Clematis Survival!

[Ann B.]

I was really worried about my clematis, but it looks as if most, if not all, have survived.

I should have blooms on a couple of them pretty soon, and I am thrilled!

[Rebecca]

I've been watching my Clematis the last few days and most look good. I do have a couple yet to really check out and many others that need to be pruned back. Might get around to doing that today!

I have been concerned about the lavender double as it went dormant or died late last summer. I need to get out there and pull away the mulch, and a lot of the Chocolate Mint to see what's happening. Man I sure hope it isn't dead. :(

(Belle of Wonking is it's name, just remembered!)


Rebecca

[Ann B.]

Most of mine looked dormant or dead after Ivan. The wind and falling branches really did a number on them. The vines were almost leafless and torn to shreds in some cases.

Are some clematis herbaceous? Some of mine are coming back from the soil line at the top of the roots. I hate to say this, but some of the roots were exposed when soil was washed away. It hasn't seem to hurt them, though.

Others are developing leaves on what appear to be dead, dried vines.

All of them need to be repotted. Not necessarily to bigger pots, but the heavy rains washed a lot of the soil out of the pots (despite having them lined with long haired spagnum).

Perhaps the problem is that I expected more root growth in a short period of time (most vines do that), and I planted them in too big a pot. They are definitely NOT root bound, and when plants don't fill the pots with roots, the soil tends to wash away in our heavy rains.

I am looking forward to blooms. It looks like Aaso will be the first to bloom this year.

[Rebecca]

I was pleasingly surprised to see new growth coming from the roots as well as a new bud breaking dormancy on a short piece of vine of BELL OF WONKING, also same type of growth is coming from my ASAO and DUTCHESS OF EDINBURG that I planted next to a shepherd's hook by my front porch. I also have GYPSY QUEEN that I have potted that is showing new growth bud. I'll have to find a good spot to plant that one this Spring. (It's a purple, similar to POLISH SPIRIT.) I hadn't realized how many Clematis I'd managed to acquire in the last couple of years. GYPSY QUEEN brought the count up to eight. And that's not counting the Sweet Autumn Clematis that has managed to get everywhere! Definitely time to set up a file for them! I hope every blooms nicely so I can get good pictures of them to show off! :D


Rebecca

[Glen in BCz7]

I've only been growing clematis for a few years now, but they have certainly been one of the fussier plants to keep looking nice.

I propagate and grow only the armandii (evergreen) variety, a hundred or so plants per year.

One challenge with the 1gal and bigger containers is trying to keep them from tipping over in the wind. I certainly haven't had winds like Ivan here, but even 40-50 kmh breezes can topple over anything with a stake in it...do that a few times and the setting plants back upright gets pretty old pretty quick. Topgrowth gets damaged in the process.

At the moment 1 gal. plants are set into 2 gal containers with I have stapled onto old pallets...kind of a pot in pot affair that is working so far with fairly good winds. Got a real heavy wind coming in tomorrow afternoon tho...I'm waiting to see how much it takes to yank these pots off their staples.

In the growing areas last year the newly potted stuff just got wedged in with other lower growing plants, so they rarely tipped. Now that they are kind of out by themselves prepped for hopefully getting sold and delivered, they need to get stabilized some other way.

Just one more fun thing in plant land.

Over the winter, the plants also can tend to get areas of brown, dead leaves and stems. Not sure if this is the famous clematis wilt or some other kind of fungus, but I have been to other growers/retailers with all their plants affected, even totally dead this time of year. Makes me feel a bit better, tho mine are far from perfect!

Glen

[Ann B.]

As labeled...

Aaso is on the left and Carnaby on the right! All are growing at a fantastic rate this spring. They are getting LOTS and LOTS of rain.

[Dazed_Lily]

Was ever so close to potentially winning one as a door prize at last night's DL club mtg. Yep, someone brought 'other than' DL's.
The gal 2 seats to my right won and chose it--she works at a nursery, so I know she knew what she was doing. It was called Autumn something...maybe 'surprise'. Clematis is on my wish/watch list.

[Rebecca]

Ann,

Nice combination!

I pruned all of mine back (that needed it) last week and POLISH SPIRIT has taken off like a Rocket! DR.RUPPLE isn't far behind it either. NELLY MOSIER is playing catch-up as is ROUGE CARDINAL. GYPSY QUEEN will have to be put in the ground - SOON! ASAO is making slow but steady growth, as is DUTCHESS OF EDINBERG. Unfortunately, my BELL OF WONKING has not made it after all, unless it sends something up from the roots later, which I doubt it will do.

My war against the invasion of my Sweet Autumn Clematis has begun for the season. I'm seeing small seedlings from it popping up all over the place. It looks like I will have to start digging them out instead of just pulling them up. As much as I do like it, I am beginning to regret having ever planted it

In another month mine will start to bloom and I can barely wait! especially to see the newer ones flower for me. And you just know there will be pictures to be shared!

Rebecca

[Ann B.]

Thanks, Rebecca! I have a hard time understanding the war of invasion when it comes to clematis, but I'm going to take your word for it. Invasion, I don't need....

I guess these young cuttings are like perennials from seed. They are growing in leaps and bounds this year and will have to be put on trellises soon.

I never worried about trellises before because they simply did not get that big. At the rate of current growth, this year they will, and I am thrilled! WOW! They not only survived, they are thriving!

[Rebecca]

The Sweet Autumn Clematis can grow to 30-40 feet and every seed it forms is viable. They only need to touch the ground and they sprout! There are train tracks on my way to work that have a thick buffer of trees growing next to them. In the late summer these trees become nearly solid white with the blooms from the SAC. The vines will eventually kill the trees as they will block the sun from reaching the foliage. The weight of a fully grown SAC can be amazing and when you combine that with high winds, down come the trees, be it the entire tree or just the branches with the thickest covering of ASC. It is a beautiful sight and the fragrance is spell-casting, but when left to it's own devices, this vine will conquer all!

They do thrive on neglect, but when grown in a garden setting you have to stay one step ahead of it. Radicle pruning is a necessity, several times a year and especially immediately after the blooms are finished. That's where I messed up, I didn't get mine pruned after it bloomed one year and now I have them everywhere!

I had one young vine trained to a rail fence and kept it closely pruned and it still had more than enough bloom to blanket the fence in a sold wall of white. I've dug, moved or destroyed all the ones I had planted, one is under/on the female Mulberry tree, and I still haven't seen any new growth on it this year. The other is back in the corner where it can climb into all the tree thicket on the fence row. Big mistake, as I can't get to it to prune it! Haven't seen where it has come back this year either.

'Polish Spirit' must have this one in it background somewhere. Even with pruning it back by 2/3rds, it has come back with a vengeance and may well cover the entire arbor and not leave any room for 'Nelly Mosier', who is planted on the opposite side! At least it doesn't self sow like the SAC does!

Hey, BTW, I've been looking at all the bagged Clematis Wally World has and they have a deep blue double that I've thought about buying, and would if I felt this bare root plant would even live, let alone grow and thrive. I'll wait until the potted ones come in and see what doubles are available this year. Perhaps they will have several 'Belle of Wonking' to choose from and I can replace the one that died.

Rebecca

[Ann B.]

Oh, Rebecca!

Sometimes you scare me because we are so much alike!

Do you think this is Jackmanii or could it develop into Multi-blue. I have both, but when I traced the vine to its base, the pot did not have a label.

[Rebecca]

Ann,

Since Jackmanii is not one that I grow I had to do a quick web search and what I found indicates that this is not "Jackmanii". Clematis :Jackmanii" has only four petals, usually a dark purple with a bright yellow eye.

However, there are many hybrids with Jackman's Clematis as one parent so this one could very well be one of them.

Check out C. Will Goodwin at Paradise Gardens http://www.paradisegarden.com/shop/product.php?id=PGC0002&browse=4:agm yours look quite similar.

Rebecca


PS

Paradise Gardens is a great source for Clematis and for Daylilies!