Sharkey..Hon, I've never planted Mandevilla with Clematis so I don't know?!?!..Please keep us abreast of how they do...the only reason I plant mine in those pots with the bottom cut out and sunk in the soil is to create a raised bed effect and the gardeners won't mistakenly pull it or weedwack it and for the look...Jeanne
Combinations !!
Hi Jeanne, just checking back in to show you the Bamboo with first blooms of Guernsey Cream. Will Goodwin will come next flush. this is a North Wall, very shady.
When these begin to open, they are tinted a bright green, then turn very creamy.
Soooo nice with the bamboo leaves. All the tiny shoots hold the vines nicely, secure in the wind. The Bamboo is about 45 ft tall and the vines are in a raised bed behind it.
What a great IDEA!!..I would have never thought to grow Clematis with Bamboo!!..Awesome..thanks for sharing...Jeanne
Soulja, that really looks nice!
Thank you. This makes me happier than just about anything.
(except if these creamy ones rebloom alongside bright blue Will Goodwin!)
I have many more "Combinations" budding up right now.
just waiting to be posted....
Here's a close up.
Really great idea and very lovely.
I'd love to copy you, but I'm afraid to plant bamboo - I've heard so many horror stories of how invasive it can be. Maybe in a pot....
YES, only in a pot. My "guys" put it in the ground with some steel barriers buried a foot deep, but I didn't trust it so I went and found this ceramic pot for a good price and I replanted it. When a new big shoot pops up, you just snip it at the base, some say pour round up into it, but I could never.... very easy to control.
So what we're seeing there is in a pot?
yeah, click on the picture to enlarge it. you can also see the happy vines in the raised bed behind there too. perfect drainage and shaded roots & dappled late afternoon sun.
Sure enough. I just didn't look closely enough. Sweet setup! I may have to try that.
thanks! I love it. Even regular people (non-gardeners) notice it. And this is a great thread. I plan on keeping it alive. Thanks all.
I have a question, I've been planting a number of Clematis with roses that grow about 8-10' . I now want to plant some New Dawn roses to go accross my 2 car garage (about 20'). Don't think they'll make it (and I can only plant on one side due to pavement issues). So I would love to do a Montana with it that would hopefully make it accross...problem is, I'm in NE Connecticut which is 5b (despite the 80 degree weather of late). Everyone seems to list the Montanas as 6...any chance one might make it in my area? Any other large clematis that would be hardy in my zone?
Thanks!
Here's rose Portlandia with Proteus. The rose bush is blooming for the first time this year so there aren't too many flowers on it yet. Portlandia smells like heaven too.
i just chanced and lost 3 Montanas over the winter here in 6B. But one beautiful Rubens survived and is thriving beautifully though.
I think the monster Sweet Autumn is hardy, smells great in the fall and is very abundant.
That is a lovely combination doss and that double flower is awesome!
So sorry about your montana's soulja. That must have been hard. I didn't realize that they were frost tender. Says that it's hardy down to zone 6 so you must have had a hard winter. I know that I've lost some plants that were supposed to be hardy down to zone 9a. Frustrating.
doss: Such a gorgeous combination & fragrant too! That's an added bonus!!
... what I wouldn't give for just one. more. zone, doss.
I think that Montana prefer less watering than other clematis..and can't be in a spot where they are too wet during winter..that has been my experience with them...Jeanne
Now that I think about it Jeanne, the one that Lived is in a raised bed nice and protected between 2 wood decks, with good drainage. However, tne other in that same situation died and the other two were sent to me less mature and died in the ground. One before Fall. Ah well the one I have is delightful. Here it is in the foreground of this "combination", consisting of two I just bought on the left sitting on the table.
Just curious, do you grow the Clematis that are pictured above in containers and then train?
those in pots right there on the table are new and just sitting there, smiling for the picture... but they ultimately went in the ground & are training now up against trellises or wire placed along the tall solid cedar fence. I don't grow them in pots unless the pots are just decorative, sunk deep in the ground and the bottoms are cut out. In my zone, they prefer to be in the ground unless they are in tall & wide raised beds with heavy mulch. or unless you wrap the pots in bubble wrap, which isn't too pretty. I'm finding all this out the murderously hard way....
The ones that are sunk into the ground in pots, do you leave them like that or dig them up in the Spring & remove the bottomless containers? What growing zone are you in?
I'm in zone 6 and yes if the pots are right for the spot, I leave them like that with the bottoms open. It looks deceptive too because the Clems get much bigger than it looks like they should in those small pots. For example, the pot for this one is wired to the tree:
and I made several of these all open on the bottom:
This is the set up for the surviving Montana,
I guess it likes it tucked down in there between these decks,
of course open bottom:
My montanas are both growing underneath the patio roof and they bloom very happily there. One is even on the north side of the house!
Great ideas, Soulja! Keep them comin'!
How did you get some of the bottoms off of the pots without breaking the entire thing?
A very complex and intricate method: Bash 'em! however strategically, with a hammer!
That's for ceramic & wood. I just cut the bottoms of those faux stone plastic pots with a box knife. If it's up against a tree or fence I leave some of the back part cut a little higher. Although from my little experience Clems roots go deep, not wide so much.
okay doss, what I wouldn't give for !!! 3 !!! more zones !!!
And thanks all, I got Snow Queen, Roguchi, Cezanne, Jackmanii, Venosa Violacea, Comtessa de Brouchard coming soon. And guess what, as The Guernsey Queen just bloomed out in the bamboo, (there are still a couple) My first Will Goodwin (powder blue) just bloomed in there! I wanted them to bloom together, but in succession is good too.
I purchased clematis from silver star vinery and they are huge, I planted them on the north side of the house. They will receive a few hours of late afternoon sun. however, I didn't realize that one area stays Moist. Should I remove that clematis and plant it somewhere that does not stay moist? I live in zone 6a. The clematis is Proteus. I'm new to clematis and this forum. I need your help!!!!!!!!
yes. they like to dry out somewhat for deeper rooting. The rootball may rot if it stays too moist. Good Luck.
oh wait you could always do the raised bed thing we're talking about and control the water a little more. here are a few more examples of raised beds around my big tree, which do well even though the roots below the beds are huge, there is still good drainage. Do this and you can have clematis anywhere. Many do well in shade and a few even prefer it!
Folks, you all have stunning clematis combinations, please keep posting!
Soulja, I love your raised bed idea. How did you assemble the stone slabs together? Did you water proof them somehow? I have some huge palm trees and their roots have made the soil rock hard, and I would love to plant some climbers around them like you did!
Fantastic! I'll definitely use the "BASH THEM" method on several large containers!
I also like your idea of raised beds especially around mature established trees, which already have extensive root systems. How far up the tree are you putting the chicken wire?
robcorriela: I just set the stones there and they're so heavy they just stay like that. I thought of cement but they really don't need it.
Shirley: As far as the ladder will reach. I just staple it onto the most forward protruding bark and try to train them into the crevices where I leave some open space behind the wire. I just planted a couple that have already gone at least 12 ft. up. I have similar kinds I keep spun sideways on low trellis fences along walkways. But they definitely prefer to go straight up.
(pardon me Jeanne as I am conscious that this is your combinations thread and I hope to have some very very soon.)
here's the back (west facing) side. excuse the lack of mulch. Some plants need to be raised higher like stinky's where it's wet. In this case Honeysuckle with an open bottom next to Pink Champagne which is fine in the ground because the hole between the roots was very deep before I filled it with good soil.
from the other side. several are group 3s so they're getting there.
a couple more zones and the combinations would be now apparent, but along this walkway you'll get: Arctic Queen, Cezanne, Ed. desfosse, Princess Diana, Purple Elegans, and Henryi. Along the right side I'm still deciding what goes there. At the end of the walk you'll see big Ernest, happy in full ground, full sun.
Soulja, thanks so much! You just solved a big problem for me that I had been struggling with for a few months!! So simple I can't believe it! I love it! Gosh you guys are all THE BEST, I've been learning so much here at DG.
Soulja,
This is a little off-topic but what kind is that magnificent huge tree you have your vines growing on? It is stunning -- at least the part I can see. I bet the rest is too. Those of us out west almost never see such a huge tree.
Betty
It's really an extraordinarily large American Elm tree that is so huge (18' circumference) it surprises even the arborists who come and try to allay my paranoia for another season. This thing sways like God's own Mop in a windy storm. We're investing in a cabling system this year because we're building bedrooms for the kids who will both be upstairs. It does occasionally drop some whoppers like the one giant chunk that busted up my newly built pergola last year. I had to rebuild the middle but at least I wasn't standing under it that minute.... Nevertheless, I love this tree.
That tree is truly special. And now I see you have 3 of them! You are so lucky to have American elms, still healthy. We have a few in Santa Fe -- near where I live. I love seeing them. Nothing like a tall, strong old tree.
I understand your worry about it or pieces of it falling. I had a couple of large old trees fall on my farm house in Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina. Repairing the house and removing the trees was costly, but I don't regret having those trees.
Congratulations on yours.