Clematis: Clematis in shrubs, 1 by Pfg

Pfg wrote:
Pirl, I have a question about the self-watering pots. I have one that's about 10" in diameter that I used for Hagley Hybrid. I put a generous handful of reconstituted water crystal mixed with a little soil in the bottom, then filled with roughly 1/3 potting soil, 1/3 manure and 1/3 compost. I planted it deeply, on a slant, mulched heavily, and watered it in with Epsom Salts and a little Superthrive. So... Is the pot big enough to last the whole summer? How big are the ones you use? What happens when we get a lot of rain? Doesn't the pot become waterlogged? There is no way to empty mine.

I followed your tip about using a branch as a trellis for the Venosa Violacea. The Azaleas next to the house were way overgrown and were swamping everything in that bed. There are some very old peonies there that still bloom, I have no idea how. The group in front just finished blooming, so I cut those and the lavender ones waaaay back today. The group in front of the bay window is about to pop so I'll wait until they're done to bring them down a foot or so.

Now there's a big hole right in front, so I put the venosa in a 12" green plastic pot, stuck in a branch for it to climb on until it reaches the Azalas and wrapped euonymus branches around the pot to camouflage it. There's a Samobor geranium nearby which helps mask the bare stems until they leaf out, and I'm on the hunt for one or two more now that there's room for them. The summer color in that area is mainly blue and lavender flowers with some varied foliage accents, so I think the deeper Clem will be nice.

I'll post pics tomorrow of the after, this is the before.

Pam