I'm curious about growing clematis in containers. When I'm checking different nurseries, I often see "Suitable for Containers" on some of the shorter ones. I have more places where I could do that in the sun but am unable to put into the ground. Mostly, due to large trees, I have shade and am not sure clematis would do well there. I guess my question is, "What to do with them in the winter"? Do they have to be moved inside, or possibly covered somehow? Or is this just an option for more southern climates?
I'd appreciate any feedback.
Dathen
Growing in Containers?
dathan, hello. any clem can be grown in a container for a while or longer if the soil is changed and container is the right size. in you climate unless the container were very very thick and in a very sheltered place they would need winter protection. i grew some clems in containers the first few years when i bought them and had not place ready to put them. they were on a sheltered but open porch and did fine, but the containers were about 2 inches thick ceramic. actually one died, roguchi.
one of the largest clem collections in the usa of about 800 types was all in containers. this was the collection of brewster rogerson, who has donated it to a foundation that is now in the process of planting it out near portand oregon. those plants however, had protection, changed soil as needed, etc. the best of care. i just saw the collection last month on my clem trip out west.
winter protection can mean an unheated garage with some light and monthly watering, or it can mean a cold greenhouse of some sort. a heated greenhouse is not needed or good for the plants. they need to go fully dormant unless you are growing evergreen or montana etc types.
it can also mean pots against a house wall and heeled in with a massive quanitity of wood chips around the pots forming a berm if you will until spring.
i am sure there are other ways to provide the protection needed.
for me pots were temporary, a year or two at most. i prefer to grow in the ground, but containers are an option to expand the collection and enjoy them on a deck or patio in the summer.
Thank you, Guru. It sounds a little iffy. I guess the part that bothers me the most is moving around large pots - which I can't do anymore - and I really hate asking for help. I think I've talked my husband into cutting back limbs on the trees to let in a little sun as much as I'm going to be able to; and I do enjoy having all this shade too. It just sets too many limits on where I can plant and what I can plant. Except for one, I think I've probably planted the few that I have in too much shade - they're certainly not growing the way others on this forum report. Everything else being pretty much equal, I think it must be the shade.
Thank you for your input. I may try one or two.
Dathen
Dathen, I have probably 8 or 10 clems in large pots. I like to have some clems on my deck to enjoy. Since we don't have as severe a winter here as you do, I'm planning to just leave them there close to the house this winter and see what happens. I really don't have a carport or anywhere else to keep them. I also have a few in pots under a crepe myrtle tree. They seem to be doing well so far. I have a John Warren there which was planted this spring and had beautiful blooms. I also have a Candida and a newly planted Hagley Hybrid, which is growing fast, has a couple of buds, but hasn't bloomed yet.
When visiting Costco I saw a couple of very large double insulated pots which would have been perfect for clems I think. But, I don't have a membership there and don't want to pay membership dues for both Sams and Costco. The pots were a good buy at about $20.
But, you're right about moving them. They are VERY heavy.
hard to move big pots without using a dolly.
dathan, if you an post a pic of the shady areas now in full summer and some of the clems, i would be glad to comment on what it looks like to me. i have a good but of shade and while clems won't flourish in total sun, many of them can take some shade if all other variables are good.
sharley , in your clems in thick pots should be fine over the winter.......it is nice to have them nearby and also a good way to grow some smaller plants to garden readiness.
a friend i met here on the forum, janet (meadowyck) stopped by today and she was telling me about the use of mushroom compost and worm castings which have produced accelerated results in her garden along with making sure that manure used is HORSE manure vs cow. it was interesting and i will seek out some of these ingredients as i need ammendments of find a good buy on them.
On the subject of mushroom compost and worm castings, hubbie has a worm bed and a week or two ago when he was digging worms to use for fishing, I asked him to give me a bucket full. I've never used that soil before, but I put a very small hand shovel full on top of a few of my clems that I had just potted after receiving them from Debbie.
Also, we have used mushroom compost the last couple of years and he also adds that to his worm bed, along with other things. When I made new flower beds last spring, I mixed some mushroom compost in with the other soil I had mixed. (had to remove the clay first) I think that is why my zinnias are about 6 ft tall and why my dahlias that I had planted from seed and that were supposed to get about 12-15 inches, grew much taller than that. I had never used the compost on my clems until recently I decided to put a very small amount in the last batch of soil I mixed. I potted up about 5 or 6 clems with this in 3-gallon pots. These clems were purchased at a real bargain recently because they actually looked dead. I wanted to see what I could do with them. So, I figured that it wouldn't hurt to give them that extra boost. Time will tell.
There is a mushroom farm less than an hr from here, so there is usually a good local supply. A couple of scoops fills up the small pickup truck and it is only about $7 a scoop, so it's a bargain.
As far as manure, I've been purchasing "Black Kow Manure" for a couple of yrs to use in my soil mixture and I've had good results with everything so far. I'd love to know why Janet does not recommend it.
Here is just one link that gives info about the compost
http://www.mushroomcompost.org/faqs.htm#WhatIs
I know people here who build raised beds and fill them with straight compost. They grow their veggies in it. I don't like to do this, as it is very dry and has to be watered too much. I like to mix it with other soil.
By the way, the mushroom compost smells just like "manure" when you first purchase it, but all the literature says that there is no manure contained in it.
So, before I fill another clem hole, perhaps I should consider putting some of this mushroom compost in the bottom??? Or, maybe it would be a good top dressing. I may have had access to that magic ingredient all along and just didn't know it. What do you think?
i would put some in the bottom of the hole and them maybe as you top dress sprinkle a bit on. that is what i am doing with the big bag of worm castings janet brought me, i am putting a few tbls sprinkled the top of the soil around the clem and then putting my top dressing on it. right now i am top dressing with "bumper crop" or nias posey power (they are both ammended manure/peat/type mixtures) mixed half and half with chipped gravel. ever since i went out west i have been mixing more grit into my planting soils and using it heavily in this round of top dressing.
yes, lets find out why janet recommended horse over cow manure. i have heard this from another source as well, but can not remember the details. i have used cow before too.
I don't know if the use of earthworm castings for clems would be indicated as for perennials, but for perennials, it is recommended to put the earthworm castings at the bottom of the hole.
Isn't it because horses eat more grasses and cows eat more grains now, so the nutrient components of their waste are different? I believe that was the reason I had been given at one point.
Hay folks, I'll looking for some info, but mostly my experience has been one bed with HM and one bed with CM and the HM far exceeded the CM bed. Plus the smell was so much nicer than cow....LOL
I'm looking for some info and as soon as I find it I will post it here.
Janet
did a real quick check before going to bed and funny but a lot of sights say cow is better.... due to the make up of a cows stomach and its ability to completely break down what it eats...
So I'm sorta back to just my experience. When Horse manure is available and cow my first choice is horse.
Will keep searching for something that I can post.
night all.
Janet
There were discussions on manure a few years ago and steer manure was then supposed to be the best. We can't find that locally so we use cow manure.
I know a woman whose husband raises pigs, so they always have pig manure for the gardens. Every fall he dumps the manure on the garden, so it's ready for spring. Her soil is so soft and pliable that it's nearly effortless to plant. All she has to do is put the shovel into the ground, push it back to make a hole, and pop in the plant. She has won many awards at the state fair for her flowers.
For our purposes, horse, pig, sheep, cow, steer, chicken- is all good. Use whatever is available even if it's stuff in bags from one of the big box stores. I think what really matters is to get it on or into the soil. Whatever you use, make sure it's well aged
horse seems more costly. all good feedback here, lets share if we find anything else specific out.
love you are testing both janet. keep us posted. we are lucky to have choices and the resources to make them and take care of our plants.
Everything that I read on the www last night keeps saying that cow is best as their stomachs break food down the best and that horse manure usually contains a lot of weed seed as they are grazing in the pasture. But my thinking is that cows are pasture grazer more than most horses, but maybe the cow stomach does a better job of getting rid of the weed seeds.
I've never found after using the horse that I had more weeds than usual. Now I really like manure tea using sheep/goat manure. Back when I had goats I started putting (I call sheep manure nanny berries) their little nanny berries in a long neck bottle and labeled it as a fertilizer for plants. Big bold letters not for human consumption.... Still would have folks walk up and ask what favor it was as they were going to drink it.... how in the world would people want to drink dirty, brown water. I would never think that it was for drinking... So finally had to quit selling, didn't want someone suing me cause they drank it and got sick...
Manure tea from rabbits/sheep/goats as their pellets are wonderful size for working into a garden and you can use it right away. Horse has to be aged and if it isn't then it will burn/kill plants/vegs. Cow really still needs to be aged but not as long as horse.
Janet
Those must have been appetizing shaped bottles! very funny!
what do you think about chicken poop?
I've not used it but have friends that would swear by it. Give it a try on a small section.
Hay light bulb went off...
If you want to know which manure would work best of YOUR yard, make a new bed, divide it off into as many a sections as manure you have. Then put dividers between the sections (maybe square foot gardening here might work best) and use the different ones, plant some veg/flowers and see which ones do the best.
I would do it here but we are on the down side of summer with winter close behind so I would have much of a growing season to really see a difference.
Janet