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Will my clematis grow ok in a pot?

8 years ago

Ugh. I had visions of a beautiful clematis covering the back of our stone wall that our grill slides into. I tried digging the holes today and its mostly rock closest to our patio. So if I still want it there, i will have to plant in a pot. I understand this is tricky to leave out during a zone 5 winter. Do I try to bury the pot somehow or just try and plant taller annuals in a pot?

Featured Answer

NHBabs z4b-5a NH

7 years ago

I would make it all one bed a Woody suggested, but you can put a dense low shrub in the spot where the grass is now to give you the punctuation you need to visually break it up into 3 beds.

If you don't have edging, you will also want to do that to keep the grass out. You can do this by cutting a deep V trench or by burying an edging of metal or plastic.

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Comments (10)

NHBabs z4b-5a NH
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Can you add a photo of the area? Do the rocks heat up when the grill is in use? What is the soil like 3' or 4' from the stone wall? What are the sun and light levels like in the area you are considering planting? Do you have somewhere you could store a large pot for the winter such as an unheated garage?

Clematis can be grown in large pots (think whiskey barrel sized or larger), but might need some protection for the winter, either by insulating it where it is with something like bags of dry leaves or layers of bubble wrap. You also need to be careful of the soil mix you use - see the container gardening forum.
Emily Saba
Original Author
8 years ago
Here is the area. A little morning shade.
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Emily Saba
Original Author
8 years ago
The soil has some clay 3' out but I was more concerned with the rock right next to the hole by the wall.
Emily Saba
Original Author
8 years ago
shot a little further out
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
8 years ago
My thought is that you could plant your clematis out from the wall further. If you move the trellises out a foot or so from the wall, and then plant the clematis a foot or 18" from that, it will still be growing so it will cover the wall, but the plant will be in better soil. It may look a bit funny when the clematis are tiny, but once they fill in, it shouldn't be an issue at all. There's no reason that the clematis need to be right against the wall, and where you are digging right now, you are probably running into gravel added to help give the wall something solid to stand on.
woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
8 years ago
I would also connect the three beds visible in the last picture, so there is just one bed that wraps around the stone-walled area. That would look better and be easier to maintain (mowing the grass in those corner bits would be a PITA!).
Emily Saba thanked woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
Emily Saba
Original Author
8 years ago
We had the beds like that originally but we didn't like how it looked all connected.
Emily Saba
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you, NHBabs. Is there a low shrub you would recommend? And yes, we do plan on edging it :)
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Depending on what you like,

one of the lower growing Deutzia such as Yuki Cherry or Chardonnay Pearls of Nikko, all blooming magnificently for a short period in midspring

a short Rhododendron such a Little Gem or PJM Checkmate

one of the shorter Wegeilas

Caaryopteris 'Sunshine Blue'

All of these grow just fine in my acid, sandy loam, but you should check locally to see what works in your area, since midwestern soils can be fairly different from New England.

Woody may have other suggestions since her soil is more like yours. I would use the same plant in both spots since everything else is symmetrical.

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