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failed to cut back Jackmanii--what to do now?

12 years ago

Should I just leave it? It has some long vines, obviously, along with last year's brown stems. If I cut it back now, will it still do well? Or should I train the new vines and clean up the old leaves as best as possible?

Also, if it is recommended to cut it back now, perhaps to the lowest new vine, have any of you had success rooting the cuttings? I'd love advice on how to do that.

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sandyl

12 years ago

This picture of my 6 year old Jackmanii was taken this morning / May 22/2011. I hard prun it each year around the middle of March here in middle TN. For the life of me I can not get it to bloom from the bottom up, never..All the blooms are always at the top.. There is probably 4 feet of green leaves that you cann't see in this picture and not one single bloom at the bottom .The plant is in a large pot and is probably 12 feet tall and has reached the top of its trellis and flopped back down some. The plant always puts out lots of vines from the crown, but my problems is with the blooms at the top only. I think next year i'll not hard prun it and just trim it up and see what I get. {{gwi:587266}}Sandy

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Comments (9)

mehearty
12 years ago
I barely cut my Jackmanii back at all this year. Cutting it all the way down has done nothing to make it send up more vines, so this year, I just trimmed the top a bit and called it good. Last year was so hot that the season started a month early. Apparently, Jack didn't like being cut at that point because he sulked for a least another month doing nothing.

I would trim off the dead stuff and leave the rest be. If your end of Z5 is like mine, Jack blooms around the 4th of July. I don't like to mess with that schedule since I have a ton of June & August bloomers. July, not so much.
alina_1
12 years ago
Cut them back now and fertilize. Jackmanii blooms on new wood, so it does not make any sense to keep leggy wooden vines that will only bloom on their tops.
Rooting Clematis cuttings is extremely difficult and time consuming. Layering was much easier way of propagating for me.
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merrygardens
Original Author
12 years ago
Well, I have two options, it seems. Thanks for the advice! I'll have another look at it and see what I want to do.
buyorsell888
12 years ago
I'd cut it back and fertilize it myself but if you want to be conservative you could cut back half the vines and leave the others. I don't like to look at dead stems so I whack my Type IIIs off really short.

It will not hurt it to not prune or to prune late. Pruning just makes them look better/bloom lower/put up more vines from crown.
ditas
12 years ago
WOW Sandy ~ how beautiful! Have you kept him in this large pot all these years ~ is there an advantage to container rather than setting him in the ground I only have 6 Clems & 1 is Sweet Autumn.

Very reliable & prolific bloomer ~ Ramona is going through some unexplainable problems this season ~ sigh!
sandyl
12 years ago
Hi Ditas, The above Jack use to be in a large 15 gal pot but now for the last several years the container is a 1/2 whiskey barrel which is even larger. I find it just easier to control the watering and ferterlizing of the plant. The plant is on the south side of my brick house and it gets full sun and really, really hot and I have a concrete foundation footing that really wicks the water and moisture out of the ground during the hot summer months that I believe it's just best to have it in a 1/2 whiskey barrel. Besides I might like to move it around. It does great, just blooms up high. I will hard prune it after it's first flush and he will do another bloom med summer. Sandy
david52 Zone 6
12 years ago
I have a dozen jackmanii around the place, and some years, I don't cut them back and some years, I do. They still flower on shoots coming from last year's growth, and quickly hide the dead stuff.

The only issue is that they get very, very thick - like 3 feet thick - climbing up a wall. Along a fence, that isn't an issue.
merrygardens
Original Author
12 years ago
I went out after getting replies and cut away all the old leaves and stems, leaving the new growth. It does have some bare brown stems along the bottom, but the rest looks good, and I think it will bloom nicely along the eave. Thanks for the replies

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