I have my first bloom on a plant that is from Joy Creek and tagged "Gillian Blades". Every other photo I've seen of GB is practically pure white, but mine is blooming with a definite violet tint filtered through. Is this correct? The blooms have been damp from daily rain, so it does have more of a transparent quality to it than you might otherwise see.
http://www.gardenvines.com/shop/large-flowered-clematis-3/clematis-gillian-blades-96.html?334455
Here's one , that looks different, also has 8 pedals .
this one does seem to have a hint of violet on the edges too.
not sure if its the same
Sylvia
this one looks closer but no violet on the edges
http://www.gardenvines.com/shop/large-flowered-clematis-3/clematis-shirayukihime-197.html
Sylvia
Ahh, okay. thanks GC. I must have only seen photos of Gillian Blades for mature blooms before. I didn't realize it had a blue tint when it first opens. I'll wait until it matures a bit more and take another look. I appreciate the time you took to give an opinion. You're tops! =)
I just looked at the photo for this on Joy Creek's website and it has six sepals, but all the other photos I've seen of it have eight. Could they be selling the wrong plant as Gillian Blades? Or is it possible for the same cultivar to have varying numbers of sepals? (newbie here!)
I wondered about maybe it being a different cultivar
I noticed all the other Gillian Blades had 8 peddles but yours has six .
the closest I found with six was in the second link but ....... no violet.
I dont know for sure what you have .
What about the leaves? maybe that could help identify .
I dont think its Gillian Blades
Try Looking here
its a search site
http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-clempicsearch.cfm
Well, COTW has six sepals on Gillian Blades too... so I guess this is correct. The second photo they have posted looks like mine. Also, their description says "6-8" for number of sepals... so apparently it can vary afterall. I had no idea! =P
http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-clemdetail.cfm?dbkey=185
This message was edited May 28, 2009 12:27 PM
Ok maybe mystery is solved.
I saw many other pictures with ruffled pedals too so
that though me off ,
I know someone will come along and give you a definite
we have some smart cookies around here !
Sylvia
sepal count can vary and gillian does have a lavender and yellow cast. the wavy margin of gillian is very distinctive. this is gillian blades 09 from my garden.
I have noticed in different photos that I have taken of Gillian Blades, that although the plant my show a pale violet on the tepals, that sometimes the photos will show the flower as pure white. I think because the violet on Gillian Blades is so light, that the camera does not always pick it up.
I counted the tepals on mine because of your posting and I am finding anywhere from 6 to 8 tepals. I think your plant probably needs to mature some before you see the 8 tepals.
JoyCreek sends great plants, so I am sure you will be happy.
Thanks so much for the replies, everyone. I'm such a newbie to clems, I just didn't know the sepal count can vary.
pretty one carolyn.
sepal count can vary even with same year on same plant...margin always wavy on gillian. full sun bleaches blooms from pastel to white.
Carolyn, I see geraniums and ajuga growing under your clem. That reminds me of a question I had regarding planting over clems. Do they have trouble going through the roots for ajuga when emerging? Do you thin out around the clem stems or just let it naturalize? Thanks again for any info! Ev
blissful, i grow ajuga in the vicinity of some, also lysmachia, vinca and sedum the same in other areas. i keep a 12 inch approx circle free of the groundcovers around the base of any clem. this helps the soil retain mositure, keeps out weeds and looks nice. but i do no t let it enroach closer to the clem...
Ev
Here is a different angle that better shows my Gillian Blades. As you can see, there really is quite a bit of room between the obelisk and the Lady's Mantle and May Night Salvia. I do have mulch down, which helps me with moisture and to keep the weeds down. There really is alot more spacing - at least right now, than the other picture showed. Things will grow more as our growing season progresses to fill in those gaps, but you can tell by looking that the clems did not have to grow up through anything.
I do have some clems that have hostas and Korean bellflower at the base and some other clems that have bishops weed growing at the base, but I have not had any problems with any of those clems growing up and through in the spring. I do think that hostas, campanulas and bishops weed are not as dense growing plants as ajuga and some of the other ground covers.
Carolyn
i have good success with the ground covers by only keeping the 12 inch real estate of the clem free of it! i do this by pulling handfuls out if they get too close to the clem's real estate, as i fertilize or nip and tuck on the plants. i have some near hostas, and it works fine, but be vigilant for slugs because slugs love both hosta and clematis! hostas attract slugs, but they can be prevented and controlled in my zone, alto i know some property has more of a slug control issue than i do.
for area with bad slug issues, i would not put hostas near clems. new cultivars of hostas such as Sum and Substance hostas also carry virus's from holland . i have no info that those virus can move to clems, but it is something to keep in mind.
the hostas i have near clems are older varieties. planning to research this more , just haven't gotten around to it. too much time in the garden!
Ah, thanks for all that info! The way I have the clems planted on the fence (dubbed "the Clem Wall"), I was hoping to find some kind of trailing ground cover to put in the flue liners with them... as much to beautify as to shade the clem roots. I wouldn't have 12 inches to spare though with that, so I guess I will have to rethink that idea.
We don't have a problem with slugs. The problems will start in another month or so with those horrible japanese beetles. I just hate them. I was going to try some of those beneficial nematodes this year to see if they would take care of the dang things.
Just curious...if you were to plant clematis along a fence and the sun shines on them all afternoon...would the roots move to the other side of the fence for the cooler feel? I have a lot of mine on a fence that get fulll sun all day but on the other side of the fence is my neighbours yard and often wondered if the roots go towards the shadier area?
dawn, i think the "roots in the shade" should not be taken so literally. the roots will not move to another side of a fence. if they did you would then eventually see shoots of the clem coming out over there. the metaphor is meant to say that clems look better with garden design covering the lower area sometimes and that they also like a cool, deep root run...i have seen thousands of clems in full sun with little ground cover...if the clem is planted properly and watered optimally the roots do not have to be shaded.
that said, most of is like arranging the display of plants with some low horizontal interest as counterpoint to the vertical visual of the clem. and this helps cover browning bottom leaves and adds off season interest too.
groundcovers and small plants, help keep moisture in the soil as do mulches.
i frequently use small boxwood plants as frontage for clems, moving them when they starting getting too much size on and putting small ones in again. while they are growing i trim the back side is there is plenty of air around the clem.
ad i have mentioned other ground covers i use successfully to detail the landscaping in an area with clems as part of the whole look, feel,hydration and erosion control.
Thanks again Guru......that is very interesting about the root information.....Here I was always so worried about having the root area shaded or covered......
