Happy Valentine's Day and chat

shaping, meaning what? I have 3 vines coming up the trellis. cut the 2 on the sides? This is the 2nd year of growth. It did not do much last year.

Marie take it easy from the surgery. I started out 2011 with the same surgery.
I should have some blooms to share in the next couple weeks of my clematis. Everything is waking up and growing like crazy.

Marie

'shaping' I didn't know if your Montana was a monster or not. I know they can be. I was thinking that your clem was older than it apparently is. At this point, if there is any dead vines I would just take them out.

Are you trying to tell me that I am doing too much after surgery Desertdenial5?
I am sure I am, but laying around is not my cup of tea. I have cooked dinner , done laundry, sweep floors and vacuumed this past weekend and so far this week. Is that too much?...lol

I have 4 holes in my belly. side where gallbladder was is still quite tender and sore.

This message was edited Feb 28, 2012 8:40 PM

I did fairly well after my gall bladder was taken out except for the sore stomeach. Theyw blew me u p like a balloon and then cut a hole about as big as a quarter in my belly.

I was back to playing in te garden and going to the gym shortly after. I guess we all have our own experiences.

Still safe is better than sorry.

How long till you were back to doing the things like that. It has been a week so far.

Marie you have a d- Mail

Hello Everyone! I am enjoying catching up with every one's current clematis experiences and the little pieces of our lives that we feel like sharing. I am very happy to be back !! I have had further health issue and that had sidelined me till last Friday.Enough of that CA CA!! My wonderful wife and I came down here to Hilton Head S.C, to stay until the end of March. I have a question concerning my beloved clematis. This winter has been very mild and I wonder if that will change the way I prune them when we return, I usually prune in Feb.? My biggest concern is how to handle any that are roping? That thing they do growing a number of shoots together up the same supports, I have had good luck in the past by cutting each "tendril" away on each shoot.I an concerned that I may remove to much material by breakage or other gremlins!! Your advice and thoughts appreciated ! Lee Sherwood McDonald

No not trying to say you are doing too much only saying to take it easy:-)

Well, Lee, today your clems are snow covered! None of mine are up & doing anything yet.....the only thing I prune is dead stuff since I don't have any that need a major cutdown.....

Lee

we did get snow today. Supposed to be a mix tomorrow.

What are the pruning groups of your clems?

Marie - go slowly. You don't want to rush your recovery.

I'd do as Carolyn suggested and only cut back any montana stems that seem to be dead. You can even wait on doing that for another month without harm to the clematis.

Thanks everyone for your concern of my surgery, I am trying to take it easy But I am getting bored. I have found too many web sites to spend money. I am only doing things that done require me to lift anything heavy, so I walk around outside and see what i can do, and that is trim some of the clems. I want to do so much and cant, but I still have time. I even noticed that the peonies are coming up.

Donahues catalog came in the mail today. It is verrrrrry beautiful. I keep thinking how much I would like to get some more. I think though that I will pass.


John

The Espoma packages of manure are light in weight so you could sprinkle that on the clem's and some bone meal - don't breathe in the dust. Wear a mask like they use to avoid dust, available at hardware stores.

Once in a while I think it pays to take a minor break from clematis purchases so we can first figure out what spaces we really have available and which colors we feel we really must have. That isn't easy in the face of temptation.

Oh you are so right about that Pirl. The temptation is so strong. We see all those pretty colors and the want of blooms in our yard is so strong, that we invision those colors now. But they dont come with those colors, we still have to wait for them to bloom...lol

We always seem to envision clematises at their very best, lush and filled with blooms. Most often it takes years for that to happen and yet it doesn't stop us from ordering in the hope we'll have that dream come true sooner rather than later.

Yes, so true.. I think we need help Pirl. Do they have a Clem exorcism?

I hope not, Marie! All I want is a time-out, not a cure.

Yesterday I made room for my new orders, I will put my Daniel D. with Ruutel, and the Sizaja Ptitza one by it self, next to the mailbox and my Hot lips salvia. Also making a round trellis for the 2 Autumn Sunset rose , give rose growing another chance, in the past I had lots of trouble with blackspot, I guess because of lack of spraying, plus my big oak tree does not help. It is raining here today, but hope to have time to look and find a room for my new PeeGee Hydreangea. Etelka

Digging the holes in advance makes the whole job of planting so much easier.

I'm trying roses again, too. I've ordered six, all floribundas, with the hope that the company spraying for deer will save the roses from being breakfast for those demons. I don't spray for blackspot. The warning label for those fungus sprays are truly frightening - "Causes blindness" bothers me. At least I can rip off and throw away the bad leaves. They'll grow back fast enough.

Pirl and kisseta please keep us posted on your roses.

Louisville dodged a bullet on the tornados yesterday. 20 miles to the north and 30 miles or so to the south. The damage is unbelievable.

It's good to hear that the tornados missed you, John, and so sorry for all that did get hit by them. So many in just a few days and so many very sad stories along with the loss of lives.

Next week I do intend to make all the holes for the roses so they'll have good homes when they arrive.

Very difficult to see all that damage in the midwest & south.....hugs to all of you enduring those tornadoes!

May God Bless those who have suffered a loss this week due to the severe weather in the midwest and south. We are thankful that we had no damage from the storms last night.

Due to the warmth and rain this past week the clematis here have really taken off. Here's Josephine, Crystal Fountain, Miguel Viso, Duchess of Albany (DoA), and Mrs. Cholmdeley.

Fireworks and Omoshiro are taking their time waking up. This week I plan on fertiziling with composted manure, and adding some Epsom salt around the base of all of the clematis.

Cem your clems look great. I envy you your cammellia.

John

On my oldest clem, and the one that got me hooked, I usually take it down to about 12 inches each fall. This year I did nothing. It was to the top of the trellis last year.
I saw today that it only died back about 3/4 of the way. So i cut off all the dead and left the rest that is putting a good bit.
Most of the ones I put the manure around are putting out on the vines and from the roots. I got the chicken wire around the stumps from the trees we had taken down. That is where I planted 2 clems. I hope they do well and cover the stumps .

Thanks John, the clematis and the camellias are doing well so far this year. Here's Camellia Taylor's Perfection, Mathotiana, J.G. Drayton, Nuccio's Pearl, and Carter's Sunburst. I love camellias as well ;~)

Wow. I love them. How big are each one? My new little one is still putting out some blooms. I would love to have another one. Just not sure of a good location.

I saw one a couple of years ago that had a combination of red and pink,

This message was edited Mar 4, 2012 9:14 AM

Hey Marie, I have a few in pots. Mathotiana is a standard that's grown on my back deck and is about 5 ft. tall, Carter's Sunburst is in pot outside my kitchen, and is about 3 ft. tall, JG Drayton, Nuccio's Pearl, and Taylor's Perfecttion are between 3-4 ft. tall. These have all been added in the past 2 years.

I dont know if they would survive in pots here. If it is not a standard what size do the others get. And do they all require the same sun?

All of my plants are in partial shade, and I know that Carter's Sunburst will get to 6-8 ft., I'll have to check the tags on the others for their heights tomorrow.

They are all so beautiful, Annette!

Just beautiful camellias! They are just marginal here....even the "Snowman" series, but I'd love to grow one in a pot......

Wow, Annette! That's one fine collection of Camellias you've. I've a few and love them. Mine too are in partial shade and they flourish. I was wondering how they will fair in full sun in our region.

I love camelias. I wish I could have them here. I have tried rooting cuttings to grow them in a pot and they never rooted for me. Do they have a scent? They are gorgeous!

Hey everyone, thanks for the compliments. Carolyn, I haven't detected any scent from the ones I've stuffed my face into, LOL.

Lily_love, I'm too afraid to try them in full sun in 7b, I suspect they'd fry during our hot summers. I have two Mathotiana standards, and they get the most sun sitting on the back deck, and seem to do fine. What I love about these plants is that when little else is blooming, they are.

Well athey are something to behold. I fear they are not adaptible to my climate. Thanks for sharing.
John

marie, here are the standards that I mentioned for Mathotiana, and then a few more blooms from planted shrubs Nuccio's Bella Rosa, Jury's Yellow, and Kumasaka which is listed to grow 6-8 ft.