We prune it while it's sleeping.
A single wisteria grows at the middle of our north fence. Vines run horizontally on a support above the fence, from the front yard to the back fence. So the wisteria measures 7 feet tall by 120 feet long.
The wisteria is our 800 pound gorilla.
It dies back to bare vines in the winter.
We prune it while it's sleeping.
The wisteria blooms in late March,
and even the neighbor likes it then.
Within two weeks the green leaves emerge between the blooms.
Soon the flowers drop and cover the ground like pale purple snow.
When the pretty flowers are gone, the Beast awakens and comes forth. Vines grow quickly, everywhere. They reach out to strangle our orange tree. They race up into the neighbor's beloved oak. So we prune the wisteria again, in midsummer. That's taking our lives in our hands, but we've got to do it.
Our personal safety must come first.
For example, it gets to be October, and the house is a little chilly. Time for a nice warm fire in the living room hearth, right? Nope, first I go up on the roof and find the chimney.
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I knew it was in there! |
By Thanksgiving, the Beast is ready to hibernate.
The leaves turn and fall.
I sharpen my pruners.
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