Whether we talk of our new arrivals, buds and blooms on them or others we have, growth or no growth (: , feeding or pruning, let's talk clematis!
Show us your trellises or shrubs that you have clematis growing on or anything we may not have considered before - we'd love to see them and share our ideas.
This is one of my new Brushwood arrivals, 'Still Waters', also known as Zostiwa.
Putting this on 'watch', I can't contribute, yet! :-)
Why not? You've had your new home for about a month now! LOL
Only 3 weeks, and one word, 'gophers'! Oh and time and money for gopher cages.
I found the thread, Pirl! Will take some photos tomorrow of the trellises where I have planted clems....love the color of Still Waters.....
I will get some up as soon as I can.
So glad to have you here, Marilyn (Robindog). Thanks. I love Still Waters, too!
Looking forward to your photos, Marie.
Pirl. they are growing so fast. I told hubby that he had better get my 2 new trellis's tomorrow for my one set of my Clems. I had to go out yesterday and start the twine at the bottom of the trellis's so they can put their little hands on to start climbing up. I bet they are going an inch or more a day now. It is that time of year that I go out every morning or night and start that training.
Same here for current pics, but I have a few from last year. But before I do that, I will share a clem story. I had planted Rhapsody a few years ago to intertwine with a Margaret Merill (sp?) rose. Rhapsody did great but Margaret died within a year. I kind of forgot about Rhapsody until this spring and decided she needed to be moved so she could have some kind of support to grow on. I dug a hole under Ronstadt Freising then dug up Rhapsody and moved her. I went out this morning to see how she's doing and guess what?? One would never know that I had ripped her up and unceremoniously dumped her in a new spot. She looks just as happy as she did before the move. They're tougher than we give them credit for!
I cant wait to see all of mine in bloom this spring and summer. I went on a clem kick, I think I have now. 20 Clems in all.
Here's an arbor going into the back yard. In this photo, only the rose Bantry Bay is blooming. But I also have Anna Louise, John Huxtable and Comtesse de Bouchard growing on that arbor.
This is John from the top down.
Ok, now here is my question for you Venu209. What is the trick to get a climbing rose to bloom like that one? I started one 2 years ago, and I have had one bloom...lol
And from the side Anna Louise and Galore engulfing the arbor. Galore is not planted on the arbor, I think he just wants to get with Anna :)
Marie - this is the time of year when the clem's are leaping!
Louise - it truly is amazing how easily they adapt while we sit and worry about them! Love your arbor and clems along with the roses. My Anna Louise is in need of a microscope - far beyond what our measly magnifying lenses can see!
John is looking good!
Marie - direct all rose questions to anyone but me. I kill roses and for the few I don't kill, the deer devour.
Louise - Galore and Anna will be the talk of the town!
Had my "Oh, no" moment today when I dug up the alpina 'Pink Flamingo', believing it was dead. It has the nice fresh roots emerging! Now it's soaking in Epsom Salt water. I'll get it planted tomorrow if we don't get the expected rain.
Hmm, well Marie, there are a couple of variables involved. One is to pick the right rose. Since we live in the same state and similar zones I can recommend Eden and Bantry Bay. The saying about buying a 5 dollar plant and sticking it in a 50 dollar hole is very true for roses. They like rich, moist (but not wet) soil, very similar to clems which is one of the reasons they get planted together. Same fertilizing regimen with the same food for both. But the biggest thing about climbing roses, and I have not mastered this, is how to tie them in to the support. You want their canes to go horizontal on the trellis, so they zig zag side to side. Then the cane will put out all those side shoots which grow vertically and bloom. Sounds odd but it works. If you let the main canes grow straight up, you'll end up with a couple of vertical canes with a bloom at the end. Not the effect we want. Hope this helps!
Ah Ha....never give up on a clem. At times, I think they're practical jokers. Pirl and I had a conversation about Pink Flamingo. Mine exploded this year, Pirl's did nothing. The odd thing.....we have identical climates! Why the different behavior?
Mine hates me!
lol.....not if it's busy working on roots!
I bought my first clematis last year - barbara harrington.
Then spent a week at the fair, and when things settled down, I had a dead clem. A good friend said to leave the dead twig, perhaps it would grow this year - and it has! My faith in clems has been restored! Granted, I only have about 4 leaf buds on it, and we are supposed to get snow tomorrow, but perhaps, it will grow well for me this year. I am crossing my fingers!
By the way, I have it planted on a TV antenna tower. I am hoping that eventually, they will make that ugly tower, look prettier. I noticed that it needs some more dirt around the roots, so I will take care of that this weekend. The perhaps some miracle grow or manure tea...... ~j
Well last year I did all that bending and twisiten and still no blooms, So I got mad and cut it way back( about halfway down). This year as it was putting out new branches I started that bending again on the trellis, so far it is putting out a lot of new growth. I have hope that i might get a few more blooms this year or at least the clems that I have growing on it will bloom.
Phil - Manure tea would be terrific. So would a lot of compost to behave as mulch. They really want cool, moist roots (not drenching wet - that leads to rot). Send photos when you can. It is amazing how they can come back from what seems to be death!
Marie - the only way I got flowers on my climbing Peace was when I forced the branches horizontal, not vertical, but the problem for me is that I ran out of trellis. The rose needed a trellis 20' wide and mine didn't qualify. I'll ask my buddy, JasperDale, to drop in and see if he can explain it better or show you how he does it with his magnificent courtyard garden.
Another new Brushwood arrival - 'Climador'.
I have a question about feeding clems....mine are just starting to leaf out....I read that 1/2 cup of lime should be added to the soil at this time....is that correct? I also have composted manure, which I'll add to the roots, but I'm not sure about the lime....what's the consensus?
Yes, you can add lime.
I add a chunk of cement to continue to provide a touch of lime for the clematises.
Composted manure can be placed about two inches from the stems and you can allow it to behave like mulch. On top of that you can add a few inches of pine needles or tiny pine chips. My personal preference is the crushed pine needles from Agway, here in the northeast, but call first to be sure they have them - not all Agway stores carry them.
OK...thanks for the info.....my yard is pine needle heaven, so maybe I can use what I have.....
Pirl, thanks for the information! ~j
Yes, you certainly can use your own aged pine needles, Marilyn. If you do have to buy them go to Agway on Tuesday for the discount.
Phil - you may want to rig up something attached to the antenna so the clematis can climb it with ease. What is the name of your clematis?
Barbara Harrington. The TV stand is taller than my house, and triangular shaped. I planted the clem near a corner, so it should be able to climb it pretty easily. But that is a good suggestion, If I need to I can rig some netting there initially. ~j
I'm just in on break but I'll take some photos to show you some ideas. It's bitter in the northeast today!
Nasty here, too, and thanks again Pirl ~j
Here's a few to think about:
Sturdy branches...
Wire trellis forms - just angle it towards where the clematis will end up growing.
Wire from any hardware store, of any size opening at all...
Sold as "Deer fencing" but doesn't work to keep deer out unless the entire area is surrounded - works fine for clematis - not fun when it's time to cut back but it can be done.
The study branches are my favorites - easy, quick and free.
Hi everybody, I am here dodging tornadoes, all around our county is bad wethere. I have gone outside anyway, my clematis looked kind of sad on the porch so I have planted 4 of them. I put 3 on the trellis in full sun, the all american set. I hope I folowed instruction good, went cross the street and got some old pineneedles and coverd them.
the fourth one the Sunset, I have built a trellis in a hurry, need to paint it soon and that one gets some shade in the afternoon. Will keep the holly bush trimmed so it won't compete for space.
Glad you're okay. You do good work, Etelka...and fast!
Thank you Pirl, if you look in the back of the last picture is my 3 year old Confederate Jasmine , I tought I cut it to short last November, but it came back nice and it is blooming. That is what I want to accomplish in the back to with the 25 feet new trellis. Now I am thinking about the next two clematis. I can't plant it next to my Ladybanks rose like I pland it, in the back of the fence it will come the Confederate rose which growes to a 14 feet tall and it would block the sun for the clematis. I will make one more trellis like the last one and then I will find a place for the Neobi. I will put my Gypsy in the back, will see, if it is not enough sunl, next year I will move it.
Hi looking forward to seeing everyone's blooms plus creativity. This seems to be a good year for the clematis here. Mine are recovering from being flooded in Oct 2009 for six weeks. Believe it or not most made it through. I really need to cut back and train them better. One thing I haven't seen mentioned here but maybe I have missed it is, when I plant my clematis I lay at least 5 inches of the stem in the ground horizontally when I plant them. Does anyone else do that?
Pirl and Etelka you really have wonderful ideas and supports for the clematis to show itself at best. I am learning alot from y'all so thanks for the threads and taking the time to help educate us. Pirl your place is so neat and beautiful. I could only wish I had a path the free of grass or weeds.
I lost most of my tags in the flood so I can't always give a name.
