Clematis: Spring is here!, 1 by citybusgardener

citybusgardener wrote:
'Countess de Bouchard' opened her first flower this morning, but it is small, grey and looks so sad. It's been COLD and the rain is just not letting up and would not be expected quite this early in the year. It's the amount of cold that's not average for us. If I were a new little pink flower, I would not want to wake up to this either.

The 3-20-20 fert is the next trial to replace the old Peters bloom formula. I've always used this type on my annuals to force them to bloom in my heavy shade. Chemically induced blooms look the same as real ones. I just try to keep it away from the perennials, though a bit never hurts them.

I'm having second thoughts on where Arabella belongs. I have a picture. This half barrel is on one side of my front steps. The plan was to do my replacement of those winter pansies with something that drapes. So I thought if I added Arabella behind the hosta, it could come up to be tucked up to the porch rail, and part of it could trail under and around, a timely replacement for the yearly pansies. I took every thing out last fall so the hosta is new, a split off an older plant, and it seems to like it there. It will fill out.

So I set the Arabella behind the hosta , in the last two days all parts of it turned to face the south. hahaha... the view coming up the steps is the sides of the leaves and flowers. Darn it. I'm giving it a few more days to come to the eastern sun though. What a little stinker.