Lamenting the wisteria . . . .

So the azalea, rhododendron, and hostas all survived the Freeze warnings we have had for the past couple of weeks.  I walked out on the deck yesterday, and to my horror, the wisteria that I’ve been waiting for 10 years to bloom got bit by the frost.  I cannot believe I did not think to cover this vine; it has been trained up the railing of my deck and was going to look spectacular this spring.  

I have had this wisteria for a good 10 years, and for the first 8 I could not figure out why it wouldn’t bloom.  I knew it would take a few years, as I bought it as a very young plant.  I patiently trained it up the two story flight of stairs to the deck.  I googled it, only to discover that you need to prune it to encourage blooms.  

So two falls ago, I pruned it for the first time.  Last summer, we had about 4 sprays of blooms, and I was so very excited!  This past  fall I pruned it very aggressively, and with our early spring, it was holding hundreds of possible blooms. 

I took Son#2 out to show him the blooms, and to plead with him not to pick them off.  They were the sort of tempting vegetation he loves to destroy, and I wanted to make sure he knew that it wasn’t to be messed with.  He understood.  

But I forgot my dear wisteria.  As I went out to the deck yesterday, I discovered the hundreds of blooms are dead.  The hostas in the backyard are protected and I never even stepped into the back to cover things.  They were going to survive.  But my wisteria won’t be blooming again this year.  I must be patient and wait yet another year.