Q.Wisteria has buds but won’t leaf out
My wisteria vine is 6 or 7 yrs old and has never had a problem with leafing out before. However, this year it developed buds that never leafed out. I assume the vine may be dead, but curiously there is a healthy green shoot (about 4 ft. long) coming up from the trunk. It doesn’t seem to be sprouting from the graft, so I’m wondering if the root may still be alive. If so, would it do any good to prune back the branches that didn’t leaf out, let the new shoot continue to grow and see if it recovers next year?
Thanks for your advice.
Before pursuing anything, I would recommend that you review the content in the article below which discusses why wisterias do not leaf out. This article will help you determine whether or not your wisteria vine is still alive. I tend to think that due to the presence of buds that it's just taking its time to leaf out after the cold spring we just had. If in fact it's not alive, then you will know for sure that pruning it as you are proposing is the right choice.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/vines/wisteria/wisteria-no-leaves.htm