I've not grown clems before. Mine have started to bloom and now some of the petals have dropped leaving little fuzzy things which are interesting and kinda neat. Should I cut those off so more blooms will form?
thanks,
Judy
Dead head clem blooms
judy, it depends on the type of clem. but even a type 1 can be deadheaded if you prefer a clean look. some folks like the seedheads and their unique beauty. certainly if it is clem that may come back and bloom a second time, deadhead and more by pruning the plant and fertilizing immediately.
all clems need fertilizer immediately after blooming.
during a profuse blooming period it is good to deadhead, as it signals the plant to keep blooming, what the plant wants to do is go to seed and spread (even if it is hybrid that can not propagate by seed).....so deadheading keeps the plant blooming longer.
on some big clems this is possible at least in the beginning stages of blooming , but for clems with 000's of blooms not very realistic.
i usually leave the seedheads on type 1's, deadhead and prune back type 2's and deadhead type 3's in the beginning of bloom period, then give up and just prune back after blooming. for type 3's that i do not cut back and clean up after blooming, such as rubromarginata and terniflora the clean up of seedheads is in the late winter or early spring after hard pruning the plant as you would any herbaceous perennial to ready it for spring.
as with most things regarding clematis the answer is yes, no and maybe depending on the type of plant , what zone you are in and your gardening style.
What do you use for fertilizer???
i use GRO POWER brand , bloom and gro formula in the late winter and several times till bud formation. i use another formula after blooming and in the fall from gro power that is a balanced formula between n, p and k ...i am not at home right now and can not remember the name of that formula, but it is easily available at High Country Gardens on line if you can not find it locally.
Thank you so much!! I am new to Clematis's, but I have many other flowers. The only way I know how to grow is to live and learn. Learn from you!! Thanks!!
I carry around my pruner with me as I sip my coffee in the mornings and walk about my gardens...it only makes sense to deadhead clematis for if you want seed heads for planting then you don't but if you want your clematis to focus on growing and producing more blooms then you should for producing seedheads only takes energy away from your plant to create seedheads..that's just me...Jeanne
So these spent blooms produce the seeds? How long do you leave them on plant in order to get the seeds?
Peg
Peg...this site will show you a mature seed that is ripe for harvesting...Jeanne
http://www.bcollingwood.com/
Brian is brilliant with clematis and has created many crosses..
http://www.bcollingwood.com/seed.htm