Hi- I have 6 clematis vines that I planted last spring. One bloomed, one lonely little flower. I understand that sometimes it takes them a while to mature and get going. I have them in partial shade with the roots protected from heat, but I thought maybe they weren't getting enough sun. I was willing to give it one more season to see if that was it. But now I have planted 6 climbing roses on a fence in full sun, and I was thinking about growing clematis vines in them. My first question is would it be a bad idea to dig them up and move them- of course I would wait until it warms up here. The other issue I may have is that full sun in Texas may be too much. The root areas would be covered by other plants. Any ideas?
Jamie
Moving Clematis?
Your best bet is to dig them up while they're dormant to prevent as much damage to the plant as possible.
So could I do that now? The ground isn't frozen or anything but we do dip down into the 40s at night. Of course the vines are all dead now from the frost, but I was going to cut them down to the ground anyway.
Now would be a good time. Good luck! Keep in mind that you might not get blooms next year. Some plants are finicky like that..
By the way, climbing roses and clematis sound like a lovely combo! I hope you don't get a lot of Japanese beetles though!
Thanks- I saw it in a couple of catalogs so I can't take credit for the idea. :)
I did one treatment for grubs in October, thinking it was too late, but the label said it could be done so I did it. The next morning there were no less than 100 grubs dead/dying above ground with many more squirming up out of the ground. I guess they come up trying to get away from the poison. So I picked them all out and disposed of them. I think I am going to do it one more time in the earliest month listed on the label (I think May?). I also put down Milky Spore, but they say it can take 3 years to take full affect. We had massive June bugs last summer so that's why I did it. The label listed Japanese beetles as something it kills so hopefully it took care of them too!
I guess I will move them and hope for the best. Thanks!
Jamie
Jamie_
What was that product you used on the grubs?? I've got to get some!
Is it safe on the red worms, or is it indescriminant of what it kills?
-T
There are Japanese beetles in Dallas? We don't have them down here yet, we do have those brown June bugs and rhino beetles(those grubs are huge, 3-4 inches long).
Calalily- I don't really know if we have Japanese beetles. I just know they come from grubs. And the grubs kill my grass so that's why I treated for them. Never hurt my plants, which shocked me b/c there were so many of them in my flower beds! I thought the ones I had were just the June bug grubs, but from what I can tell June bugs don't hurt plants. They're just irritating. :) I just mentioned this b/c the product I used specifically said it worked on Japanese beetles, along with a slew of other bugs. Honestly, I saw a picture on the lable of the exact white grubs I am always digging up so that's why I bought it!
T- The product was Spectracide Triazicide. Here is a link to it on the Lowes site. This is granuals, but I got the liquid concentrate. You just screw the bottle into your water hose and spray away! It says it works w/in 24 hours, but I sprayed at around 5pm and the next morning those buggers were all over the ground!
http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=200943-316-7396
Thanks! I'm going to look into that!
-T
TG, thanks. I have seen a few small grubs, they haven't hurt my grass yet and when I dig in the gardens there aren't many of them(and the ones I find, I feed to the turtle). I have found a few of the rhino bug grubs, they do a lot of damage. My friend with the tropical fruit nursery has trouble with them eating the hearts out of her potted palms. She's been looking for something to kill the grubs. I'll give her your link.
I also forgot to answer one of T's questions- it did NOT appear to hurt the "red" worms (earthworms). In fact, I became pretty dilgent about composting trying to get my clay soil into shape. That started in 2003 and I now have pretty good soil When I dug a hole to plant something, I used to get about 3-5 grubs per hole and NO earthworms. Gradually those numbers went up (from composting), but I still had lots of grubs. I have recently planted my spring flowering bulbs and dug all over the yard in doing so. I saw maybe 5 grubs total and LOTS of earthworms. So I don't think the grub killer killed them. With all the grubs I had, I would think if they were something that ate my plants I would have noticed it. But we just had the spotty brown grass that is a good indicator of grubs and that is really why I sprayed the stuff. I think they did not come up in the yard as they did in the garden areas b/c the ground is more compact in the lawn and they cannot get out. Just my assumptions there! In any event, I would read the lable and just make sure.
Jamie
Thank you!
-T
Jamie, is this what you used? http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=142117-316-52090
I can't wait to get over to Lowes and grab a bottle! Our yard is surrounded by wild rose so we have clouds of japanese beetles spring and summer.
Milky spore works really well, we used it at the old house and only had a few beetles from neighbor's lawns. Unfortunetly, we haven't lived at the new house long enough yet for the MS to take effect yet.
I don't think that's it- if you look at the link I posted, mine was that EXACT lable. But what I have is in a spray concentrate like what you posted. If you look at what I posted, you will see a picture of a grub and it says it's for grubs.
Oh, I know but I couldn't find the spray concentrate.
Oh, I know but I couldn't find the spray concentrate. Did you buy it at Lowes?
It was Lowes or Home Depot- I'm in them both so often that I can't keep straight what I got where! :)
I don't know if the concentrate you found will do the same thing or not. You asked if it was what I had, and it wasn't the same, so I just wanted to make it clear in case you want EXACTLY what I used. I just went to the garage to check, and it is that stuff in the green bottle (the one I posted). It may be one of those things only available in the store...? I'm sure those granuals do the same thing, but it seems like to get the immediate results that I got, a liquid form would be better.
Back to your original question, T'Garden, thought I'd put my 2 cents worth in. Yes you can move a clematis, but make sure that you replant it very very deep. There are 3 different types of clematis, but they all have one thing in common "clematis like cold feet". I manage this by (1) digging about 6" down around the plant, (2) hacking the clematis off of its trellis each year and (3) piling the foliage in the hole and covering with dirt - this creates fresh, cooling mulch each year, and it comes back beautifully and blooms like crazy. Not all clematis can be treated this way, mine is a type 3, which likes hard pruning. But mulch is essential. I also have mine on the north side of my house, and it's very happy getting late day sun only. This picture was last summer; I planted it as a baby in late Aug/02. As you can see, there's two different clematis - the purple is a Polish Spirit and the pink is a Comtesse du Bouchaud.
Thank you for the instructions! Just what I needed to hear! Your picture is gorgeous by the way. I hope mine bloom like that sometime soon. :)
Ok. I won't do it this weekend b/c it's supposed to be in the 40s but as soon as we get another little warm blast I'll move them. Of the 6, only one has died back. The others are still very green and I don't think they're supposed to be evergreen. So maybe I haven't waited too long!
good one ceedub!
Jamie, as already mentioned there are 3 classes of clematis with 3 different pruning methods. I've got clematis in 6 or 7 different places around the yard and generally try to stay with the class III so I don't have to think too hard. Spring before the buds break, I cut everything down to 3-8" inches. Your clematis are new and I've found they really adhere to the sleep, creep, LEAP policy. Once established, they are pretty amazing in how they cover whatever I have them trained on... real quick. The clematis/rose combination seems to be a standard recommendation. If you were going to do that, I'd think the class I or II clematis may be better because you just cut them back a little bit and wouldn't be trying to rip them out of the roses and tearing off a bunch of rose buds in the process. At least that's what I've envisioned. 'Heads in the Sun, feet in the shade' As long as you've got them planted deep and thick mulch, plants or something covering their roots, I wouldn't worry about the sun. My originals (Jack Manii) are on either side of the garage which faces south with no shade and the long black driveway in front. There was just little 10"x18" strips of soil on the corners of the garage between sidewalk and wall. I jammed them in there anyway and they've been monsters since their 3rd year. It was after planting them I found out about the shaded root thing. I'm guessing these guys have sent roots out under the sidewalk and driveway which stays cool and moist constantly. That and I've got my visitors trained to dump the last little bit out of their beer cans on them before crushing the cans.
Good luck. (I'm at work, so don't have any pics to post for example)
Thanks 8ft! Great info! I have no clue what "class" mine are. Maybe no class, like me? Ha! Just kidding. Anyway, I will get out those plant tags and see what it says about each one. All 6 are different so I have no clue...
Jamie
Ok, I got my tags out. The thing is, I have 3 separate trellis and I planted 2 vines on each one. Only one bloomed this year and I am pretty sure it was the Earnest Markham. But I am not sure which rootball it came from! I attached a picture of it. Again, not sure that it matters since I have the roots of two different vines at the base of one trellis and I have no idea which is which at this point.
So here's what I have total:
2 Kermesina- Plant files has it as "Group 3- prune hard early spring. Summer/Fall bloom" (tag says late season bloomer)
1 Niobe- PFiles has it as "Group 2- Repeat bloomer, prune immediately after it flowers." But it also has it as Group 3. ??? (tag says early season bloomer)
1 Duchess of Edinburgh- PF has it as a Group 2 (tag says early season bloomer)
1 Ernest Markham- PF has it as Group 2 AND 3 (tag says mid season bloomer)
1 Carnaby- PF has it as Group 2 (tag says early season bloomer)
Sooo, since I didn't make note of what I put where, I am tempted to just cut them all down to about 3 inches and plant as y'all instructed. Any feedback here is appreciated! Can I take that to mean my Group 3s have a better chance of blooming for me this year since you are SUPPOSED to prune them as I am about to, but the Group 2s may not?
8ft- I understand your point about ripping the roses when cutting the "3" guys back all the way. My thought was I would just cut them down to the base and wait for the vine to die (since it would be cut off from the roots). Then just gently pull the dead vines out. They tend to give and break more easily than the live green ones. I did that when my Jasmine died and unexpectedly grew back from roots the next spring. I had dead stuff intertwined with the new growth so I just cut it off and gently pulled them out. The new growth wasn't damaged at all. Just a thought!
This message was edited Jan 15, 2005 4:11 PM
T'garden, I think you're right, that's an Ernest Markham-its very beautiful. I can't wait to see pics of them all in bloom-they'll be incredible; they're all such gorgeous flowers. But you know that! Yes, I think its accurate to expect the class III's to bloom better the first year than the class II's because of the hard prune. Your plan to cut the vines and let them die back before you remove them to protect the roses is a good one. When do you prune your roses though? Maybe you can prune everything together and not bother with sorting things out.
Weeeellll, I just planted my roses this fall, so I have no idea when I will prune them. :) I bought 6 climbing roses- 3 Celine Forestier and 3 Buff Beauty. They are planted along a strech of my fence (wrought iron) that is in full sun (not a lot of that in my back yard!). I want to plant my 6 clematis in between each of the rose bushes. The info on for both roses indicates that you don't have to prune them at all unless you just want to control the spread. I think it will be a while before I am to that point!
It's about 36 feet long. I went in about 3 feet and planted the first bush, then planted them 6 feet apart from there. There is about 3 feet between the edge of the last rose bush and the end of the fence.
I will take some "before" pics when I get the clematis moved, then update with a picture more into the season. And of course when it all fills in (years from now?) I will have my "braggin' pics." Ha!
Oh, that may sound a bit misleading. I just have 3 of those trellis you can buy at Lowes. I got them on clearance for like $8 each- the iron kind. I bought 6 clematis and planted 2 at the base of each trellis in my backyard flower beds. They get part shade since I have a HUGE southern magnolia and 2 large live oaks in the back yard. The south side of my back yard on the side of the house has no shade at all. It was just a big open area with grass. So I dug out the grass along the peremiter of the fence and made it more of a garden. That is where I have the roses now and where I want to move the clematis. I will attach a picture of it real quick so you can see the area- I think the fence may be cut out of the picture, but it's there just to the right. The sidewalk is just beyond that. The part of the fence that is facing you (where my dog is standing) is where I dug out the grass in a big half circle and planted a bunch of stuff I am excited to see. We started with an overgrown nasty mess at this 80+ year old house and I think I've come a long way! It will be 3 years in June, but I didn't get to start on the landscaping until April 2003.
That first picture was in April 2003 right after the landscapers came and cleared out a TON of overgrown shrubs. We had nasty nandia as foundation plantings all around the entire house. They had to grind it out with stump grinders and by hand near the foundation of the house. It was AWFUL! The picture I am attaching here is a "panned out" view of that same area. My front porch would be behind me from where I was taking this picture. You can see that I planted the little area in front of the iron fence this past spring w/ yarrow, purple salvia, hot pink zinnia, and some other things later on in the season. You can also see it was still all grass on the "back yard side" of the fence. I didn't dig all that out until late summer, then planted the area this fall.
Ok, last one. This is that same area of course, but I took the picture from the sidewalk so you can see more of the area. This was the same day as my first picture, but obviously before the landscapers got started! Right this minute the retaining wall you see is in a pile on the parkway! We are having it rebuilt right now. If you are looking at the picture below, and pretend you turned to your left and began walking down the sidewalk, you get to the corner and turn right to get to the front of the house. That retaining wall goes alllll the way around and they are rebuilding the whole thing b/c it was crumbling in front of our eyes. Ah the joys of restoring historic homes!
Thanks. I certainly couldn't make it any WORSE than it was. Ha! :)
Thanks Christine, I will. I already took my before and during pics of the retaining wall. They should be done in a couple of days and I will have my "after" pics.