Clematis chat for spring

This is the firs bloom from one of my seedlings 3 years ago. It is drastically different from the others that have bloomed so far.

John - congratulations! That's a beauty and reminds me of Multi Blue. What colors were the others?

I have a number that have yet to first bloom. So far the rest have been an off blue. Its hard to describe . I will post pics as they bloom.

We'll be looking forward to them.

There is alot to catchup up with all you chatty clem lovers! Heartwarming stories. It makes gardening that much more special!
It is amazing that so many clems are blooming up in northern zones.
I can't believe your clems have so many shoots. Lee. I also wish you good health.
John, that seedling is gorgeous. It has been a blue blooming week for me:Arabella, durandii and Petit Facon all bloomed.

To all the gardeners that are Christians, Happy Easter to all. Etelka

Thank you, Etelka. Your greeting is welcome and beautiful. Happy Easter and/or Passover to all.

Marie - I finally got photos of the stems of montana Grandiflora for you. They are huge.

Good grief ! Those montana stems are ginormous !!!

My clems aren't as big as everyone else's but here are first blooms on Maria Louise Jensen (courtesy of pirl :)) and HFYoung. HFYoung will hopefully grow up through the pink Fame rose you can see in the upper right of the photo.

This message was edited Apr 7, 2012 5:14 PM

That Marie Louise Jensen is so gorgeous. I love HF Young with that rose. You're so good at color harmony!

That's ONLY because I had a good mentor !

Ha!

Happy Easter!

Hey Pirl, Your Easter day greeting is just ducky, Ha.
WHAT IS EVERYONE'S OPINION ON USING OSMOCOTE FERTILIZER FOR CLEMATIS? I am concerned that releasing nutrients while the majority of repeat and summer blooming types are busy setting buds.I know that we are warned against applications of chemical and fast release types at bud set.. I don't have an opinion. whats yours!!? Lee Sherwood mcDonald

Glad you noticed, Lee!

I have the Osmocote and have heard not to feed them when they are in bud. Generally the most the clematises can expect from me is manure, compost, bone meal and Epsom Salt in spring. I doubt if I've ever fed them other than February/March. It's just a matter of many things to be done - same as all gardeners, so the extra feeding falls to the bottom of the list.

More seedlings. This is the one next to the purple one

On the other side

On the fence next to neightbor

This is what I meant to send. It is almost pink

Another one on the fence

Beautiful, John. How do you grow them from seed? Does the seed have to be fresh? We could all learn from you.

The last one for today again on the fence. This one is very large. The others are generally small. perhaps 3inches.

Hi everyone,
Pirl, I think I will forgo the OSMOCOTE and use the manure Epsom, alfalfa and bone meal feeding.
John, Such a nice thing you have done! You have to be intrigued watching the new flowers open and I bet some will change and likely stabilize flower types as the season goes on. Keep that Camera klicking for us !! Lee Sherwood McDonald

Maybe I'll try the Osmocote I have on a clem just to see if it works, Lee.

Nice seedlings John, they look wonderful.

LSM, I have followed pirl's advice for the clematis starting last year, and it's made a big difference in the plants. Niobe is full of buds, and it compliments this deeply colored shrimp plant that it's planted behind on the fence.

Fireworks keeps putting on the blooms.

Crystal Fountain also continues to bloom, and has a lot of buds at the base of the plant, some of them hiding, LOL.

Patricia Ann Fretwell is also starting to bloom but no doubles yet, the first picture is from this weekend, the second today.

Duchess of Albany.

These are the new clemies from Brushwood. I've got to get these planted this weekend. I got Liberation as mentioned above, Arabella, John Warren, Otto Froebel, Durandii, and Daniel Deronda.

I had to refrain myself this weekend. I saw so many that I do not have. But I am running out of space and proper spots, unless I put them almost side by side.
Oh,,, but they were so pretty. I could do pots....lol

Annette

I have Durandii - you will just love that one. The color is amazing and like no other color in the garden.

Marie - I have some of my clematis side by side. I love it when the colors intermingle. I think they set each other off. I put Nagritanka with Comtesse Bouchard. I really love the deep dusky purple with the delicate pink. The only thing I really tried to do was to keep like pruning groups with like pruning groups.

Annette - Lovely clem's! I'm anxious to see our Patricia Ann Fretwell and also Crystal Fountain. Those new clem's from Brushwood look fantastic, as usual.

I just moved the layered Duchess of Albany to a new spot, next to Liberation. I hope they go well together.

Marie - I have many together in some spots: 9 on the fireplace wall, 5 on the obelisk, 4 in another spot, and most have a partner in beauty - very few are just one clematis to a spot.. As Carolyn mentioned, it's just easier to keep the same pruning groups together.

Lee - yesterday I did give the three clem's in a barrel the Osmocote. I seriously doubt it can do harm and none are in bud.

Oh! Such pretties...My Clems are barely peeking above the ground, one isn't even doing that. I do have one Iris I was given last year with a bud that will bloom in the next few days.

I've had flower buds on most of my clematis for at least the last two weeks, and I'm afraid they might not flower, since it's been so cold here in Ohio.

My hunch is that they will open. It's nature's way.

Oh no, you have just busted my refrain. I will be on the hunt again for more beauty's.

I have so many buds I cant wait till they open. I will be posting pics also.

Still cant find the granulated manure like I did in the fall, but I did find the dehydrated manure, that will be going down this weekend.
The cooler weather has slowed some growth here also, but I am sure one it gets warm again they will go hog wild.

In terms of sunlight, how much do these need and is direct or indirect sun better? How about morning or afternoon sun?
Thanks!
Jake

Hi everyone,
Annette and Pirl- I am going to follow Pirl's feeding regime except I will add OSMOCOTE to my old 'Duchess of Albany' plant that I must move from a distant part of the gardens. I can see two distinct crowns as I prepare to dig. I will add OSMOCOTE to the smaller crown just to see what I see.I also have and love Durandii.
Here is the fertilizer mix I will use I would like your comments if anyone feels I am off base on portions. the ingredients will be applied in a ring around the base and worked in with my fingers. 1 heaped round nose shovel of old stable manure that I have had access to for years. I cup Bone meal, one third cup Epsom salts,and 2 cups of Alfalfa pellets and one half cup of agricultural lime. my p.h. usually runs 5.8.
Every one- Enjoy your gardens and don't over do they will stick around till the next time your there! Lee p.s. Annette You have so many beauties open all ready! I am more than a little jealous! L.

Marie - I'm so glad to be of help in acquiring more clem's. Espoma has 20 pound bags of dehydrated manure and it's so easy to use compared to the heavy 40 pound bags I used in the past that were not Espoma. It's not that I think there's magic in the product but ease of use is so nice at my age. Check the price before you buy it!!!

Jake - we're always happy to have another clem lover with us. Welcome! Six hours of sun is preferred and shade for the feet because they want cool roots. You can plant them in either morning or afternoon sun but the more sun the better for the clem. Nelly Moser (among others) can take more shade, and keeps its color much better, with some shade. Plant them deeply (remove any leaves that would end up under the earth) and remember to use a few inches of mulch. Attached is a photo of Nelly Moser taken in the late afternoon. In the morning the left side gets the sun.

Lee - thought of you several times yesterday as I worked on an odd area that has two clem's on a trellis and now quite a few Duchess of Albany clem's (due to layering) under a Tardiva hydrangea that DoA grows through. I used only Osmocote and a lot of our compost for each one, then water. Those two crowns you saw may end up being more than two. It happened to me last year when moving Proteus. It ended up as being five crowns.

Go for it with your feeding idea, Lee. We'll be waiting to hear the results. The only negative I've heard is the Alfalfa IF you have an existing problem with rabbits. They would be attracted to it. Water it in well and be sure to mulch.

I think Annette's photos are so beautiful that we're all a bit jealous but so happy to see them!

Thanks for the info! I have it planted in a fairly shaded spot that does get some sun but maybe not 6 hours unless I hack off some branches from the neighbors tree. hehe :)