ok... clematarians, note that photos are fewer and the excitement of 2008 season waning. let's share "why didn't i" and why did i" lessons from 2008 now.....example to get the ball rolling....
why did i get caught up in the early spring mania and think that 10 cent gladiolous bulbs were a nirvana for the base of clematis?...after stuffing 500 of them into nooks and crannies near and around clematis...well, some months later i am pulling them out pre bloom as their gaudy flopping habit is driving me crazy. remind me next year to remember that liatris (gayfeather around here) is a thrifty and perennial base distraction for clematis that never fails to please?
another example..
note to self....how could i forget that to not label clematis the same second you put them in the ground is a cardinal sin that you never absolve?
i am sure there are some good lessons and tips already gleaned form 2008 that we will enjoy and note for future reference.....
let's hear your "best of"and"never again " lessons from 2008 so far to tide us over as summer heat takes over.
2008 early post mortem
Ha ha, excellent topic, niobe!
Why did I think that placing a brand-new clematis 'Ice Blue' right beside and behind a plant that eventually hid it completely was a good idea? It got a bad case of clematis wilt and is now just a bare dirt spot. The two blooms it produced did look nice with my established 'Etoile Violette' clematis, while they lasted.
Fortunately, I planted it in a pot and can easily move it. I hope it will return next year.
well, we never quit learning. i have one to move from spring 2008 that i put in a totally poor spot where it struggled and then disappeared. it will be back, but if i thought it through i would never have put it where i did..now i have to move it. at least yours is in a pot!
I have to wonder why I planted all my clematis this past spring next to stuff that would grow bigger and wider than my clematis that now cannot be seen at all!! I will be spending my fall and winter moving quite a few plants. Oh and I have already lost the markers for most of them so why did I not figure out a better way to mark them so I would know which ones I have.
yes the marker lesson. i learn it every year!
and again the next!
Ditto the marker lesson, and I never seem to learn that when I say "I won't forget what I planted there" means that I will forget, and not just over the long winter, but sometimes the next day.
I made a couple of major changes to the garden this year and got so involved in planning and moving that completely forgot to fertilize this spring, and didn't remember until it was too late.
And I thought I was the only one who couldn't remember what I planted where. Thank you for making me feel just a tad better on that. I must say though, I have been using the journal on this site to keep track of stuff that I've been planting this fall. That's my new resolution ... know what's planted where.
As for 'what I should have done in 2008' --- I had some landscaping done. I truly didn't care what they put in I just told them I wanted 'easy to care for' and 'lots of color.' Now I wish I had paid more attention to what they were planting and gotten the exact information. I have cone flower, shasta daisy and some black-eye susans that will be seeding soon and I would love to use them to trade, but I can't tell anyone what the cultivar is. Same with coreopsis.
The redeeming thing for me is finding this site and getting excited again about raising plants from seed. I used to do that all the time, then went several years without any kind of garden (condo living) and now I'm in a house again. The past couple of years I've just put out a few tomato plants and a couple of pepper plants. I'm fired up again, and will be expanding the garden area to make room for more plants and veggies next year. I plan to make a trip to Lowe's tomorrow to get the PVC materials to build a light stand; I found a coleus on the 'help me, I'm dieing' shelf at Lowe's today for 50 cents. I'm going to experiment with Tigerlily123's instructions on taking cuttings from coleus and rooting them.
I have three new clematis' that I planted about a week or 10 days ago. So far so good. I followed niobe's suggestions on setting out new plants and I'm sure that's the reason for the success.
What a great resource this site is. I've been telling everyone that will listen about it.
everyone goes thru the evolution of planting, and moving plants and dividing plants and etc etc.
a fun thing is giving away perennials when we tire of them or they are soooo overgrown. (you dig em).....
another thing i re-learned this year ( i am a slow learner sometimes) is to prune right after blooming. i waited too long on some of my plants because they looked better than usual(and i had plenty of other chores) after blooming, then i realized it was too late to get a good second blooming. the plants that i told the initiative on, are blooming now and look very fresh.
lesson for me today. don't order a lot of clems for fall without realizing the work to prepare holes and plant. i am excited about my delivery but have a boatload to do to get ready....maybe i was to greedy with that sale price at chalk hill, not i pay the real price..the prep. i think mine are coming on monday.
on top of the tail end of ike clean up going on , end of summer feels like spring.
I am afraid to call and ask when mine are scheduled because even if it is a month from now I will not have time to prepare the 24 holes i have to dig along with all of my other I am bored summer orders that have already started to arrive. Greedy? Yes I was.....
glad i am not the only one with this feeling! trying to find the joy as i procrastinate yet again!
As a new clematis fanatic:
Don't purchase small clematis in 3.5 inch pots and expect them to survive in the ground.
Don't purchase clematis in 3.5 inch pots ... period. Stick with reputable nurseries that don't charge you an arm and a leg for less than acceptable plants.
Clematis roots run deep ... best to avoid starting anything in a pot that you plan to put into the ground later (unless its a clem in a 3.5 inch pot, then you're stuck between a rock and a hard place).
Give new clems a head start before the bugs wake up ... plant in the fall or as early in the spring as possible.
Begin your bug control program early in the spring ... and kill the darn earwigs! They'll devour your babies before you know what has happened.
Water the base of the plant, not the foliage. It's easier to prevent PM than it is to treat it.
When you have more clems than I do .... keep track of their names, LOL.
Clems are actually really tough plants. They've survived ME (so far).
Thanks again for all your expert advice everyone.
Great advice angln! i think people think clems are hard to grow mostly because of the small plants sold that barely have a prayer surviving without expert care and being grown on in the pot for awhile before being planted out.
of course,they do have their tricky side and habits.......
and yes, the labeling..keeping up with it saves a lot of time later trying to identify our plants!