Clematis chat for 2012 - Happy New Year!

Very nice! Thanks, Kimmy. Dan is a treasure and of all the companies I've ordered from, I prefer his clematises over that of anyone else. His selections are vast for clematises, vines, roses and all types of climbing plants and his plants have never failed me.

I have too many favorite clem's so I'll have to think on that before I add my comment and enter the contest to win a $30.00 gift certificate but it's time well spent looking at clematis photos.

Now that I've spent nearly an hour going over clematis photos it's clear I can't select just one as a favorite but Blue Moon/Claire de Lune tugs at my heart strings since we were married under a blue moon.

I love Blue Moon as well since it always does so well for me......

Isn't it amusing how we always love the plants that do well for us? Why not? Who loves a failure?

Just to make you laugh, this arrived on my facebook. It is so true. Sorry for getting of the subject.

Now THAT is funny!

Very cute!

Etelka

I love it!

That is just so funny, You see what putting things off can do, Who am I kidding, I am still trying to give up a few things, But Hec, I cant give it all up, What would I do?...lol . Oh Yeh. Buy and Plant more flowers...lol

I told my husband, just last night, I have to get serious.....starting Monday....

Good one!

pirl, you should be proud of your enabling self; I have a list of 11 clems sitting in my cart at Brushwood. (And, I'll admit, one rose-even though the last one I bought my DH says, "So, you're going to try a rose AGAIN???) I really do have to get real but it's sooo gorgeous. It's called Charlatan Climbing Rose. I also need to pare down the clem list to one box which is six I think! Or buy an acre from the guy next door....hummmmmm

Buy the acre! Then fill it with plants you love.

I can understand the lure of the roses. We always just see the best shots of them...and clem's. Now I'll try hard not to look at the rose! Talk about enabling, Kimmy!

Which clem's are in your cart now? Maybe some of us have them or had them and we can help with the list...or add to it.

I KNEW you were going to ask (I'm so excited!!): Moonfleet, Floris V, Cezanne, Buckland Beauty, Sympatia, Little Mermaid, Fujimusume, Happy Birthday (who knew??), Buckland Beauty AND Pink Delight. whoa-whoa-whoa......ok, the rose is crossed of the list.

I sure hope you all have seen or even have some of these....I would LOVE to know which ones to cross off the list. The only sure one, I think, is Buckland Beauty.

Did someone hire you to lure us into "just looking"?

I have Moonfleet, having fallen in love with the color long ago. It was just planted in the fall and had magnificent roots.

Now I'll check up on the others and pray for strength.

You've made wonderful choices and if I had double the garden space I'd want each one you selected. Sorry that I can't be of more help but they each have their own charms.

I ordered Little Mermaid & Pink Delight several years ago, although not from Brushwood....neither has bloomed yet, but Pink Delight grew well last summer......

Me, too, Marilyn. Did the name of your vendor have "sto" as part of the second syllable?

I planted Moonfleet and Fugimusume last year. They didnt make it. They were from another grower so dont give up,Brushwood usually has really great plants.

Sometimes those tiny pots can surprise us but often, no matter how hard we try, they just don't survive.

Happy birthday (a day early) Jo Ann!

I mourn briefly ( maybe 2 minutes ) then find the next plant on my wishlist.
Thanks for the B-day wishes.

You're quite welcome. Have a great day tomorrow and a wonderful year.

I don't waste time mourning either but I do make notes on my photo program as to where I bought them so I don't make the same mistake again. I'd much rather pay double and have an (almost) 100% chance of success with Brushwood's clem's or those of the other companies where I've had success.

What a great day we have here today! Sunshine and already 51 with no wind at all. I'm heading out at 10 AM to put down manure on the clematises.

I got my manure put down the other day,and put leaves on top. I did not get more mulch this year, I just did not have it in me to haul those bags all over. I asked hubby to get me a cart that also dumps for my birthday.
I was surprised to see that is was not that cold outside this morning. What a big difference in temps from one day to another.
I looked at brushwood, but I did not make a wish list. I am till waiting for the ones I got last year to come back. They did nothing last year but disappear..lol I don't know what happened, but they did not grow. I did put bone meal in the holes of some that I planted later and they did well, thanks for that tip. I guess that is the key to establishing good roots. I will do that again when I plant my clems. Maybe even dig around the ones that are planted and add some.

marie-kap!

I am an amature when it comes to certain plants ,clems are on the list.
I had read here last year to not give up on a clemthat doesnt appear the next year,some take the season off and reappear the following year.

A neighbors grass cutter sprayed and kill two of my clems last year. He told me that if I gave him the bill he would pay for it. I promptly forgot about it . Yesterday he caught me out in the back yard and gave me the money. So now I will be buying two more this spring.

My Fugimisume flowered very well last year then went into decline. I don't know if it will make it or not. I am going to buy another one . I would rather have 1 fugi or 2 fugis than no fugis.

I just have better luck with the ones I get at the stores rather than the ones I order.

Pirl, had to laugh at your 'clue' as to where I purchased my non-doing clems! No, the clems came from different catalogs, & I'm hoping Pink Delight revs up this year.....the foliage looked great last summer! Early birthday wishes, Jo!

Does anyone else grow any of the shrub clems? Durandii or integrifolia? Just curious others experiences with them.

What a beautiful picture

What a gorgeous gardening day - 58 degrees, sunshine, no wind. I got a lot done and that did include manure and bone meal for the clem's in the rose garden.

Funny about the Fuji's, John!

Marie - I have good luck with the bagged ones (all dormant and in green plastic bags) if I'm there (Home Depot or Walmart) when they first arrive. Local stores charge $30. to almost $100. for them - no thanks. The worst is the local stores do not have the right names with the plants for that price!

Marilyn - my clue wasn't hidden enough? Ha! At least you got foliage in 2011. I had one stem with a few leaves so I hope it was busy growing roots for me. Just checked my photos and I was wrong. Mine is Pink Fantasy and it just might be a fantasy to believe I'll have it grow and bloom. I don't like when it takes two years to show me anything at all.

Gorgeous sunset, Kathy. I think Carolyn grows the clem's you mentioned. She'll show up and let us all know about them.

It was a beautiful day here in GA as well, in the low 60's. I spent the afternoon planting more bulbs that I'd not been able to get done. I also had a chance to layer Jackmanii and put manure around it.Tomorrow I should be able to get the last of the bulbs done.

This time last year we were getting ready for our big snowstorm, that shut the city down for a week. I don't foresee that happening this year with the unusually warm winter we're having.

It was 58 here in NW CT as well...oh, dear, Pirl...now I'm not sure if I have Pink Delight or Pink Fantasy!

Kathy,

Arlene is right - I do grow the integrefolias and I just love them. I grow Durandii, Hakuri (sp?) and Fascinationthat I allow to sprawl through my garden and then I also have Rooguchi, which I have growing through the fencing I have nailed to my privacy fence. I highly recommend them.

Today I have orderde two clems, Daniel Deronda and Sizoja Ptitza (which means bird on slavic language, it is a Ukrainien origin.) They will arrive early April. I hope I will have better luck whit my clems this year, last Summer they did bloom but did not grow to a full clem. My Neiobe ? dissapeared, when I checked under the pine straw. Is that normal or it died.??

this is the Sizoja Ptitsa in Brushwood, I hope it will be a nice addition to my plans.

Carolyn - love your clem's. Thanks for mentioning Rooguchi. I have it, thanks to Venu209-Louise who brought it when she visited here in October. By the end of this year I hope to love it as much as you do.

Etelka - That is such a pretty clematis. I hope it does well for you. Do you have it paired with any other clematis?

Niobe is a strange one. I have had it for 19 years and it has never been a major bloomer for me. Yours probably did not die but is building roots. You should spot growth in March to April. Here it buds out mid April. You can see by the photo that there aren't many stems and considering the 19 years it's been there, and all the bone meal/compost/manure, etc. I've given it, Niobe is a bit of a disappointment for me.The flowers are lovely.

Niobe:

What is a strong grower, red one?

there are a number of strong red clematis. Any of the viticellas are a good choice -

One of my favorite red clematis is Madame Julia Correvon.

hi, thanks for posting that pic. Does it have a special name when the petal look so far apart?

I don't know about that, but I do like it. Somebody else on the thread might know.