuttings before they have a chance to root. Within three or four weeks, the cuttings will start to develop new growth. This lets you know the roots have formed.
Transplant the cuttings into larger containers, allowing the new plants to grow. When they have reached the desired height, plant the new wisteria plants directly into the garden bed where you want the vines to grow.