4 Keys to Growing Wisteria Bonsai Indoors

  • By: Josh Koop
  • Date: July 10, 2022
  • Time to read: 6 min.
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Being a plant parent can be hard work. Especially when it comes to the miniature trees that require constant attention. Wisteria bonsai is one of the most fascinating miniature trees to grow. Its fragrant blossoms are enough to make anyone fall in love with it. But can wisteria bonsai grow indoors?

Wisteria bonsai can indeed grow indoors, but you need to take proper care of it. It will cost you a bit more time and effort compared to other house plants. But it’s completely worth the effort.

There are a few things you must learn and retain to give the best and utmost care to your wisteria bonsai. Even though you may be familiar with a few of these key methods, I’ve decided to list down four of the most important ways in which you’ll be able to grow and care for your Wisteria bonsai.

Why Should You Grow Wisteria Bonsai Indoors?

If you grow Wisteria as a bonsai, given its miniature shape, it is best that you grow it indoors. Other than that, wisteria plants are reasonably easy to care for indoors because they are known for being quite resilient and fast-growing plants that thrive in the appropriate conditions.

Bonsai is not a tree species, but an art form, roughly translated as “potted tree” or “tree in a tray”. Thus, this little tree is a smaller variant of the blooming shrub that may be found in many nations throughout the world, including China, Japan, and the US. 

It does, however, necessitate a great deal of attention and patience to produce its beautiful and captivating fragrant blossom. Thus, those considering this plant should be informed of its requirements ahead of time.

4 Keys To Growing Wisteria Bonsai Indoors

Here are 4 keys to remember when growing your wisteria bonsai indoors. 

Key 1: Understanding Stated Facts Regarding The Wisteria Bonsai

To properly care for a Wisteria tree, you must first learn about its unique characteristics. For starters, it’s a fast-growing vine-like tree. This tree may develop quickly in the wild, producing blooms and pods in no time. When cultivated as a bonsai, however, this tree will take time to bloom and produce pods. 

Flowers will take around a decade to grow. But, as any Wisteria bonsai gardener will tell you, the wait is well worth it. Provide your Wisteria bonsai trees with plenty of love and attention, and the lovely flowers will bloom in no time.

Key 2: Soil And Fertilizer

One of the primary advantages of Wisteria bonsai trees is that they can grow and develop in regular potting soil. But still, the best sort of soil is sandy loam soil, which will promote water and nutrient uptake. This type of soil will also be able to drain surplus water to avoid fungal and mold growth

It also drains excess fertilizer to avoid nutrient poisoning. To promote aeration and drainage, aggregates and clumps of sediment should be put in the bonsai soil. Akadama, coarse-grained sand, decomposed granite, pumice, or diatomite are some of the materials you can choose from.

Key 3: Watering Your Wisteria Bonsai

The frequency with which a bonsai should be watered is determined by a variety of conditions, and an accurate recommendation cannot be provided. Instead, you must examine each tree separately. The following instructions will show you what to look for and how to determine when your bonsai needs to be watered:

If the soil is still wet, don’t water your tree, but don’t allow it to dry out either. Check the soil moisture with your fingertips, around one centimeter deep if you’re a newbie. Water your tree if it’s getting a little dry. As you acquire experience, this will become more evident to you. 

Continue to monitor and check on each of your trees to see when they need to be watered. If you don’t know what you’re doing, don’t water all of your trees daily. That can prove to be detrimental to your trees instead.

Soil composition has a big impact on how often trees need to be watered. Usually, bonsai plants flourish on a 1/2 to 1/4 to 1/4 ratio of akadama, pumice, and lava rock. Whenever you are unable to hydrate your plants regularly, you can instead use a mixture or solution that will retain more water by adding additional akadama or even compost to your potting mix.

So how do you water your wisteria bonsai? You start when you’ve decided that the topsoil seems moderately dry and that the tree requires water. Then you saturate the entire root system thoroughly. Continue watering until the bottom drainage holes are dry, then continue the procedure a few minutes later.

To keep the soil from being washed away, use a watering can with a fine nozzle to pour water from above. If you maintain your bonsai inside, you can place it in your kitchen sink and properly water it before replanting it. Rainwater is the best water to use because it contains no additional chemicals, but if that isn’t available, regular tap water will suffice.

It’s also important to note that it makes absolutely no difference when you water a bonsai. When the soil is warm from being in the sun, some experts advise against using cold water because it begins to cool the tree as well. While this is something to remember, you should water your tree as soon as the soil becomes slightly dry, regardless of the time.

Key 4: Shaping And Pruning Wisteria Bonsai

Wisteria is a tough tree that can withstand constant trimming, shaping, and pruning. You can accomplish pruning by cutting each shoot. This is about six inches away from the trunk. After you’re done, each shoot will have a few leaves remaining.

To make a more appealing form, use pruning shears or gardening shears. Pruning should be done at least once per day, but not excessively. If possible, prune every 2 to 4 weeks. The final pruning should take place in mid-winter before the flowers bloom. 

The wisteria will require particular attention during the growing season. You need to water and prune it more frequently throughout this season. 

Defoliation, which involves removing leaves from deciduous trees during the summer to force the tree to develop new leaves, is also another technique of Wisteria Bonsai trimming. The sole purpose of this procedure is to minimize the size of the tree’s leaves while increasing ramifications.

All in one, you must maintain and prune your wisteria to promote growth and health. The purpose of maintenance pruning is to keep a tree’s shape and refine it. Trees will focus the majority of their development on the top and outside parts of their stems. 

It is therefore extremely critical to prune these growth areas regularly to encourage growth closer to the tree’s core parts. This is a must!

Conclusion

Now that we’ve finally arrived at the end of the article, I’m sure you have the answer to the question: can wisteria bonsai grow indoors? It all comes down to how well you can take care of it. As it needs your patience as well as maintenance. Just make sure you follow the 4 key ways of growing your wisteria bonsai. 

The instructions may seem intimidating at first, but it’s worth all the hard work you put in. I hope this article will come in handy. Best of luck with growing your very own wisteria bonsai. Thanks for giving this article a read. I hope you have an amazing day ahead.