Winter is coming!
What do I need to do to my Nelly Moser and
Vyvyan Pennell? Prune? Cover?
They've done beautifully since they were planted this May.
I live in zone 5 (Waterloo Ontario) with windy, cold, snowy weather. I'm a complete newbie so any help is appreciated.
Winter care question
Clematis survive positively well in zone 5..don't do anything except mulch them for winter..come next Spring you can hard prune them like pruning group 3's to revitalize their roots and make them stronger plants
Hi JeanneTx. Can I mulch mine with leaves for the winter, or is it better to use something else? I've never mulched my 3 existing Clematis, but have two relatively new ones (1 year old roughly) and from what I hear it may be a hard cold winter up here this year (Indiana) so want to be sure they're well protected if need be. Thanks!
Leaves are wonderful..they will break down and give such delicious food for your plants next year...Jeanne
i am in zone 5.
i start building leaves up around clematis plants and shrubs as dormancy sets in. however, in spring remove all leaves from around the clematis. moist deciduous leaves that have not yet broken down can form a wet layer, or barrier, in the spring that actually keeps moisture and nutrients from absorbing down in to the soil. excessive leaves composting right around the plant also disturbs nitrogen balance of the soil.
remove them after they have down their job for the winter and add them to a real compost pile or place them on the ground in an area where they can breakdown into smaller pieces over time.
if you use shredded leaves in the fall vs the whole leave this is probably not necessary as the smaller pieces will break down without forming that barrier. and the smaller pieces, which break down much faster can be easily mixed in to the soil to mitigate the risk of nitrogen imbalance.
however, easier way is to use the leaves in the winter and remove down to bare ground in early spring.
nelly may be hardier than vivyan pennell, which if i remember correctly blooms first on old wood so it needs more wind protection to protect the stems which produce the first blooms from damage.
good luck with your clematis journey!!!!!