I have Nelly Moser and Ramona keeping warm tonight in my gh. My first clematis!! I have two options for planting #1 all morning sun, #2 all afternoon sun, both against a 6' board fence. The 'afternoon ' fence would be subject to very cold winter winds from the north.
I definitly need advise for planting and pruning. Ramona is in bloom (2 beautiful flowers) and Nelly has about 5 fat buds and both are about 2.5 feet tall with roots visible at the bottom of their pots.
PLEASE DIRECT ME HOW TO PROCEED I am in zone 3b with a backyard surrounded with a 6' fence which should push it to zone 4 or maybe 4b (I'm hoping) Our climate is quite dry, even though it's raining out at the moment. :)
eagerly awaiting advise..........Albertarosey
Planting advise needed for Ramona and Nelly Moser
welcome to the clem forum albert. i will answer part of your questions. ramona needs full sun. nelly does and looks better in partial shade. the sun fades the color of the blooms and they also do not last as long in full sun.
as to all the buds etc, when you do plant them, they need to be pruned back and all that pretty stuff cut off. so why not enjoy them as they are or in a pot for awhile , then plant out and prune back when you do. i knwo how hard it is to whack all that beauty off.
enjoy!
dawn is on eof our candanisn clem experts, but she will weigh in here with some goof info for those of you "north of the border"
Thanks ClematisGuru
I was sad to see a lack of response when I logged on this a.m. but you saved the day!
The label for Ramona said 'sun/part shade' so now I don't know where to put my lovely Ramona as full sun is not much of an option in my backyard. Labels, you just can't trust them.
I f they have to be pruned after planting, how severe? right down to the ground?
One of my big concerns is soil preparation. Any advise?
Albertarosey
Welcome to the Clematis Forum, Alberta! Please understand that we are Clematis lovers from all over the world, in different time zones and therefore we respond to inquiries when we can and when we are not in the garden.
"Ramona" and "Nelly Moser" are both very nice Group 2 or Group B. They are mid-season bloomers. The darker colored Clematis bloom the best in full sun and the lighter colored Clematis do best in part shade, so that the sun doesn't bleach out their color. It's best to prune and fertilize them once they have finished blooming. Light pruning is recommended for Group 2 Clematis. They should NOT be pruned to the ground. Soil preparation should be done when you plant your Clematis. Dig a 2 ft. hole both wide & deep and add amended soil to the hole. Amended soil includes manure, compost and good potting soil. Also, I like to add bone meal to the hole, which aids in root development. Some gardeners don't like adding bone meal to the soil if they have dogs or cats that like to dig. Be sure to add more mulch around your Clematis to help retain moisture in the soil. Make sure that the mulch is not touching the Clematis vines as that may encourage fungal growth.
Let us know if you have any more questions. Best of luck!
Welcome Alberta! I am close to your zone. I am zone 4. I have had no trouble growing clematis at all. The others offered great advice....however I do find with our harsh winters that my Group 2's still need to be pruned back to a foot or two in early spring. I have Nelly Moser planted in mostly full sun and the other's are right - the flowers do fade....mine becomes almost white. One mistake I made when planting it. However the vine still does wonderful for me.
Here is a bleached out Nelly Moser LOL
Hi Jane! Sorry I missed your thread earlier! Since you have picked a couple of Group 2's / B's the problem you will have is that the old wood will winter kill most likely. B's bloom on both old and new wood so with the winter kill which usually happens around here you will not have as long a bloom season. I normally never grow Group B but I did break down and get Niobe last week at Cdn Tire. Talking with some folks at plant share yesterday who also have Niobe and they basically treat it as a Group C and just prune it back every year.
When you plant assuming you have plants with lots of growth which we usually see in the garden centres here please put the plant in the ground a couple of inches below the pot level. (Raymond Evison says top of root ball 5 cms down)This ensures you have some growing shoots under the soil just in case anything happens to the top growth. And yes you really should trim it down but thats hard to do when you know they will flower this year! I never do but the plants will be stronger for it as it gives them the opportunity to grow great roots. Actually just checking Evison he says prune down to at least 30 cms first late winter after planting but he lives in the Channel Islands so I dont know what time he is planting and growing conditions somewhat different there!
And ( again assuming you have plants with a lot of top growth) dont remove the stick that the stems are attached to . YOu will have to pull out the staples from the side of the pot but keep that stick in place as it supports the stem. You can also place the plant at an angle towards the lattice or whatever on which it will grow
Heres a couple of drawings from a little Clematis book by Rayond Evison
illustrating his planting technique
albertarosey, hope you have figured out what to do with all this great advice. are they in the ground? or are you enjoying those blooms first? you can always do a container if undecided and bring it in the harsh winter and think about where to put them next year.
Carol Many thanks for your imput. I haven't planted them yet as I'm enjoying their blooms and am sooo busy emptying the gh. I have found that I was a 'bit exuberant' in my seeding for the gh and in my eagerness I seeded far too early and far too much. Hardening off the plants has been a trial as the gh was full to bursting and hauling everything in and out was like trying to get a girdle on that fits too tight LOL. All new flower beds so I planted LOTS.
Clematis Guru I have a spot set aside for one of the clematis but am undecided about the second so I think I'll take your advise and pot the second and store for the winter. If potted do they get prunned back?
Thanks Folks for all your help..........Arosey
well, knowing the human element here, i'd say let em bloom then prune back...enjoy the, that's what flowers are for vs botanical "musts"...the plants ususally prevail in spite of us, like children.....but cut back and fertilize after blooming. do not fertilize so you will be able to enjoy the blooms longer.......