Woohoo I think spring may finally be arriving here.....we have a whole week of sunshine starting today and the temps will be warmer than what they have been - hourray!!!
Here we go again!!!
Yeaaaa..sharkey..glad you did too!!..Jeanne
Was 80 here yesterday, only 30 hours or so after the 28 degree low.
Yes, Irwells50; that's our typical Southern's Climate. "Don't like the weather here? Give it a couple of days -- it'll change" LOL
I came out of it okay this time around, how about you Gary?
28 to 80 that is wild!
we have been hovering around 32 at night. sunny on days according to hubbie. i will not be on site to asses till the 15th in my garden, but it sounded like we were getting the normal stressful (for gardener) spring flux.
hope NC ok with the snow. can't get over the 28 to 80...just wild, tx!
Lily, how long has that clem been planted? It's beautiful. I'm trying to decide where to plant all these clems I have ordered and if any of mine end up that full one day, I need to do some prior planning. I'm currently trying to find some attractive, but economical, structures to put in the flower garden. But, I guess when they get that big, you don't notice the structure anyway.
It's also back up to 80 degrees here today after being in the low 30's the other night. Welcome to the South!!! Lily is right about the unpredictability of our weather, but I wouldn't trade it for what you people have to go through with all that snow. My hat is off to you. It amazes me how you get to do any gardening at all.
How close to a rose bush do you plant your clems when you do a combo?
Sharkey, I planted a group of clematis to this front border back in 2005 I think. The first year I propped them with a bamboo trelis -- which was a mistake. The bamboo disintergrate a season there after, so I replaced them with 3 wrought iron tuteurs. It get a bit filtershade. Later I added some small shrubs to the area just in case the vines want to 'spill over' which they did. lol. That's a gardenia bush in the area. :-)
This was back in May 2006:
Sharkey:
Plant your Clematis outside the plant host's drip line. Probably about 2 feet away. I always try to plant my Clematis on the North side of the host plant. That way the Clematis is shaded by the host and is more protected from the sun. Clematis love to have their "feet" (roots) in the shade, but the "heads" in the sun. I also planted the Clematis at a 45 degree angle so that the majority of the root ball comes in contact with the earth. Of course, amended your soil at planting time. Don't forget to hydrate your Clematis when you take it out of its packing material. Let it soak up water for a day before planting.
Good luck!
Ooops, Shirley, thanks for catching the question. I totally missed. Sounds advice.
No problem! Glad to help out.
Hey Guys, sorry for the delay in getting back. I think I faired okay Kim. It's hard to tell right now. Did loose a lot of new growth and leaves on most of my Japanese maples. And some hosta's but my Clematis all look to be okay.
We ended up with four inches of snow and temps to 26. today it was 71.
these cold to hot temp swings are radical. we have not had such a radical swing and i think for me in zone 5 it is all part of the normal transition from winter to spring.
4 inches is a LOT of snow! guess with those day time temps it melted quickly.
almost into the season and can not wait!
This spring has definitely been interesting to say the least....this time last year we had some greenery on the trees...nothing yet at this point....grrrr!!!!
Global warming is screwing us all up!!
here is a nelly moser from last year since i don't have any pics this year yet.....
Lily, which variety is the large dark purple? I love it! Beautiful photo, by the way.
Shirley, thanks for the advice about planting with roses. I've been wondering about that, as quite a few threads mention roses w/clems. After seeing photos of such mature root systems of clems, I wasn't sure how safe it was to plant near a rose.
I just received my first shipment of clems I ordered. This one from Brushwood. It only took 5 or 6 days from the time I ordered and they are very healthy-looking plants, although not as large as those I will be getting from Silver Star or Dave. I should receive two more deliveries on Monday. This is SO exciting. The entire time I was working in the yard today, I was trying to plan where these beauties are going to live.
Sharkey,
I wished I've marked all my clems. Not many, but I started them out without good marking. In the area, I know I've 'Henryii' , 'Earnest Markham' 'Jackmanii' 'Ville de Leon' and Nelly Moser' The large purple flower could be the president? It's difficult to get them I.D. since blue and purple are hard to capture in photography. The large purple one is full of buds at present. Maybe I can get its identity confirmed once and for all. So hang loose, I'll send your the answer later. Good luck with your planting.
Sorry Gary for hijacking your thread.
Kim
No problem Kim. Lets keep it going! Love hearing about everyones garden.
My apologies as well, Gary. Now that we are having beautiful weather, it's nice not to have to talk about floods and freezing temps here.
Here's Nelly Moser in my garden right now.
Doss, if we had a contest, the award will go to you!!! One word, no make that two "Prolifically gorgeous"! Congrats.
Whoa Nelly! She's beautiful!!
It's a very old vine. Well over 10 years at least, probably more like 15.
...likes fine wine; the older they get, the better they become. Or is that like ... women, the older we get ... Oh wait! Likes gardeners...the more experience we gained, the better we become. LOL
LOL Speaking of the better they become, I can see that the grass next to the clematis could use a little hair cut.
Yep, we can all count on it. It's time to mow the lawn. We, well hubby mowed ours this afternoon, before the weather turned for the worst, but we came out okay....
Who would like to guess which of our clematis back view is this? Clues, it's light true blue in color. It's 2nd or 3rd early bloomer in the garden beside Nelly and Dr. Ruppel. :-)
love guessing games. i am nyc with no books and no time, but based on the early bloom period (altho a zone difference form my season)...but in my area it would be possibly an H F Young
Wow, you've earned your tittle of CG! LOL. Terrific! Right on!
COOL
but it was your comment about the "light true blue color" and the early time of bloom that gave it away for me, as well as the fact i always check out the backs of my clems..but it has been over a year since i had the pleasure of inspecting an hf young. it is one of my fav clems!
I love them, General Skikoski (?sp) is another true blue, but a darker shade of blue that I love. Most other claims to be blue, are actually purple shades that I've seen thus far (in person).
so what was the outcome/damage of the snow in NC?
got in late last night and did a tour this morning. coffee, nippers, lever loops in hand. took over an hour. checked everybody. no damage i'd say from the weather here. everything looks vigorous except for the handful not showing yet. some vitacellas i put in last fall have not appeared yet, but i think they will. we are popping on weather this week to 60's/40's and that will bring it on. i timed my trip right i guess.
lemon bells showing with multiple shoots and same with pamela recta. wish flammula was, worried about her in general, not from the last blitz of weather.
anyway, the march to blooms continues....hope same for you in NC
Yes, Gary, how's thing going for you?
Hey guys. So far things don't look to bad. Lost a few buds on some Clematis, a couple of hosta's and the leaves on the Japanese Maples got bit but are starting to re-emerge.
Where have a frost watch out for tonight, just my luck/ LOL
we were down to 30 last night, but it was so warm yesterday and sun i can call that frost. guernsey cream is loaded with flower buds now so i will be watchful. i have 4 areas with guernsey cream,. some 5 to 6 feet tall, there is no way i can give protection. fingers crossed. durandi has a bud, but i may prune it back, just seems too early for that to be going on.
good luck, NC sounds so warm compared to here, but who knew such a late spring. my jap maples are not even really sprouted yet, just budding up. guess you are ahead of our curve but still getting the cold temps.
Glad to hear from you Garry. It's time to get our gloriosas back out door! Yes!
Funny you should say that Kim, was just thinking I would do that today. But I think i will wait till the first week of May until all dangers are of frost are over for us.
37 degrees last night, will be 60 today. peachy garden weather. we will be digging holes for new clems expected in may today, and i will continue fertilizing and obsessively checking all the clems ( a main activity it seems)
the snowstorm in colorado on the news is 3 ft icy and i am wondering how our web buddies out there are doing with their clems and wether they are staying warm. (themselves)
Garry, I need to think of your garden in term of my dear friends who lives in Memphis Tenn. You're a whole zone cooler than where I'm. ^_^
The storm here has only covered one clem in snow. And the temps are staying right at 32. I think they'll be all right. They were just beginning to recover from the last bout of bad weather. It's supposed to be in the 70s next week, so I'm looking forward to better weather. I just planted out some rudbeckia, hostas, heucheras, and hakonechloa. I'm sure they'll be okay under their blanket of snow, but it's getting discouraging! I'm ready for summer!
revclaus, i was thinking of you when i saw the news this morning. we were 70 and sunny today, felt HOT and some of the clems looked saggy from their first hot day! rain expected tomorrow, which is ok with me. i did 8 hrs plus both yesterday and today in the garden. had a helper today and he dug 40 clem holes and ammeded the soil for me too. i don't think i have much arriving till first week may, but getting ready.......
good luck , i am sure it will melt right off?
YIKES! Snow in mid-April! I know you must be looking forward to the warmer temps next week.