I just had 3 trellis's built for my clematis. They are about 8 feet tall and 36 inches wide. I am using them as a privacy screen for my screen porch. This is located in a sunny area. How many plants do I need to plant for each trellis? How many shoots should come out of the plant to climb up the trellis? I would like fuller coverage, since it is for privacy. I'm not sure if that will come in years, or if I need to plant more than one plant now.
Do I need to soak the roots. Any special planting trips or tricks. Help!!!!!!!!!!
From the information I have gathered online, they like to have sun, but need to have there roots covered. So I plan on planting annuals this year. Hopefully I can get a nice groundcover perennial to plant in the fall.
I understand that I will cut the clematis back each year.
Any info welcome. debi
Clematis
For a quick growing screen, and something "different", I'd plant a sweet autumn clematis on the center trellis. He's a bully, and will take up lots of space rapidly so that you can have lots of privacy quickly. THen, I'd plant two different clematis on each of the other two trellises, with concentration on some early spring bloom, like Ramona, and some later summer bloom, like Jackmanni. Some of the smaller flowered vitacella clematis like Mme. Julia Correvon looks really neat when contrasted with the large flowered clematis like Henrii. In other words, I'd try for a season long period of bloom, varying in size and color. If the spot is sunny, I'd plant a few shrub roses on the other side of the trellis, in order to provide permanant shade for the roots and also to give you season long blooms.
Clematis like moist soil, but don't like to stand in water. I'd dig down really deep and replace the naitive soil with as much decomposed manure and leaves as possible, adding in just enough naitive soil to keep it together. Roses like the same conditions, and the combination is a classic cottage garden look. You might even consider interplanting some climbing roses with the clematis, and using shrub roses at the feet. I have clematis and roses, (and annual morning glories, and moonvines, and cardinal vines and black eyed susan vines, etc.) combined throughout my garden. Not only does it give a great vertical accent, but by combining two different flower forms and two different blooming schedules, you extend the focal interest's season.
debi - you might want to think about growing an evergreen vine if it's privacy you are after. Sunflower gave you some excellent ideas but come the winter your screen will be bare. There is an evergreen vigorous clematis Armandii, and then there are the evergreen honeysuckles, can't quite remember the names right now. I grew Carolina jasmine also at my last garden zone 7 and it remained evergreen also. However, your winters might be too cold for them to stay evergreen. I would check the hardiness zones. Naturally if they were to lose their leaves in your winter then I would follow Sunflower's choices.
Do you think this evergreen Clematis would do well on Long Island? Does it require full sun??
thanks
Janice
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In the USA, it grows in the southern part of hardiness zone 6 through to hardiness zone 9. For more info check this site:-
http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/clematis/page04.htm
and another one :- http://arb.ncsu.edu/YearinTrees/List/Clematisarmandii.html
This message was edited Sunday, Apr 15th 9:23 PM
Another plant you might want to intermingle with your clematis is perennial Sweetpea(Lathyrus latifolius). It is a fast grower in my zone 5 garden and blooms for a long period of time. Still had blooms on it when the first snow hit this past winter. I have always heard that clematis "sleeps the first year, creeps the second year and leaps the third year" and that has proven true for me in zone 5. The perennial sweetpea is available in white, pink and a deep rose color - perhaps other colors but these are the one's I have seen.
thank you all for your wonderful ideas. i'm glad i have some time to think about it before planting in another month.
The trellis's i had built are made of wood and twine. The 2 legs go into the ground and above this you would say the wood is shaped into a rectangle. The inside of the rectangle has cup hooks that go around the whole inside of the rectangle. You then take twine and run it vertically and then horizontally creating a surface for the vines to crawl up. This idea makes it easier at the end of the season. You just cut out the twine and voila..... your done with the clean up. :-)
So that is why i'm leaning towards vines that are rapid yearly growers.
Sunflower,
Do climbing roses need to be cut back at the end of the season? Do you have a suggestion of a very hardy, non-fussy rose, both vine and shrub that would work well. i've been reading online and i definately am not ready to get into any of the hybrid fussy roses. i would like to stick with disease resistant, hardy varieties.
As always thank you for your help and terrific advice. i'm learning more and more here each day.
debi z
Your trellis idea sounds terrific! I will have to try that for our clematis (friend gave us a couple big divisions -- yea!). As far as the roses go, you do *not* want to cut them back every year. Climbers bloom on the old wood, so if you prune them, the new canes won't flower that year. I grow a wonderful rose called Zepherine Droughin, a hot pink climber with a wonderful fruity/raspberry fragrance. What I really love about this rose is her lack of thorns -- a great feature for a rose used near any pedestrian traffic! :O) I hate being maimed by my flowers, don't you?
eeek! sweetpeas! run for the hills!
I garden in the victory gardens in Boston, and I recently got an additional plot which had 2 established sweetpeas in them (at least 3 years old each) which had been planted on the fence which I have in common with another garden. What a nightmare to remove them! They send down a tap root that you would not believe.
If you plant sweetpeas, be sure you really really really want them where you are putting them because they will be there forever after ...
35 feet in one summer??????????????????????????????
wow
Lat year, I planted a moonflower vine and it totally covered my trellis. It is an annual, but it reseeded itself this year. It has a lovely white flower that only blooms in the evenings and has a wonderful fragrance. It grows fast and attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.