New to Clematis - I have Questions !
maximus2015
8 years ago
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NHBabs z4b-5a NH
8 years agomaximus2015
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Several 'New to Clematis' questions
Comments (15)Ohh..I learned the hard way that it was MUCH easier to take someone's advice that is in written form the wrong way ..too easy to put your own spin on the "tone" of what they are saying...sooooo, I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and be grateful for any advice I get...it was a good point to make though and I thank you for it.. Now I still have to figure out what's best to plant ... So, for example, if I were to go with either Polish spirit or xtriternata rubra marginata, which grow to about 20' and my fence is close to 100 ft I would need 5 plants, planted every 20 feet, I suppose..correct? And, since they are deciduous, I'm wondering if there is something I plant in between them, or instead of a couple of them, that would give a different look when the clematis are losing their leaves... Ohhhhhhhhhhhh so much to think about...See MoreHave questions about clematis...
Comments (11)Aggie...the easiest to grow are the pruning group 3's aka Viticellas..Reasoning is because they flourish beautifully in full sun in our hot zone provided they are given plenty of water...clematis are really easy once you realize their needs and how to prune...the Viticellas aka Pruning group 3 bloom on the new vines grown during the growing season hence they are hard pruned down to about 6-12 inches each late winter/early spring...All clematis except the Montanas will look yucky with brown leaves during the winter as BOS said..Pruning group 2's aka Early,Large & Late Flowering Clematis aren't pruned EXCEPT after they have finished their first BLOOM PERIOD and ONLY to keep in shape & in bounds..But some people do hard prune them as well and with most clematis It is advised to hard prune the first couple of years so they can grow larger healthy vigorous rootsystems to survive having all those vines growing from them...Clematis are truly the 1st year they sleep,2nd year they creap and 3rd year they leap..so covering a 6 foot fence will take a few years to accomplish what you want ..You didn't say how wide of an area you are referring to?...Jeanne...See MoreQuestion about new clematis plants
Comments (2)2 things - depending on how tiny they are you may want to pot them in a larger pot for a season. I did a search on this subject and found many passionate arguments on both sides (pot vs ground). The main issue is that it gives the tiny plants a season of protection inwhich to work on thier root system before being put in the ground. Use the search engine here and see all this helpful info. On the other hand, again I learned this from searching info about newly planted Clematis . Everyone says you should keep them pruned quite short for the first 2 seasons to force the plant to grow roots rather than stems so I think you just gave this one its first prune. I am sure that whether you plant it in a pot or in the ground as long as you take good care of it , good light and water, you will see new shoots coming from the leaf juncture before you know it....See MoreNew to Clematis, have questions
Comments (2)Din, in your hot zone, I would suggest the viticellas and integrifolias for your first adventure into growing clematis. They hold up the best in my zone 7a garden with heat and humidity, although your conditions may be a bit more hot and humid depending on where you live in Texas. I also have mostly clay soil that is only slightly amended when I plant the clematis. Here if you overamend your soil too much (unless you are amending an entire bed), you end up with a planting hole that becomes a swimming pool when and if it rains--this is not good for clematis. The type IIs in my zone get quite brown and crispy once the temperatures get much above 85 degrees and are also more prone to clematis wilt so I would suggest staying away from them. There are quite a few clematis that will live quite nicely in a pot provided that the pot is large enough. In your zone I would suggest as big a pot as you can possibly get with a minimum height and depth of two feet. Anything much smaller than that and the soil will dry out way too fast and your clematis won't like that. I would also suggest situating the pot so that it gets morning sun and some shade during the hottest part of the day to help in preventing the soil from drying out and the root mass getting too hot. The integrifolias as a group generally stay under three feet and would do well in a pot. You will need to contain them since only Roguchi in that group has any clinging and climbing tendencies. A tomato cage would work nicely as a means of containing them. Konigskind and Piilu are type IIs that would also work well in a pot and have never gotten clematis wilt for me. I will leave other suggestions for clematis for pots open for others to comment on. I have a plethora of books that have lists of clematis suitable for pots. Some of the ones listed I have no experience with and are type IIs which I personally tend to shy away from. Others are ones that I have but am growing in the ground and they get rather large so I question their suitability for pot culture even though I am aware of the fact that things grown in pots can be stunted in height if the pot is smaller than required. As to whether to purchase large or small plants, that depends. If money and availability were no problem, I would always purchase the largest sized plant I could. Since I don't have unlimited funds and often times have my heart set on a particular cultivar and it is available only in a 4" sized pot, I purchase whatever size I can find. That being said, if the clematis is in a pot that is smaller than quart sized, I always pot them up in one gallon sized pots and grow them out until the roots fill the container prior to planting them in the ground....See Moregardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years agomaximus2015
8 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
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8 years agoalameda/zone 8/East Texas
8 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years agoNHBabs z4b-5a NH
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoalameda/zone 8/East Texas
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8 years agoNHBabs z4b-5a NH
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8 years agoHU-811360443
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5 years agoHU-811360443
5 years agoHU-811360443
5 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
5 years agoHU-811360443
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5 years agoHU-665701964
5 years agoNHBabs z4b-5a NH
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