atone13
A very happy day !
XH113876-1
ISO 800 1/240th @ f/8
When I purchased my home almost 38 years ago this wisteria occupied the south-west corner of the house wall and had spread along both the south and the west walls, over the roof and up the outside of the chimney. Since then I have fought an annual battle with its roaming tendrils and branches, hacking it back each year so that I could at least see through the windows of the house and receive reception through the tv aerial on the chimney, though I did migrate to a Sky dish at a fairly early stage and left my old tv aerial to the wisteria. In all the 37 summers that I have lived here it has never once flowered – UNTIL TODAY !
I have researched the matter further and have come to the conclusion that up to now I have always been too kind, and that I need to dramatically (albeit sensitively) prune it as soon as the flowers fade, and then again in early winter, and then lightly fertilise it in early spring. Also, although the 15 or so racemes of flowers which it has now provided me with are truly wonderful to me, I have come to realise that they are but sparse, spindly specimens of that which I should expect. So, no more Mr. NiceGuy, though I will apply a light dose of potassium sulphate in early spring, advice for which was given to me by my flickr friend, John Lucas, to whom I shall be eternally grateful. I purchased this last year but forgot to apply it at the appropriate time this year- duh ! But I suspect that this thug of a shrub may really be a sentient being after all. It may have sensed that I purchased the fertiliser and realised I was in fact a friend, and it repaid me with the flowers. Ya never know !
Or maybe it realised that if the fertiliser failed, it would be the axe !
From my research, most horticulturalists say do not plant a wisteria unless it is in flower or you have seen it in flower, as apparently, many never flower. You have been warned.
A very happy day !
XH113876-1
ISO 800 1/240th @ f/8
When I purchased my home almost 38 years ago this wisteria occupied the south-west corner of the house wall and had spread along both the south and the west walls, over the roof and up the outside of the chimney. Since then I have fought an annual battle with its roaming tendrils and branches, hacking it back each year so that I could at least see through the windows of the house and receive reception through the tv aerial on the chimney, though I did migrate to a Sky dish at a fairly early stage and left my old tv aerial to the wisteria. In all the 37 summers that I have lived here it has never once flowered – UNTIL TODAY !
I have researched the matter further and have come to the conclusion that up to now I have always been too kind, and that I need to dramatically (albeit sensitively) prune it as soon as the flowers fade, and then again in early winter, and then lightly fertilise it in early spring. Also, although the 15 or so racemes of flowers which it has now provided me with are truly wonderful to me, I have come to realise that they are but sparse, spindly specimens of that which I should expect. So, no more Mr. NiceGuy, though I will apply a light dose of potassium sulphate in early spring, advice for which was given to me by my flickr friend, John Lucas, to whom I shall be eternally grateful. I purchased this last year but forgot to apply it at the appropriate time this year- duh ! But I suspect that this thug of a shrub may really be a sentient being after all. It may have sensed that I purchased the fertiliser and realised I was in fact a friend, and it repaid me with the flowers. Ya never know !
Or maybe it realised that if the fertiliser failed, it would be the axe !
From my research, most horticulturalists say do not plant a wisteria unless it is in flower or you have seen it in flower, as apparently, many never flower. You have been warned.