My new clematis

I was at Wal Mart yesterday & of COURSE I had to scour the nursery for possible purchases, LOL, when I see the rack with the 3 to a box dormant Clematis roots marked down to $2.50, so of COURSE I had to get a couple of boxes for my mom, when what should I see on the next isle? Yep, a gorgeous (well, potential to be gorgeous) clematis that looks alot like the Florida Sieboldii that I have been lusting after for a couple of years. It was $16.95 and believe me, I have NEVER paid that much for a plant in my life that I can recall, but I managed to justify it when I saw that there were 2 plants in the pot. LOL
They were all wrapped in ornamental paper and the water could not escape, so I am really hoping that being so waterlogged will not cause permanent damage, but they have a 30 day return, so I figure if it is gonna croak from the water, it will do it by then.
Isn't she a beauty? I know the flowers look a bit ratty right now, but I can envision her in good health and glorious! (The tag helps me with that. LOL)
Donna

My favorite clematis!
mine died
not sure what I did to it
but now you have me thinking about checking walmart for another

Oh do! Maybe you will get to them before they all die of waterlogging. LOL
I had told the nursery manager about the water & he said they forgot to slit the paper. I have to go back today to return a patio table that has a crack in it, so I will look to see if they slit them or not. Makes me sick when nurseries let plants die because of something so preventable!
I did see on the tag that these were bred for indoor growing and if you plant them outside, it must be a sheltered shady spot. And an odd thing, it said to feed it with an acid fertilizer. I always feed my clematis regular fert and it made me think perhaps I had been doing it wrong. I looked it up & nope, regular fert is correct. So I wonder what the deal is with this one?

I had mine in the GH for the winter
it died the next spring
maybe it was too sunny in the GH....
I had it in a hanging basket up top......

Chances are they won't be at my walmart
Ours get such BORING stuff

LOL, it's called "Wal Mart envy". I suffer from it too. Seems like everyone gets the coolest stuff at theirs & I am JEALOUS! lol

You found an incredible Clematis for a fraction of it's normal price! Don't worry about the blooms, it will put out more once you've repotted it into a larger containerl. I wouldn't worry about the roots sitting in water for a while. As long as they look healthy and aren't brown or mushy, they should be okay. With some t.l.c., good potting soil & fertilizer, you will be able to enjoy the blooms of the magnificent Clematis for years to come!

Thanks Shirley, what do you think about the info on the tag saying to feed it an acid fert?

Very nice!! I tried to order the F. seiboldii just the other day, and Wayside is out of them. So are several other companies that had them...
It does look an awful lot like it!
Good for you!
Waaahh! Why didn't MY walmart get those?? lol...
-T

Yours may still get them, Taylor. You will have to stake out the Wal Mart nursery. LOL
I have seen TX people saying that their wal marts have already gotten in the little 2-3 inch pots of Clematis and mine hasn't! Seems like they would be here if you all have them! Oh hey, I just realized, my son is in TX right now! I should have him head to a wal mart & tell me what they got! LOL Boy oh boy, I am slippin! He called me earlier & said he was at a place that had seeds for TX Bluebonnets and did I want some. I think I trained that boy right. ;~)

I have a clematis book that states the sieboldii is not cold hardy Crestedchik, so don't feel that you killed it. It's just not winter friendly.................

Sandy

wow, that one is a beaut!!! I will have to add it to my want list.

Donna-
Yes, we've had other clematis for weeks, now, but nothing that pretty!
Although I'll admit, they actually got some that were not the same ole, same ole ones they usually get...Actually a few different ones, but not that one...
I'll definitely keep my eye out for some...
-T

Yeah I'm with seedpicker......I thought Walmart and Home Depot were box stores? How come you got cooler clematis than we did. I'm jealous.

Dang California gets everything........good weather, great soil and now good clematis!!!! lol!!!

Oh I didn't leave it outside...
It was in the GH all winter,heated,happy,blooming......it didn't die till spring just before I started taking stuff out
I'm pretty sure its only good to zone 7

Shebear, by "box store" do you mean they usually only have the dormant roots in boxes? I have never seen anything but dormant at HD, but wal mart always has live plants, not many big ones, but trays of the little 2-3 inch pots that are covered in stretchy purple netting and I have been seeing posts that TX WMarts have already got those! So I am jealous of YOU! hehehe
We are so bad, "grass is always greener" aren't we? HA

Crestedchick, your right, the back of the tag did say zone 7-10.

No by "Box Store" I mean it's like the CVS ad where they drive in the already built store and just open the doors.

Now I know that's not how they do it but I thought they were supposed to carry the same stuff pretty much everywhere. I go to 5 different Home Depots and Walmarts and Lowes in the Dallas area and none of them have the same stuff or have the stores done the same way. I thought that was the whole idea behind the "box store mentality".

And another thing......did you know the prices at McDonalds vary on location.......hmmmmm!

Hmm, interesting. Thanks for the explanation.