Today I got 3 new ones. I bought Mrs. N. Thompson, Dr. Ruppel and Nelly Moser.
I am thinking I need to plant these deeper after reading a ton here. Is 3 inches deeper than they are in the pot deep enough? Or should I go a little deeper? Any advice is most welcome before I get them planted.
And it seems that Mrs. N. Thompson is a shorter one. Is this correct? And I'm not sure about the sun requirements for it. I have read it needs full sun and also read it needs part shade. ??? Any input on that? I know about the top being in sun and the feet being shaded. But this confuses me when I read both full sun at one place and part shade at another. So confusing!
And it seems Dr Ruppel is anywhere from 8 to 12 feet tall depending on where I'm reading at the time. And it seems like it likes part shade???
What about Nelly Moser? Sun or shade? I just want to plant them right the first time and figured getting advice here would be the wise thing to do before planting them. On the tag it says it gets to 20 feet tall, but reading elsewhere, it seems more like 8 to 12 feet tall. Input from your experience please. ;o)
It's frustrating to read so many different things about the same plant. Makes a person nervous about what to do. I have a few clematis already, and they do okay. But they are not the thickest, fullest plants yet. And I have lost a couple. So any advice would be so helpful to me.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Sherry
Bought 3 new clematis...advice needed
I am no clematis 'guru' but I have found that the growing habit of the plants have a lot to do with the planting/sun/water/nutritional (environmental) conditions -- I think this is true with clematis.
I read a lot about not cutting the vine to the ground --but I do each year and each year the vine comes back big and vigorous with lots of blooms. I usually put a plant next to the clematis to shade the roots...or some yard art. Mine do well all planted in sun but with the bottom of the vine shaded. The only time I have lost the vine is to critters - rabbits, deer etc., and maybe even a vole. And, sometimes I have been sure that the clematis is lost only to see it sprout the next year. I am not sure what has gone on with that!
Sherry..plant your clematis 2-4 inches deeper than the pots they came in..if you don't have problems with critters then use bonemeal in the planting hole to help reduce transplant shock and to aid in the roots getting established..the main thing to remember is to keep your clematis MOIST..not SOGGY but moist..planting them deeper helps with this and also helps to create more vines from the soil...your clematis will require an area that gets at least 6 hours of sun to truly perform at their utmost.."Mrs. N. Thompson" gets about 6-61/2 feet tall..so you are correct..just a hint ...if a clematis is bad about fading..then 6 hours of morning sun is sufficient..none that you have are bad about fading...remember it's vital you keep your clematis moist during it's adaptation period.I go around and stick my finger in the soil around the clematis and if it seems to be drying out I water thoroughly..if a clematis should wilt..just prune the wilted vine to the soil-line and the biggest reason people lose their clematis is when they do wilt..they stop watering and that is the kiss of death..continue watering that bare spot and it will return..I've had some wilt and disappear for 2 years and still come back..another tip is to hard prune your pruning group 2's for the first two years..this will allow the plant to focus on growing a stronger rootsystem to support all those vines in the future and not on growing vines...hope this helps...Jeanne
missingrosie,
Thanks for youe experience with your clematis. I appreciate it!
Jeanne,
It sure does help! Just the info I was looking for. Thank you so much for the detailed answer. It helps me a lot. I will definitely plant them deeper as you said. This is something I didn't know about when planting my other clematis. After reading here, I added more dirt around the roots of a couple of my clems and they DID get nore roots coming from the ground! Live and learn. lol And I will prune them as a group 3 like you suggested for a couple years. Group 2's always confuse me anyhow. And even the ones I lost had enough water because that whole garden area is always watered. But I still lost a couple. ;o( Do you know if it's okay to plant them near evergreen trees?
Thanks so much you two! Hopefully these new ones will thrive with your advice!
Sherry
Sherry..stick with the forum..for there are many great people here that have invaluable advice and expertise' to share..
How close is close when you are referring to EverGreens?...Jeanne
Thanks Jeanne,
I will stick with the forum. ;o) I went and bought the bone meal. It says 1 tbsp. per 2 square feet or use 1/2 tsp per plant and mix with the soil.. Does that sound right? Just want to get it right.
Sherry
Oh yeah...about the evergreens. It would be at least 5 feet from the trunk of the weeping thing you see in the photo. Are evergreens a problem with clematis?
Sherry
One more question. Sorry. ;o) Do you think I should scratch some bone meal into the dirt around my other clems? Hope I'm not asking too many questions.
Sherry
Sherry - your garden scene is gorgeous!
You can add bone meal around an existing clematis and just put compost on top but stop short of having it touch the stems - stay back a few inches.
Nelly Moser does like part shade and I doubt it will ever get to 20' for me but I love it anyhow.
Thank you Pirl!
How are you and your beautiful gardens?
Thanks for the info on Nelly Moser. I'm glad it likes part shade because my, what used to be full sun garden, has now turned into a lot of shade too. About how tall is your Nelly Moser? I'm thinking about putting it in the back on the chain link fence to help cover it some more. And seeing your beautiful photo of Nelly Moser makes me really glad I got her! Gorgeous, Pirl!
The part I'm a little concerned on is that on the bag it says to only use only 1/2 a tsp. of the bone meal. And then most places I have been reading say to throw a handful into the hole??? So not sure what I should do there. Any idea?
Sherry
Thanks for the lovely compliments.
I'm the handful type of gardener so they get a handful of Epsom Salt and a handful of bone meal (both applied to the soil surface, not scratched in) but much more compost - like two or three quarts of it and then a good watering.
Some well aged manure mixed in with all the other things doesn't hurt!
Sorry! I just remembered you asked about her height. This year, since she has a new tuteur next to the stump where she has grown for many years, she may be taller but in the past she's been around 6' but sprawled all over and she looks lovely that way.
Here's a photo of the lower portion.
Sherrygirl
Very nice garden scene. I can just see some clematis climbing up your fencing!
My Nelly does not get very tall in comparison to some of my others. Clematis on the web is an excellent tool for this type of information http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-clemdetail.cfm?dbkey=35
Pirl..your "NM" is stunning!!..Sherry..in your Washington zone 6B..I seriously doubt your sun (aren't you overcast alot?) is as intense as mine or Pirls?..Only this you two can answer but I "assumed" with those conditions your NM could be in more sun?..since you live there you must decide if plants fade or burn from your previous experience...My "NM" is planted under my pergola and she gets dappled sunlight ..then full midday and shaded in the evening...I, Like Pirl not only not do not measure when cooking but neither with my gardening..for I take a handful or two and toss out and water!! Same with Bonemeal,Rose Fertilizer and Epsom Salts!!..I generously dust the planting hole with Bonemeal..the bigger the hole..more Bonemeal!!..Jeanne
Thanks, Jeanne.
Just the thought of bringing out every possible amendment plus an assortment of measuring cups and spoons would have me growing fields of impatiens, not clematis!
NM here, at the stump (the tower in the photo), gets morning sun on the face while it gets shade in the back and it's all reversed by afternoon. Now it's layered itself in several spots and I just won't move them because I enjoy the look of it. The fact that it goes on blooming for a month as the Japanese irises bloom is a definite and unexpected plus.
Thanks Pirl.
The height info is very helpful. I put mine back by the chainlink fence and will see how tall she can grow (fingers crossed). ;o) And beautiful garden scene. I can only hope my Nelly Moser looks half as nice.
Carolyn22,
Thank you for the info on height too. Seems the tags are not even close sometimes. ;o( And thank you for the link. I will check it out when I have more time.
Jeanne,
Thanks. That's what I decided to do...just toss some in and around the hole. And no about the overcast. We are on the east side of the state, which feels like the desert in the summer. We get temps up to 112 degrees and sunshine, sunshine and more sunshine. We get a lot of 95 plus temps and then the weeks of the really hot, 105 to 112. And that's way too hot. I hate it when it gets that hot. Funny how different it is from one side of the state to the other when it's only about 4 hours to Seattle from here.
Sherry
Oh, I think I forgot to say, I just got all three of them planted. Hope they thrive now that I learned about planting them deeper and the bone meal and such. That particular garden is a mix of sun and shade at different times of the day, so I'll have to wait and see how they work out in their spots. Hope they thrive and don't have to be moved. They don't like to be moved much, do they?
Sherry ;o) (clematis happily in the ground)
I am sure they'll be just fine and in a few years will be the Queen's in your garden..just remember to keep them moist and they'll thank you by being the most beautiful Jewels in your garden...Jeanne
Jeanne is right.
I'd encourage you to put down 3 or 4" of mulch to keep the roots cool. I use a few inches of compost and then mulch on top to keep that compost cool.
Nice piller Pirl
Thanks. I bought a new tuteur last year to cover the stump and even measured before I bought it but until more of the stump (that is the basis for the tower) rots the tuteur won't fit.
Dear Sherrygirl,
You mentioned an evergreen "weeping thing you see in the photo" in your post.
Do you have a name for it? I've been looking for one of those.
Thanks!