100 VINES 
If a wistaria has been growing undisturbed 
for a few years, you will find that it has a large 
percentage of long, thin, wiry shoots. ‘These 
do not produce flowers, and should be removed 
at any time of the year. The short, stumpy 
spurs are the kind that flower, and to produce 
these, the plants should be pruned back to within 
two or three eyes of the flowers immediately 
after they fall. The aim always should be to 
keep one good shoot coming on each season; to 
provide room for it, cut one of the oldest shoots 
out entirely. If you desire the plant to attain a 
great height, keep one of these shoots growing 
until it has reached the height desired, when it 
can be spurred in to produce flowers. “‘Spurring”’ 
is clipping off the top and cutting the laterals 
close to the main stem. 
When planting wistaria, provide a soil trenched 
_ not less than three feet deep and well enriched, 
for this vine makes but a few roots, which force 
themselves well down into the earth. Full 
sunshine is not an absolute essential, but plenty 
of light is necessary for good flowers, and of 
sunshine there must be enough to ripen the wood 
thoroughly. Always avoid cold spots where 
very early or late frosts strike, because the buds 
start to swell very early in spring, and perchance 
