Clematis: Rouge Cardinal Niobe ?, 1 by ClematisGuru

ClematisGuru wrote:
all red colored clems are prone to ground level die back and browning, as you can see from the above photo. niobe kind of poops out and cries for pruning or prunes herself with a seasonal die back, while rouge c will just tire out at bottom. after rouge c matures and gets a few years on, not so bothersome. in a young vine without a lot of fullness, the brown bottom means bye bye, time for big pruning in my garden.

so red clems need a good front coverage plan. my niobes are behind boxwood for the most part. the rouge c is behind single peonies that i deadhead and stay green for the season.....

i take my niobes back low at least twice a year. rouge c if established i just let brown off at bottom. but first few years i whack. nothing more depressing than 1 to 4 year old clems in august, brown and browner every day, and us proudly showing them to friends....can you relate? " you should have seen this one in june"

i have one established rouge c planting (in last posting) and several that are in other places and younger. those don't get to come out unless decently behaved which never happens in late summer until they are in place a few years.

nicely behaved niobe...wow what got me cranked up? the topic of red clems..always a passionate one. esp after a 12 hour day in the office....