I want to plant sweet autumn in a container. My other clematis do well but their container is big enough to hold a tree. This would be more like a 15 inch pot. I don't want it to grow to be 20ft so that's not an issue. Think its roots will have enough room?
Clematis terniflora "sweet autumn" how big a container?
sweet autumn is very vigorous. it can take any abuse, even a small pot. if you are convinced you want it in a pot, i would put in the biggest option you have and make sure it has a support that is ample. it will leap from the support in any case and go onto deck rails, nearby shrubs or trees. it is hard to contain. let it naturalize in the fall and then in the late winter, prune it severely if you want later blooms. prune half of it severly and half of it lightly for earlier blooms on the old wood and later blooms on the new wood. this produces a longer bloom period than pruning all of the plant or non of the plant.
after a year or two you will be blessed with seedlings all over your property from the plant. these may be potted up and re planted or given away as you want. they can be left to naturalize when they pop up somewhere you want artful coverage like the side of an outbuilding, scrambling over logs or tree trunks or through other shrubs that may not be of high importance to you.
if it scrambles on shrubs you value, trim the plant back right after blooming to allow you base shrub to take a breather from it's green blanket. usually no harm done to either plant.
if you have a large yard or garden area, sweet autumn is fun in a zone with a dormant winter period and can provide very important landscape impact on a larger property in areas that may be wild or not rigorously maintained.
if you tire of trying to contain it to the paot after a year or two, you can then easily plant it in the ground, the roots are hard to disturb. transplant it after pruning in the late winter for best results.
Thanks for all the advice Niobe. I'll add it to my garden database. I'm in the city a pot it is all that little guy is going to get. I grow a V. creeper in about 6 inches of soil so I was hoping the sweet autumn would be just invasive enough to make it in a pot. Plants that can be a nightmare in the ground, can be a blessing in a container garden.
i bet it will be amazing. also consider polish spirit, a vigorous vitacella that blooms a bit earlier than sweet autumn with a nice purple flower. very vigorous. would also do well on a deck or terrace in a pot.
What a good idea! A Sweet Autumn, that is captive! I love it...
if you want something beautiful in a pot on a deck next summer, go to logees.com and order a thunbergia grandiflora. you can't plant it till about may, if you fertilize it it will be like the most amazing thing in your garden. an annual outside ,but well worth the price each year.
i no longer do deck pots, but when i used to, the thunbergia grandiflora, a huge blue bloom all summer, very floriferous and vigorous was a highlight. all form a 12$ plant form logees.
there is no clem with the color and beauty of this, let alone the one season growth and number of blooms!