jackmanii "growth year" advice needed!

My new jackmanii 'Superba' arrived yesterday...in a quart pot, and I think it looks fairly healthy. I have not yet decanted it to check the roots, but it has two growing stems and I think two more eyes that are about to get started.

I have decided that it needs a "growth year" in a container, but have a couple questions for all you clematis gurus out there.

First, is a gallon pot appropriate? Narrow and tall, rather than wide and squat? Glazed rather than terra cotta?

What kind of medium would you use? I have decided to use Al (tapla's) container mix recipe for the rest of my pots...would that make sense here? Amendments?

Should I trim this down? Pinch the growths? Leave it alone? How deep should I plant it?

I plant on putting the container right in the spot where I would plant it next year, to make sure the spot is good for it.

Any other questions I have neglected to ask that I should have asked?

TIA
Katherine

It does look healthy. Potting it for the first year is an excellent idea. Carolyn does it quite often and she can advise you when to plant it in the ground.

Al's mix sounds good. I'd still add manure, compost and bone meal and some reconstituted water crystals at the root area. A typical nursery one gallon pot should be fine. Make sure you remove the lower leaves (that would otherwise be buried) and the clem should be planted three inches deep.

It appears it was already pinched from what I can spot in the photo so allow it to grow two more sets of leaves before you pinch again.

Will it receive regular watering?

Good luck, Katherine. I bet it will grow beautifully for you.

Thanks, pirl!

I've got the manure, compost and bone meal to add to the mix. Will have to get some water crystals...I've still got mixed feelings about that stuff.

Once the lawn sprinklers get turned back on, it will get watered well every time they run. Plus I am prowling around my garden all day, every day, so watering should be fine.

When you say "planted three inches deep", do you mean that the area that is currently at the surface should now be planted three inches below the surface? The current stems are not much more than three inches now...ok to bury them (kinda like tomatoes)?

I promise I will not ask so many pesky questions once I get the hang of these plants!

Many of us have mixed feelings about the water crystals but I don't use them for vegetables or fruit or anything we'd eat.

Exactly like tomatoes! Good thinking. All new growth will arise so just be brave and cut off (not rip off) those leaves and bury the plant. Probably only the top leaves will show in your pot. I do know how hard it is to cut off the leaves and bury the plant but since you know how well it works with tomatoes you should be fine with it.

No problem asking questions. If it's dark or rainy outside I'm generally here.

Katherine

I like the taller narrower gallon pots. I also like the plastic pots - they tend to hold the moisture longer. Iwould wait until the pot shows roots growing out the bottom before planting them out in the garden.

When and how often will your sprinklers come on? I would check my new little baby often to see that the potting mix is still moist. When you plant your new plant, also have it planted at a 45 degree angle - this helps promote more vines to come up from the crown - more vines and you will have more flowers.

I too am 'suspicious' of the water crystals.....

I hope to get to potting tomorrow, thanks for the advice!

Carolyn, I appreciate the explanation for the 45 degree planting! I had thought it would "direct" the plant toward the support, but more vines is definitely a better reason to plant it that way!

Went to two nurseries today...the big box store, where the checkout gal said, "see you in a couple days!" LOL. Then on to my favorite but more expensive nursery (where they literally know me by name) to get some more compost/manure (it's called Wholly Cow...how could you not buy it with a name like that??!!), and came home with another clem! I got a Bijou because I read the tag and it said Bijou grows to 20"...I thought I'd like to try a little one. Then I got it home (by this time I am in love), only to realize I had misread the tag and it says 48" in height! Oh bother.

I selected this plant because it had several tight buds and had a TON of new shoots just starting out. I'll try to get a picture to post tomorrow.

So that makes 3 new clems this year so far, and it's only April!

It's fun to go "where everybody knows your name".

Bijou is one of the smaller clem's so it can go in a pot with a minor support. They sell the little trellises in many shops so go out hunting again. Isn't it fun?

Here's the Garden Crossings page on Bijou. It says it grows 12 to 24".

http://www.gardencrossings.com/plantname/Clematis-Bijou

Thanks for the link. I've got a good small trellis that should work fine.

I gave each of my in-ground clems a blanket of the Wholly Cow, a bit of bone meal and a drink of Epsom salts today. Mulch comes tomorrow.

Another question about planting deep...do the clems grow roots on the stem like tomatoes, or is there some other purpose for doing that?

Love that Wholly Cow name!

No. The new stems emerge from the root ball, not from the stems. Planting deeply keeps the roots cooler and encourages more stems to emerge. You could always buy another Bijou and plant it at soil height to see the differences. Some will survive like that but survival and lush are very different goals.

Last Friday, I replanted the jackmanii according to your directions! I removed the lower leaves, and put it on an angle as much as I could in that pot, which is 7" tall...I thought it would be a good choice for clems. I've got it on the patio for now, and will watch it until I see some signs of new growth. Then I will relocate it next to the birdhouse for the summer.

I've been trying to find a picture of the birdhouse, but my computer is having a hissy fit.

That is a nice deep pot. When you get to planting it in the ground you can angle it then. Keep up the good work. Don't allow it to go dry but don't drown it either.

Mother Nature is trying to drown it right now...it is coming down in buckets!

I found the pots at a hydroponics store for $0.75 a peice...I about flipped. To buy a nice deep pot like that for my orchids would cost $4 or $5! They have a great selection of plastic pots for very reasonable prices. You might not be able to tell from the photo, but it is a very substantial pot...not flimsy at all.

I also ordered two more clems today: Ville de Lyon for near my front door, and a John Huxtable to grow down the fence from what I think is a Gypsy Queen (it's the one that got me started into this clematis binge!)

I hope Silver Star Vinery is a good source. They sell bare roots 1 gallon plants, mostly for $17 each, with reasonable shipping costs. I was going to add a Princess Diana, but seriously, I must at least TRY to exercise some control!

Finnaly, I hear someone having a Gypsy Queen, I have one for the second year and it is beutiful. This year is the first time it bloomed. Enjoy all your clems, I am new at it and it is very addicting. Etelka

Silver Star is the best of clematis sellers! They will arrive in big pots and you'll never be sorry you bought from Debbie! Self-control is way overrated! I knew those pots weren't flimsy and I'm glad you got such a good buy on them.

Etelka is right: clematises are addictive!

Etelka, I say that I have a Gypsy Queen, but I only came to that conclusion after looking a lots of photos of purple clems. It was here when we bought the house in 2009, although it was in hiding under the evil ivy that grows over from my neighbor's yard (oh, I hate that stuff!). Once we gave it some breathing room, it sprang into life and made me fall in love!

As for self control, I really think it would be best for me to get the hang of these plants before I go completely bonkers for them! Besides, I was hoping the plant budget would be reduced this year after we put so much into the new beds last year.

I wish my computer wasn't acting like such a bugger...I would like to share some photos of my garden that has been under major construction for the past two years.

This message was edited Apr 30, 2012 8:10 PM

Here are the other two clems I repotted last Friday.

Bijou is in the same 7" deep pot I put the jackmanii in. I tried to bury it a bit, but it had so many tiny leaves on the new shoots that I was afraid I'd cut off the shoots instead. I reused a small trellis that came with my Ruutel...see Honey, I really DON'T need to throw all that stuff away!

The Omoshiro is in a 2 gallon pot (it came in a 1 gallon pot with lots of nice, healthy roots.) If you look to the right in the background, that is where I will eventually plant this (assuming it likes this spot), but for now I'm just going to set it on the ground behind the hardy geraniums which are just forward of this shot.

I did bury quite a bit of the plant, but still have all this top growth. It was pinched back at least once, but the growth on the bamboo pole is kind of spindly...do you think I should pinch that back? I was thinking of pinching it about in the middle of the pole...that would give it two sets of leaves after the last pinch, and there are a couple of nubs next to the leaves that look like they might grow. Or is it too late to pinch it back?

You're doing so well!

I can understand the problem Bijou gave you. Some clem's are easier to strip of leaves than others.

(Oh, no. We married twins! Anything I keep has a name I won't say but his "stuff" is always important!)

I agree with you about Omoshiro. I'd cut it back where the strap is on the leader behind it (in the photo). Of course, if there's a bud you just might want to see it bloom! Give it a drink of Epsom salt when your rain ends - a day or two later. That encourages new growth.

All the buds are below where I want to pinch. In fact one is nearly open!

I think I know which name you mean! ;)

How often do you give your plants Epsom salts? Is the schedule different for potted clems vs. in ground?

And do you schlepp warm water out from the house? That would be next to impossible for me to do from my wheelchair. It has not been warm enough here lately to let it get to "room temperature"!

Terrific!

The strap is the white piece that is installed horizontally to hold the leader against the house.

Once a month is fine but I often don't get to it. I have done it more often with some I wanted to get moving. No difference between potted or in the ground. It gives them a boost of magnesium.

It's clear it would be a problem so just use the water you have - no schlepping!

Gulp.

I hope I didn't clip too much off. I counted up two sets of leaves from the previous pinch, and snipped above that.

Well, it wouldn't be the first time I did something wrong with a plant. A couple years ago, when I was just getting started with orchids, I cut off all the spikes left after a masdevallia bloomed...it had been covered in blooms. Then I learned that they can rebloom (after rest period of some months) for years. Duh. Now I wait until the spikes are really unsightly before I cut anything off!

Katherine

Remember the advice from clematis seller, Hummingbird Farms: No one ever killed a clematis by pruning it.

I did that with one orchid, long ago, and then didn't buy any more orchids. Live and learn isn't easy.

Etelka, here are a couple pictures of what I think is a Gypsy Queen.

The first is from 2010. It hadn't bloomed in 2009 when we bought the house, and we didn't even know it was there. When we cut back the invading ivy, it sprang to life!

The second photo is from last year. You can hopefully see it on the top of the lilac bushes. It's hard to get the color right on my camera.

Pirl, I found a photo of my birdhouse from last year...I can't believe how much the plantings have grown!

Lovely photos, Katherine.

You could attach some clear vinyl netting to the post of your birdhouse and add a clematis.

That's where the Firefly is now, and that's where the jackmanii is going to go. I may move the Firefly next year.

We put metal eyes at the top and bottom of each side and ran wire between them for something to cling to. Back a couple feet you can't even see it. If it's not enough for the clems to hang on to, I've got some plastic netting to use.

Terrific. We think alike. What color is Firefly?

Well, it wasn't as pretty as I thought it would be, and then I realized I messed up and ordered a type 2. It was dark pink on the edges with a lighter pink strip down the center. Sounds prettier that it was in person.

It's got a couple big fat buds on it now, so I will try to get some pictures when it opens. Maybe I'll like it better this time. Those are usually my favorite colors!

It's not that I'm particularly afraid of type 2s, but with the type 3 jackmanii going next to it, I'm not sure they would play nice together. It's just too late to move it now.

Let's hope it opens prettier than you remember it. Fall is the best time for transplanting when the clematis goes dormant.

When I had no idea how huge our Jackmanii (by the compost) would get, I made the major error of planting two others on each side of it. My guess is that Jackmanii's roots manage to get the benefit of the compost because I rarely can spot the others. This year I kept reminding myself to take notice and try and separate them - so far, so good. Now I can see the difference in the color of the leaves so maybe I'll get blooms on the left side.

The first bud on my Firefly opened, and boy does it look different than it did last year! This is the color I was expecting!

This plant is looking a lot better...healthier, happier...since I buried it in manure and mulch, and gave it some Epsom salts. Oh, dern, I should have included the broken pot I used to shade it in this picture. I haven't gotten around to backfilling with manure and mulch yet either.

Taken with a new camera app on my smart phone that is very cool. Color is very accurate!

How wonderful! The most I've found with colors being off is the first year. After that they should remain true but in late autumn they can be very beautiful with colors we never expected.