You probably hear me say,"I am so taken with this Clematis!" Many times but seems like they all do that to me one time or another in my gardens...Today Clematis "Venosa Violacea" is just beginning to open everywhere...this is Year 2 for her..if this is what anyone wants to give the moniker "Creep" year then somebody is gonna have to sedate me in "Leap" year...Jeanne
I planted another one this year and after seeing this I really think I am going to have to add more area for it to climb!!
think this is so special...Clematis "Spooneri" is still putting out buds...gotta get a pic when they are open together...
I rescued this one last year and have still not decided on the name...wanna take a stab at it??..
Come out!! Come out!!...Where ever you are!! I spied Clematis "Hagleys Hybrid" in my climbing Rosa "Zephy"!!
Clematis "Claire de Lune"
Jeanne
They are beautiful. Almost feel as we should start a Clematis Addiction Group meeting.LOL Could your little rescue be a Ernest Markman (more than likely mispelled).
They really are all wonderful but of course I'm partial to Claire as she's a real show stopped in my garden. I will soon have blooms on my Flordia sieboldii as it has lots of buds. It's not supose to be hardy in my zone but this is the fourth year and it does just fine. Go Figure.
Gary
Gary..no she definitely isn't "Ernest Markham"..I have two of him..here he is..well, sign me up for the addiction club...'cause I'm a gonner..LOL..Oh yea, and I have "Claire" planted with my climbing Rosa "Don Juan" ..she has climbed up and has some buds at top getting ready to open..so I hope Don Is still blooming when she does..cause I think it's gonna be sumptin'...I've been leaning towards calling her "Niobe"..just not sure...Jeanne
Niobe was my second choice. What ever she is she's a keeper.
Thanks Gary..here is my Niobe for comparison....of course this is a baby..just planted it last spring
Wow Jeanne, I hope mine grow up to look like yours. I have one that looks like your Claire, but not labeled. I thought it was Blue Moon tho. I have to get some perm. markers!! LOL
Here's mine.
Baja,
The Claire is also called by the common name Blue Moon. That's a Claire De Lune you got there.
I totally agree with Gary...your clematis is "Claire de Lune"...some still call it "Blue Moon" but they are one in the same..yours is very pretty...this is only year 2 for Claire and she is already 6 feet tall...I am so excited!!
Hot-Diggidy-Dog!!!!! One more name for my lost name plants!!!! Now, where are those perm. markers??? Where's that dang mail man???LOL
Jeanne,
Your clematis vines are beautiful. The 'Claire de Lune' is especially lovely. Had not seen that one before. Barb
You all talk fancy in those warmer zones - just wait until MY clematis blooms (if it came back and if it's even sleeping and if one of my kooky kids lets me borrow her digital camera and if I can figure out how not only to take pictures but to upload them successfully)! I'm just jealous, can't you tell? Beautiful flowers, everyone!
xxxxxxxxx, Carrie
Here's my Claire in plantfiles
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/122508/index.html
Beautiful, Jeanne. Are you sure it's not Niobi?
Ok, you people are scaring me.
I want to venture into growing a clematis. There are many, many to choose from. They seem so mystical, and then, in reading everything I can to learn about them, I discover I'm tampering with yet another addiction possibility.
So they flower the year after you plant them? The type 3? What's the best purple for a beginner? Is anything evergreen?
Depending on the size of Clematis you buy..they will flower the first year...for a beginner..I highly recommend "Polish Spirit"...That bugger grows like a weed and is so dependable and blooms like mad..a wonderful Pruning Group 3...Jeanne
Beaker..I am 99% sure it's Clematis "Niobe"
What a great show you have going on there, Jeanne. Is there a way to tell which type your clematis is just by looking at it?
A great site for researching is:
http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/
Then you can click on search and fill in the needed information to find those that are similar and pick out yours...To me pertinent information for identifying a clematis are:
The color of the Sepals(Flower Petals)
The color of the Bar
The color of the connectives
and finally the color of the anthers (The bushy part in the center)
many clematis can look similar and those really help you to pin point what you have..so when taking a picture to post make sure it is up close of the flower to show these attributes...Hope this helps...Jeanne
Here is my Clematis "RoseMoor" that I planted from bare root three years ago..I had only one bloom last year and this year I have several coming..so this is so exciting to me...I actually got one from bare root to survive..LOL...Jeanne
of course we just had a rain and will share more when more have opened..love this one!!
4paws, I started with a Jackmanii about six years ago. It's not a large flower, but it's so prolific it makes up in quantity what it doesn't have in size. I cut mine back about 3 or 4 weeks ago and there are so many stems, it would be impossible to count. It will be loaded this year. Debbie even advertises it as a great beginning clematis.
Personally, I think Venosa Violacea is even better than Jackmanii...another Pruning group 3 that is very floriferous and long blooming and so easy to grow....Jeanne
Not only a "Vivid" purple but the white bar is truly florescent looking and just makes that one POP...
What do the vines look like when they are done flowering and they've gone dormant? Do the dead vines have to stay up all winter?
No, I cut mine down and they look like this on my pruning group 3s till they start budding out again in Spring...Jeanne
Do NOT cut the vines down until spring! You can kill off your clematis if you cut them back in the fall. Why? I'm sure I read the reason somewhere, but can't remember (another senior moment). They don't look that bad during the winter. It adds interest and a place for the birds to hide out and keep warm.
The Venosa Violacea is a beauty, but I bet it is not for my zone. I'm going to go check. If it is, you can bet I'll have it very soon!
Jeanne, the picture of the vines coming up, is this a fairly new plant? The reason I'm asking is because my Jackmanii has 8 or more times that many coming up. It's fairly well established and was not pruned until just a few weeks ago.
I found the Venosa Violacea at Debbie's and it is good for my zone. I've aleady sent her an email and asked if she had one available that I could add to my order. Talk about impluse buying. I wonder why I didn't notice it before?
Jeanne: All your Clematis look fantastic! I especially love "Venosa Violacea". This one will even do well in a shadier location. "RoseMoor" looks gorgeous with its dark red sepals against your light colored brick. Good contrast!
Beaker: It's easy to over look a Clematis because there are so many wonderful ones on Debbie's website!
Breaker...yes you don't prune your 3s until they are dormant..that is a pic of Venosa Violacea when I pruned it back in February...it is new ..I Just planted it last year..so this is year 2..you will get more vines each year as the plants mature...thanks Shirley, that is one I started from bareroot and it is "creeping" along this year..LOL
So JeanneTX, when does the jackmanii lose it's leaves in the fall?
4 Paws..here in Texas the leaves on my clematis turn brown around January...
I heard from Debbie today and she has the Venosa Violacea. All my clematis from her will be here on Thursday. I took the day off tomorrow and will dig the holes and hope it won't rain again until after I get them in the ground. I'm also waiting for clematis from several other vendors. I just can't wait until they are all really blooming well. Probably next year for the ones from Debbie and two years from now on the rest.
I think I'm pretty much at my limit on clematis in the back yard. Although I do have one whole side of my garage that would be a north facing wall. I could probably sneak in a half dozen or so there. Shirley, would the Venosa Violacea do well on a north wall? I was going to plant ir next to Jackmanii, but if it does well and blooms well in a shady location. Maybe I'll put it over there.
Next year, I'll start on the front.
Jeanne, that's not so long to look at brown leaves. I don't know why I'm afraid to leap into clematis - don't want to fail!
Clematis really aren't that difficult. I don't have access to compost or manure and mine do just fine in their peat enriched beds. I give them a little rose food whenever I feed the roses and I make sure I keep them well watered. Have perennial or annual plants to shade their roots and then all that's left is to enjoy.
BTW - Just because you kill a plant off, doesn't mean you have failed. Hopefully, you will learn from that experience and the next time you'll be more successful. And maybe you will kill off a half dozen plants before you get it right, that's OK. Personally, I think I've learned a lot more from my first time failures than I have with my first time successes.
4 Paws...don't be afraid to try Clematis or fail...alot of people do until they learn the needs of this plant...just remember that they love to stay moist...to always plant them deeper so they will !!...Give them Rose Food and pruning is so easy once you understand that...
Breaker..My "Venosa" is in an area where it is shaded in the morning ...lots of sun during midday and shaded in the afternoon..so I think yours would do well there as well..Clematis in my opinion are like Roses in many ways...they need at least 6 hours sun and some can flourish in a bit less....Jeanne
Are you guys contacting Debbie by phone? I'm not haveing much success through emails.
Debbie
Debbie..what Clematis are you looking for?..Jeanne
