ground cover in same pot with clematis?

violetta1976

16 years ago

Has anyone ever planted some kind of ground cover in a pot with their clematis? I have my clematis in 18" pots and I was thinking it would look nice. Is there anything I should know before I attempt this?

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Comments (12)

nckvilledudes
16 years ago
I prefer not planting anything in a pot that will compete with the clematis for water. Just means you will have to water that more frequently. If you don't mind, then I don't see any issues with doing so as long as it is something that doesn't have a rather extensive root system. The pot will need to be large for any clematis to begin with and something else that develops a large root system is going to quickly fill the pot with roots.
robinva
16 years ago
I have 3 containers using creeping jenny. It hangs over the sides to about 12-14". This ground cover is yellow which looks great with blues and purples. I have it with pink as well. You would not think that this combination would work but it does. It does not have a deep root system and covers the entire planter quickly. I bought a small pot and divided it into 3 sections. In no time it will spread and it is a perennial. I also have containers with petunias. They too spread quickly and are still making it in this incredible heat. I don't mind watering Miguel. It gives the pots a finished look.
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I take it you are leaving them in containers? Some clematis are more adaptable to container growth than others but in general, most develop large root systems that tend to be restricted in all but the roomiest of containers. As a result, top growth tends to be limited as well, compared to growing the same plant in the ground. And watering and fertilizing needs are increased with container culture.
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Suzy, I can very well understand that all zone 6s are not the same and that really all zone maps give you is an estimation of the temperature minimums in a given area. The maps not only don't take into account microclimates within a zone so that someone listed as being in a zone 6 could actually be in a zone 4 or a zone 7, but also don't take in humidity, temperature vacillations over summer or winter, etc.. All that taken into consideration, I was responding to your statement that people in Massachusetts can't treat their type IIs as type IIIs. I understand that in your experience with the type IIs you have attempted to treat as type IIIs, they did not do well, but that might not be the same experience someone else living in zone 6 Massachusetts may have. Add to that the fact that not all type IIs are cut of the same cloth. Some are more vigorous growers than others. Some are hybrids of more sturdy and rambunctious growers than others. Additionally, how old the plants are when they are either pruned back or nipped back to the ground by an extremely cold winter will also affect how robustly they grow next year. In my experiences in zone 7a, the type IIs that have responded most positively to either my cutting them back (intentionally or otherwise) or their getting cut back due to dieback and then responding by blooming in short order are Sunset, Proteus, and Blue Light. These can be cut back and be in rebloom within a month to a month and one half at the max. Sunset was originally purchased and supposed to be Margot Koster, a type III, so she was cut back in winter as is customary with type IIIs and came back like gangbusters in the early spring as though she hadn't been cut back at all. On the other hand, my HF Young and another unknown type II were cut back within the same time frame as the Blue Light and although they have responded by putting out a lot of foliage, HF Young has only put out two blooms so far and the other, none at all. Blue Light responded quite dramatically with 15 or so blooms. Here's what I don't quite understand about the type IIs and their growth patterns in your experience. Let's say you have Blue Light and it gets frozen back to the ground over the course of the winter (something that has probably happened to quite a few type II clematis in your zone and lower). My Blue Light survives as it typically does unscathed, blooms with double blooms in the midspring and over the course of the summer browns out. I cut it back in late July to within 6 to 8 inches of the ground and one and a half months later it is putting on its second flush of single blooms on new wood. How can your plant, which was frozen back to the ground over the winter, have all spring and summer to bloom and still not generate enough new wood to bloom? It just doesn't make sense that it would be an issue of growing season length since the plant would have from when it emerged in spring until the fall to generate new wood on which it could bloom before it would be bitten back by frost. Can you see why I am having problems comprehending why the type IIs don't respond to either intentionally being cut back in the fall or even early spring for that matter and their inability to bloom that same year--even if it is at the end of the growing season? Which type IIs have you tried this with and how old were the plants when you tried this? Have you tried this with established plants of Blue Light, Sunset, or Proteus? Thanks for your time in answering these questions, although for Taylor who originated this thread, the answer is probably mute. It sounds as if his potted clematis is in a pot under the porch and the vines have intertwined themselves in the lattice. The only way he can plant it or move it into a protected area is going to be to trim it back. Trying to remove mature vines that are intertwined in lattice will be difficult if not impossible.
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Mindy, I just realized I might not have been too clear on one or two points. I was just thinking of my new arbor that was put up yesterday, and which clematis I would plant there, and then I realized that when I said the two clematis would be going there, and one on a recently-erected rose obelisk, I didn't make clear that these would be going in the ground, not staying in pots. Secondly, my five clematis were overwintered this past winter in pots, but were new, relatively small plants, with the biggest being about three feet tall. I have not (yet!) overwintered any clematis which have lived in pots for several seasons, or which were planned as being pot plants. Therefore, I've never had to deal with the issue of disconnecting from arbors, trellises, etc. This will be the first season I will have to consider that issue, with that above-mentioned plant I recently potted up. So in that respect, I'm pretty much at the same point you are, lol, in wondering how to go about it. I wonder if, with the right clematis, right pot, and right siting, the pot may not even have to be brought inside at all... I did a quick google search on clematis in containers and overwintering clematis in containers, and many links led back to GW. Maybe we could both do with a little reading here in the forums! Here's one of many links I found. :) Dee P.S. Actually, I do have a Rooguchi that has lived in a pot in the above-mentioned conditions for two years. It was dug up from the garden of a friend who was moving, and has lived in a 3-gallon pot with a small (3-ft) trellis. It is doing well, but being neglected, would do much better with some care. I plan on getting it in the ground this season. Here is a link that might be useful: clematis care
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Clematis Carnaby should work for you. I have this clematis. I have it in a planter. Although it has a trellis to climb on, it rarely latches on to the trellis. Instead it rambles from the sides of the pot. See the picture. So in my opinion it should work for you.
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nckvilledudes
16 years ago
Robin, I grow the chartreuse creeping jenny also, just not in pots with clematis. Be careful where it gets as it spreads like wildfire when it gets established. It might look dead if it gets superdry but once it rains again, it is back with a vengance.
robinva
16 years ago
I came up with one more ground cover suggestion. There are numerous varities of thyme that range from short short to several inches. I have them all over my gardens. I'll bet that they would look great in the container with the clems. They also have an additional perk and that is a lovely scent. What a good idea, think I will try it next year. I know tht it works with my garden clems.
mareas
16 years ago
Violetta, I highly recommend Sedum Album for using in your pot. I use Album 'Balticum' as a living mulch for my potted clematis, roses & daylilies and they all seem to love it!
Here's a clickable thumbnail of a daylily pot:
{{gwi:616825}}
~ marea
nckvilledudes
16 years ago
I would have thought that sedums and thymes wouldn't like all the water that clematis would require. I know that both of those types of plants are doing well in my garden in the drought we are experiencing and I don't water them at all.
eden_in_me
16 years ago
I did put some groundcovers on the outer ridge of some tubs that had a clem in the inner pot. Seemed to work out ok. But I am concerned that the roots of a groundcover, even if shallow, might impede new shoots from coming up, unless it is separated from the clem roots. This is a problem for me, as most of the aboveground stems & foliage dies back to nubs when our Winters are harsh & windy. Especially on young plants, which most of mine are.

I don't know if the vinca in the pot with Star of India did cause any problems, but altho it has a few roots that have not rotted, nothing has come to the surface, even tho I moved it out & repotted it.

I think low annuals would be a better choice for me.

Marie in ME
robinva
16 years ago
Marea, the sedum are lovely. There are so many beautiful plants that you could put with the clems. Miguel is right thyme and sedum like dry soil, however, I have it at the base of my clems and they do not seem to object. I tend to prefer accompanying plants that spill over the sides of the pots. I wish that I knew how to post photos so that you could see just how lovely the creeping jenney looks. It does spread quickly . Next season I will have enough spares from the overages that I will have more for some other clems. Love the idea of the vinca. Will try that one next season. Hi Miguel.
nckvilledudes
16 years ago
Hi Robin. Watch out for that creeping jenny. I spent a summer trying to eradicate it from an area in the back yard. I still have it in one bed that is bound on three sides by a patio and gravel area and one side by the yard. I have to continually pull it out of the grass or it would take over. Love the color though!
robinva
16 years ago
Miguel, I live in zone 6 and it is not as agressive. Love how the color changes. It ranges from a bright green to yellow. The color variations in the pot are just lovely. It gives a layered effect with these wonderful variations. If they start to take over I just pull them out and plant them in another pot. I wish I know how to post to show you.
violetta1976
Original Author
16 years ago
Robin, this may help you post a photo:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/afrviolet/msg0819243330083.html?7
aliceg8
16 years ago
I have creeping jenny in with my Piilu. This is the third year for the two together. This last year the Piilu died all the way back, as we'd moved to Colorado and I left it outside in a sheltered, but sunny spot. Since the jenny died back as well it didn't seem to impede the new shoots coming up.

Robin I really like the affect too. Only wish that the soil level was a little higher in the pot so that more cascaded over the sides.

ground cover in same pot with clematis?

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ground cover in same pot with clematis?

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