It has gotten so big I would think there is some extra to divide. I suppose it also needs a good pruning; I am unsure about how to do that so I usually just break off the dried vines in the spring and let it go.
Can I divide my Jackmanii?
You can divide clematis.
Here is a good article http://rogersonclematiscollection.org/?cat=12
Thank you for the link. Looks like a good resource.
step nine of this info is kind of where the steps would kick in for plants in the ground vs plants in the container that linda b is writing about.
i would caution that hot hot weather may not be the best time to divide your plant. i would personally wait till the late summer or early fall to do this. in the event you dug it up and did not find multiple crowns on your clematis jackmani root mass, you would still be able to improve the plant's future by digging a deeper hole, and planting it in the best soil mixture you can make consisting of
some of your natural soil, compost, crushed gravel to aerate the soil and improve drainage.
dividing it without making sure each piece has a crown on it will probably not be successful and you may harm the plant if you cut it up without each having a crown.
let us know how this works out for you, what you find and how the plant responds.
Thank you. I suspect that it has multiple crowns as I noticed several vines coming out of the ground about a foot away from where it was planted...
cool! you may have a giant there. have fun. sounds like it will be. a foot away, wow do not think i ever seen them that far. please take pics when you get it all out, we will all be interested for sure!
Is Brewster Rogerson still alive?
Yes. I googled him and came up with some good articles.
He's a very nice man. I remember e-mailing him with some questions I had probably 10 years ago and better. He was, as you would expect, very helpful and quite kind in answering a total dorks question. :) LOL
brewster is still alive. he donated his collection, which was all in pots, to a foundation set up to take care of the collection. the friends of the rogerson collection it is called.
they have had the collection for 4 years and are just now starting to plant them outside in the gardens where they are to be permanently displayed. many of them are still in a plastic greenhouse in pots.
the collection foundation is managed by linda beutler.
that is all i know from just having visited it.
Thanks for all the info. I'm not about to dig it ALL up, I just want to see if I can get another clump started in a better place.
Just found this article:
http://www.aboutclematis.com/dividing_clematis.shtml
It is about dividing clematis in the spring before new growth starts.
Thank you for the article. I haven't touched aged Clematis because a friend said 'don't touch clematis". Now I know different and will be comfortable attempting to rejuventate aged plantings.
I think I will layer some of my stems rather than dividing. Someone suggested that in the propagation forum. Layering means that you bury part of a stem about 6" from the end, and leave the growing tip above ground. Put a rock over the buried part, and when it is nicely rooted you can cut it off, and voila! A new plant.
caitlin when you layer try and use the middle part of a vine. the oldest part near the base may be too woody and the part nearest the tip, or new growth may be too green.
take a piece near the middle that is slightly woody but not tender and scratch the vine, use a q tip to apply some rooting hormone to the wound if you want and insert it into good soil and hold it down with a pin or even a small rock.i use landscape mat metal pin to hold it without breaking it. it may take a whole season or more to be ready to be cut free from the mother plant. in other words ifyou do it now, and plant ot transplant it, probabalyl next fall will be soonest safe time. you don't have to move it, it will eventually break free and will just ad to the bounty and beauty in that area as it becomes a mature blooming plant.
you can also bury a pot of dirt to pin the piece into and when time to cut it free remove the pot. in this case use a qt pot or gallon so you can let it grow longer with out disturbing the new plant.
have fun!