My Bloomin' Nelly Moser

Wow...what a handful of our horse manure, and the 3rd year can produce in our zone 5....

I guess I should clarify that the horse manure is composted.....and this is going on Nelly's 3rd year here in zone 5, but it has always performed very, very well....I was just surprised that it started with buds about 10 days ago, and is already in bloom....so much better that the Jackmanii that is next to it....and it is 4 yrs. old....

I pray for no frost!

I'll pray with you.

Nelly is such a sweet plant. I have a few of her because she very nicely layered herself after I bought the second one.

I think they love manure enough that they could make it their steady diet. I used to use 20 pounds per plant when I had fewer clematis. Now they get a few cups and have to be content. Giant montana Grandiflora gets no food at all and it's a monster plant with well over a thousand buds and quite a few blooms already. Pictures tonight if I remember the camera!

Try the manure for Jackmanii. I bet you'll be very pleased with the results.

Thanks for the nice replys.

Last year, we had a terrible storm, and the upper part of the fence toppled down....poor Nelly had to have the entire top of her cut off as she was tangled up in the debrie.....but she came back healthy as ever....I want to plant another clem next to her, but haven't decided which one yet. These plants get morning sun until about 1.pm., and then are shaded.

Oh, and out in my other garden, I planted a Princess Diana, and she bloomed really well her first year, and this year, she coming on strong....such a pretty clem....and so hearty.

You'll have such fun selecting another clem for Nelly. Many can take the exposure you have so keep it in mind when selecting.

Here are a few that would enjoy that exposure but be sure to select one that's the same pruning type.

Here's some listed for part shade:
Bees Jubilee
Belle of Woking
Arabella
Andromeda
Arctic Queen
Bijou
Bourbon
Debbie Fischer
Duchess of Edinburgh
Etoile Rose
Florida Sieboldii
Fujimusume
Gazelle
Hakuookan
Josephine (bet this one would be stunning with Nelly)
Kakio Pink Champagne
Kardynal Wyszynski
Liberation
Miss Bateman
Multi Blue
Nelly Moser
Niobe
Proteus
Rebecca
Rouge Cardinal
Temptation
Royalty
Will Goodwin
Voluceau

Oh my Arlene, you just keep temping us, lol She has the same exposure as I do on my left side of the yard where my Nelly's are planted. I can always tell what time it is by where the sun is behind the trees there. I am always right to about 15 mins...lol

Just trying to help, Marie, and if that's too much temptation then it's a good thing, right?

While I do love clematises in sun, I think there's a beauty (or mystery) to them in part shade that gets overlooked in all full sun.

Last year I planted Mme. Julia Correvon in mostly shade. She's dark red so we'll see if she shows off at all. Generally the lighter colors really stand out in part shade.

I want a dark red one.... I keep thinking I ahve one and it turns out a different color.my one clem was suppose to be Ville de Lyon, but it is white to a faded pink instead. Maybe it is getting too much sun?

My Ville retained its color so I doubt the issue is the sun. Nelly Moser is the quickest to fade if it gets too much sun.

Dark red - as in Niobe or Bourbon or Madame Julia Correvon? The comments on Julia were so convincing that I bought it last year - especially the comments by Water Can on PlantFiles.

I made my decision to plant Comtesse de Bouchaud next to Nelly and then I planted Duchess of Albany out beside my Princess Diana.....then, I planted Mr. President to climb up my bird feeder....the feeder is surrounded by daylillies that are yellow and oranges, and apricots.....hope the combo works.

I ordered on Mon. the clematis from Donahues, and received them Tues. afternoon.....since I am in Iowa, that probably was the reason. They all came in small pots, and were very healthy.

Of, course, I dug a 2' hole, filled it with compost and black dirt, threw in a handful of bone meal, and planted them about 4-5" deep.....

Then, thanks to you guys, I cut a bucket top down about 5" ( 14" diameter ) and put that around the clems, and left the rim up about 2" and watered them so the water would stay inside the lid, great idea everyone!

Soooo, now I am hooked on clems :).......I have a chain link fence between my neighbors and us.....and I am anxious to plant another....thanks for all your help.....I am well on my way to being a clem junkie!

sm - The President will be lovely in that spot with the daylilies if they all bloom at once. The combo works for me!

The Duchess and Princess Diana are very similar so I don't know if I'd know which was which.

Add a layer of manure and scratch it in as lightly as you can. Then put a few inches of any kind of mulch on top to keep temperatures more constant for the clem's roots.

Glad to hear you've become a clematis junkie! That's an admirable trait in a person.

Thanks Pirl.............you're awesome...... I went and bought some mulch today at out Menards store. Their clems were pretty straggly looking...They had Hagley, and Warsaw Nike....the plant ticket showed the colors, and the flowers were a different color....I wonder if they are even the correct plant..

I am still going through the cataloges, checking out your suggestions.

I found out that sometimes it takes the clems a while to get established....maybe a year or 3....so, if I plant now, I will be able to enjoy them in the future.

Oh, brother, I've got the clem obsession bad...:)

OH , No, we did it to another poor soul. She will be here watching and waiting to see what else is being said. She will haunt the nursery's and catalogs searching for that one new clem, seeing so many more that she wants and cant wait to have. Buying them and saying,, OH MY, where can I put this one. But man will she have fun watching them all grow and bloom.

That doesn't mean we're bad people, Marie! I do think the third year is the magical one for clems though Omoshiro was great for me from the start.

Do not look at this photo of Omoshiro, sm, because it may scorch your brain as it did mine!

Last week, at a local nursery, I mentioned to my favorite person there that their clem's often had the wrong names. I had told the personnel each time I saw one last year with the wrong name on the container but they didn't budge to change a thing. No way should a screaming red be labeled with a photo of a white one! As you can guess, I don't buy mine from them.

I did not have that much luck with Omoshiro, she is still struggling along. I have hopes though. I know we are not bad people, I did not mean it that way. I got hooked when I moved into my house and the previous owners had one on the mail box. And that one clem has been the most vigorous. I think it must be a Jacknami. Nothing stops it from growing. Leaving it alone from the previous year or cutting it down. I even left it unplanted all winter once after I had to move it, and it came back strong that spring when I got it planted.
That one started my weakness.

I was just teasing, Marie! How could we possibly be bad when we love our clematises?

Jackmanii performs - rain or shine, pruning or not. It's one of those proven plants we all love because no matter what we do (or don't do) it bounces back year after year and has blooms all summer long and right into fall.

Well, Marie, you are right, this forum fosters addiction. I'm hooked. I've been soaking up all the knowledge posted here, drooling over everyone's gorgeous pictures, craving everything. I have 6 in pots now, and 5 more on their way. There are also 4 in my garden from last year, none of which bloomed. One is already moved, planted 3" deeper in compost and manure, and mulched. I thought I had water crystals but couldn't find them, and have yet to pick up Epsom Salts but will this week. One NOID looks healthy so I left it alone for the time being, hoping for at least one bloom. I'm afraid it's a Montana, in which case it's in too much sun and will be moved as soon as I'm sure.

I'm lurking everywhere, so far have nothing to show. But there will be!

Pam

You are still in a colder zone than us. and at least a month behind us ,so you should see yours sometime this month. Pfg, I have soaked up the knowledge and passed it on to others, as I learn I share it. Pirl said that the sun should not play a part in the Montana's. I know mine has been very slow to take off.

The montana* group can and does take full sun. I've had mine in the same spot for 17 years now. If I allowed it free reign it would encompass the entire 32' of 3' high fencing around the dog's pen (now my "garden room"). Note the ferns at the bottom of the attached photo. It really does appreciate shade for the roots.

Soil, compost, manure, moisture, mulch and the right exposure are the essentials for good growth. Epsom salt, water crystals and any other additions are helpful but not mandatory. You won't find a site telling you to grow them in sandy soil without nutrition.

The problems are generally us and not the clematis. We focus so much on blooms that we sometimes get disappointed at not having immediate lush growth. I really hate saying, "Just wait three years for blooms", and yet it's often the case.

*montana has nothing to do with the state of Montana. It's simply a descriptive word like atragene, integrifolia, etc. and comes from the French, meaning monster...and it is! This photo was taken exactly two years ago. Now the trellis cannot be seen. If the sun cooperates I'll take another photo from the same vantage point today to show the difference in two years.

Pirl..........thanks for all your help!

I forgot to tell you that my compost is some that I make myself.....I have 5 quarter horses, and some of their manure mixed with some of their bedding (pine), and some grass clippings, some coffee grounds, and other plant life, I throw on a pile, and let it "simmer" for about 2 years, and it makes awesome compost! This is what I used for the clematis holes along with black dirt....all mixed together and some of the regular clay/normal soil....

I was out today checking....and just planted the clems 48 hours ago....I hoped the manure compost mixture wouldn't be too strong, and already a couple of leaves I left when planting, are sticking out and are green and lush, and even a shoot is coming out on 2 of the 3 planted!

We have had at least 1/2 inch of rain every night since I planted them, and I am sure that's helped.

Thank you Pirl.....! Even my clems thank you :)

I'm thrilled for you and maybe a tiny bit jealous of your home made ingredients from the horses! The rain may have helped but the care you took and the fact that you're paying attention to what's happening does mean so much.

You did the work - you deserve the credit.

(You and the clem's are quite welcome.)

What does everyone think of Bees Jubilee? The pictures are sooo pretty....do you think it would be hardy to zone 5?

I've seen it but don't have it since it's close (to my eyes) to Dr. Ruppel, which I do have.

Hummingbird Farms, in Maine, shows their plants that are cold hardy:
http://hummingbirdfarm.net/clematis.htm

Thanks, Pirl....I knew I could count on you! :)

Me too- have you ordered from them? The site looks good.

You're sweet, sm!

Thanks, Pam. I haven't yet ordered from them but would like to visit their place when we go to Maine in either July or September/October. Then I know I'll be tempted to bring some home.

I love their explanations of everything. It's so helpful and so reassuring.

Liberation (pictured below) is now in full bloom. What a glorious sight next to montana Grandiflora!

It's listed by Garden Crossings as hardy in zone 4: http://www.gardencrossings.com/plantname/Clematis-Liberation

It's also shown as hardy for zone 4 at Brushwood: http://www.gardenvines.com/shop/large-flowered-clematis-3/clematis-liberation-435.html