I realize 'Sweet Autumn' is type 3 and should be pruned back hard in late winter, but a gardener friend told me to leave it alone. So I did, and its second season (let's call the plant A1), it came up a little less vigorous, but it was still extremely bushy and floriferous, and it seemed to be growing on some of the old wood.
The third season nothing happened with A1, so in late May, I dug it up and removed all the previous season's dead foliage from the fence. In late August, I purchased three new Sweet Autumns (B1, B2, and B3) and planted them in the same location.
This spring there was no sign of life from the three Bs. They had died back to below ground level, so there was nothing to prune. Did they not have enough time to harden? I don't think we had a frost until at least November, so they were in the ground for at least 3 months, and I never fertilized them.
This spring, I bought two more. But instead of digging up the dead Bs, I gave C1 and C2 new homes in the same location.
And then -- just this week -- I noticed one teeny tiny shoot emerging from the ground from the supposed dead clematis (B1). There is still not one sign of life from the other two Bs.
So I have two (new) vigorous and fast-growing ternifloras planted 2-3 weeks ago, and one struggling plant from this past fall whose shoot is about a inch high.
When I planted all of them, I made the holes deep and wide with plenty of compost mixed in, and last fall, at the recommendation of the nursery owner, I amended the soil with a little lime. I watered deeply but conservatively because I read that these clemmies like to be on the dry side.
The have a northeast exposure along a chain-link fence I am trying to bury under plants. The clematis gets protection from neighboring shrubs and a dogwood and they seem to enjoy the late afternoon sun, which hits them from around noon to 3 before the sun dips below the tree line.
Am I doing something wrong? These are the only plants I have put in that do not seem to thrive, and I don't want to completely blame myself because the 200+ items I stuck in the ground last season are all doing very well.
I don't want to give up because this plant is so spectacular.
Advice needed on C. terniflora 'Sweet Autum'
terniflora, sweet autumn, planted in august should have been no problem in this zone to establish. same zone as me, so some clem experience in this zone. i have planted, moved, propagated from seeds adn cutting a lot of terniflora. and your experience would be every uncommon.
some of my big terniflora i give a hard prune to every other year, do a spring mini prune/clean up on the alternate year. this is because i want to have earlier blooms sometimes. but every other year, or every year the plant needs a good hard prune.
is this an area where weed killer of any type could have gotten on them? i get earlier blooms on the years i do the mini prune because it is blooming on old and new wood.
the baby seedling is probably just that, a seedling from your existing and first plant, vs a shoot form the root mass that did not come back up. an exisiting root mass in terniflora would be more vigorous. terniflora self seeds and a lot of them are just coming up now, esp in an area with some ground cover or shade on it.
you can take a semi woody piece of the initial plant and root some cuttings now, or layer the semi woody vines of the initial plant now, and also watch out for other seedlings in the vicinity that can be easily moved to you fence. i pull them up like weeds, pot them for friends, mow them, use weed killer on them. the terniflora is a vigorous self seeding species plant
i am not familiar with using lime and if it could have hurt the new plants. is there a prevailing soil condition that suggested you use it? have you used it before or do you use it extensively?
these are my questions and thoughts off the top of my head.
are you close to me in zone 5 b? i am in delaware ohio.
> the baby seedling is probably just that, a seedling from your existing and first plant, vs a shoot form the root mass that did not come back up. an exisiting root mass in terniflora would be more vigorous. terniflora self seeds and a lot of them are just coming up now, esp in an area with some ground cover or shade on it.
The shoot must be from the original plant, which we dug up early last spring (stupidly), and then put new plants down in August, but they never bloomed, and the growth was not very vigorous. I'll keep an eye on that shoot; I am quite interested to see what happens.
Today I did some reading about terniflora in the PlantFiles. I did not realize how invasive it can be in warmer climates, but I can't imagine that will happen up here in the Northeast. I never bothered to deadhead the spent flowers because I liked how the seed heads looked.
The roots of my new plants (and the shoot) get filtered morning sun, and the fence gets afternoon sun, but I keep the roots cool with mulch. I am experimenting with a C. montana 'Mayleen' on the same fence, and I am pleasantly surprised it made it through the winter. I also planted clematis at the bottom of all my downspouts, but I guess I thought they'd sucker up like ivy. Nope. I'm holding them in place with fishing line and twist ties until my downspout trellises arrive.
> is this an area where weed killer of any type could have gotten on them?
A couple years ago, I had a rhododendron borer problem, and we sprayed just the rhodies. But the shrubs were nowhere near the clematis.
Other than that one episode (and I'll have to bop over to the rhodie forum to ask about borers), the only thing I ever put in or near my gardens is Holly-Tone, Plant-Tone, and black rock phosphorus. And that one little bit of lime, but just once.
> i am not familiar with using lime and if it could have hurt the new plants. is there a prevailing soil condition that suggested you use it? have you used it before or do you use it extensively?
I used it because the nursery owner said Clematis likes a sweet soil. He's rather well known in this area for growing hard-to-find plants and is practically famous for his selection of Astilbe and Hosta. He also has one of the largest clematis selections I have ever seen (including the only montana that will grow up here). As for the lime, I used Epsoma, and I put in barely a sprinkle (~ 1 tsp per hole). He likely recommended it because the soil around here is very acidic, though I have yet to have my soil tested and definitely need to do that soon.
> are you close to me in zone 5 b? i am in delaware ohio.
I'm northwest of Boston and probably straddle zones 5b and 6a. Summers are hotter here than in Boston, but we get a HUGE amount of snow every winter. We're pretty much buried from mid December through the end of March.
ClematisGuru, thanks for the good tips on terniflora. I really love it and want it to do well this year.
I have not yet tried cuttings or propagation, but I will practice a bit with the Sweet Autumn. Both my left and rightside neighbors have chain link fences that I'd like to hide, so I could grow Clematis all over the place! I only wish it were evergreen.
As for pruning, I inspect the plant in late winter, and I have never seen any buds in March or even April. When it comes time to prune, should I just cut it back to about 12 inches from the ground, even if I don't see any green?
ok, lot of information above.
you hard prune it to the ground like a herbaceous perennial plant in the late winter. treat it like a coneflower or any similar perennial you let go in the fall and clean up in the spring. you can leave some vines 12 inches if you want. no real harm in that and they can be a framework for the new shoots to grow on as they reach for the fence. if you want it to self seed and propagate, do not clean the seedheads up,leave them on the plant in the fall thru the winter. you can collect some in the dormant season, late winter say and spread them where you want them..this might help the ramp up to full fence coverage.
put some polish spirit clems along the fence too. they won't propagate by seed (at east for me they do not) but after they are going you can layer the vines to create new plants. it would be pretty with the terniflora, it is a vitacella, purple flower, very vigorous.
doesn't sound like in issue with the lime. clems can take a variety of soil and ph....clay and heavy soil needs a lot of amendment with things to lighten it such as compost, vermiculite, sand, small gravel or horticultural grit of some sort. oyster shell from a feed store is good and inexpensive.
i have never seen a soil, or a site, terniflora will not grow in. i've had it sprout in a pile of wood chips. could suspect drainage problems, any clem root can rot, but if some are living, probably not that unless there are drainage issues along the fence in some spots and not others. good luck!
Thanks! I will look for the 'Polish Spirit'