I am looking for a clematis (not fussy here at all) that doesn't grow any taller than lets say 4-6 feet.....it would be in full sun. Have any ideas?
I need a recommendation
Dawn - this won't answer your question - (suggestions for names) but when I plant clematis and I want it to be a certain height etc., I just end the trellis where I want the height to be limited...then as the vine grows to the top I just send it back down the trellis..it all fills in nicely. If you find a clematis you really love --could you treat it this way?
Yes I suppose that is an option....does it do well that way? I never thought of that before.....
I was thinking of putting up a triangular type trellis in the middle of my gardens that is why I was looking for something shorter....I am guessing your way would work as well.
Thanks.
It works for me and fills in really well. I have a short metal trellis (you know the Home Depot usual... narrow at the bottom and fans out at the top) and it is about 4 feet tall. It fronts a stone porch and the trellis provides a backdrop for a water feature running in front - The vine just climbs up and when it overshoots the trellis by about a foot or so... I just send it back down..after a while it just does it own thing filling in the entire skeleton of the metalwork.
I did the exact same thing on my big one on the mail box. It's a short trellis like maybe 3 or 4 feet that fans out at the top but I let the vines grow kind of long then loop them over the mail box and it begins to go downwards covering the entire mailbox. It fills in a lot, & I jut put the vines where I want them to attach. I just cleaned it up the other day pretty good. Every year this thing puts on an amazing show like that.
Me too. I don't have room for tall clematises, so I do what they're saying. Here's a pic of my jackmanii when it starts back down.
In a local garden I saw clematis planted among the roses and the owners had made a tripod out of bamboo stakes and the clems were just scrambling over and around it - they were probably not more than 4 feet tall and they looked great. That way it is possible to have your clems in the middle of the beds instead of against walls. I have two obelisks in my front yard with several clems on both and once they reach the top they just fall over. Looks fine! Here is one of them last summer ( the clems are relatively new ) but early and later in the year the obelisk was covered.
Have you considered any of Raymond Evison's Patio Clematis? They are all short growing Clematis.
Thanks Shirley I will certainly look into those as well. I just couldn't remember what the were called until you mentioned it.....thanks.
I grow them too. I have Versailles and Rosemoor. They're currently outrunning their short trellises. Here's Versailles. It's supposed to be 2-3', but at the end of the season last year it had surpassed that. Here's a pic from June 2008.
Here's Rosemoor, another Evison "patio" clematis. It's supposed to be a short vine too. This is from June too.
Fancy, that's a great obelisk! Where did you get it??
Here's Rosemoor in September. [Edited to say that you can see the Versailles on the shorter trellis to the left, both outgrowing their trellises.]
This message was edited Feb 22, 2009 3:36 PM
Got it at a show a few years ago. I have another same shape, slightly different top which I found at a local garden centre. Sorry cant be helpful about sources! I like things that are a bit funky!
revclaus: Your Versailles and Rosemoor Clematis are beautiful! They really "pop" with color against your light colored brick.
Dawn: Your very welcome! Happy shopping! Please let us know what you finally decide on.
Well I guess if I can have the clematis growing back down the structure I might use Betty Corning....however that isn't going to stop me from looking for shorter varieties as well to put in different areas of the garden. Thanks for all your help everyone.
oooo, I like that one. Of corse I had to google to see what it was. lol I love how it looks downward.
betty corning is so vigorous, make sure you have room for it. mine is in a clem border along a fence and i have to rethink it, it just goes everywhere. so unless you really want to fill in an area i'd say approach with caution on betty corning. here is mine from 08 garden.
here is betty corning with durandi, in the same border as above. i see the shot i chose does not show how out of control it can get. truest me, it goes everywhere but i won't send you a messy photo showing that.
