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The Garden FAQ Index |

Pruning Vines

Vines usually need pruning to limit growth, to thin the
stems and branches, and to remove dead or damaged wood.
Some vines, such as honeysuckle, trumpetvine and
silverlace vine, grow so fast and thick that considerable
pruning may be necessary, while others need little pruning.

Prune most vines--including the summer flowering
clematis, such as the Jackman's type--in the dormant season.
The Florida and Patens types, including Clematis montana,
blossom on one-year-old wood and should be pruned by
thinning out in spring before growth begins.

Prune dead, diseased and damaged vines back to healthy
wood. Interfering branches of woody vines, such as trumpet
creeper or wisteria, should be cut back below the point of
interference or all the way back to the junction with the
main stem.

Prune out the top one-third of overgrown or elongated
stems.

Prune by one-third or more old, mature stems that are
declining in vigor. Each year, prune stems of bittersweet,
trumpet creeper and wisteria to promote new growth and
flowers. Prune back the tops of the plants to force out new
branches. Silverlace vine should be pruned to the ground in
early spring each year to produce vigorous new growth.

Considerable confusion exists about pruning wisteria.
Tee two species most commonly grown are Wisteria floribunda
(Japanese wisteria) and Wisteria sinensis (Chinese
wisteria), both of which bloom before or with the unfolding
of the leaves.

Pruning wisteria extensively during the dormant season
may encourage rampant vegetative growth the next spring.
Instead, in July prune out the long, straggly growth except
those branches needed for climbing. This is more likely
than anything else to induce flowering. Shoots should be
cut back one-third to one-half their length. This will
induce them to produce the short spurs that will bear next
season's flower clusters.

Wisterias are normally vines, but pruning can make them
take shrubby and/or weeping forms. Heading back young
shoots holds the height at a definite point and after
several years, the plant produces a trunk-like stem. Then
leaders can be allowed to droop to the ground.

Wisteria will bloom abundantly if planted in good garden
loam with full sun, watered well the first growing season
and pruned in the summer.

Credit for information from the following sources: Denver Botanic Gardens, MSU Extension Office, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension