I definitely pot up once the roots grow, they were so tiny, that it will take some time for them to fill the pot.
Madame Isaac Pereire (sorry I spelled the last name incorrectly earlier) is a deep pink and very fragrant. I can't wait to see it in bloom. I've started collecting antique roses, some of them on their own roots, and I plan on combining them with clematis. I've already planted Kardynal W. with rose Variegata di Bologna (own root) , I'm looking forward to seeing that combo in bloom.
Clematis 2014
What beautiful blooms! Love the Yukiokioshi....I have Omoshiro & Gypsy Queen on the same trellis, & love them both.....right now, my gardens look like this!
Oh no! You did get more snow! Yikes! But at least warmer weather is coming in the next week, at least that's what's promised. I wonder if we got snow yesterday too?
My garden looked like this last Sunday.
Annette - I didn't mean to imply you wouldn't pot it up as it grew but I neglected to do it and this is how the roots looked when I "got around" to planting it, so it's worth the explanation for others to view. It's clear I have the touch of death with roses but I wish you luck with yours.
Marilyn - this morning we had gardens covered with fine ice, not snow. It did melt fast but was a bit of a shock to see on April 16th.
Pam - how long does it take you to do spring cleaning outside? I'm near the end but it will still take a week to finish. Mulching is the best thing I've ever done in the garden. The weeds I dig (I do NOT "pull" weeds) are about 1/2" high but those roots on that tiny clover sometimes reach nine inches - exactly why I refuse to pull and dig instead.
We have someone do the big stuff, there's way too much. Hopefully he came this week. I do the perennial beds, which can take all summer before I get to the end, depending on how much moving and dividing I want to do, Newspaper under the mulch, especially around the edges, has helped tremendously. I use bagged mulch, which can be stacked out of the way until I get to it. We just ordered a palette of shredded pine from HD, 50 bags, and have been saving newspaper for months.
I'm trying to make some areas extra low maintenance, where I choose what naturalizes instead of leaving it to naughty nature. I'm making progress, but there are still way too many opportunities for unwanted thugs!
The unwanted thugs always manage to intrude.
I'd gladly hire someone to do the cleaning but know I'd be checking that it was done the way I want it done.
You did good with the shredded pine! I've been using strong cardboard along our fence line so my neighbor's insane weed whacking won't send permanent uninvited weeds over here. He'd spend less time if he just went down the fence line with weed killer.
Making any parts of the garden low maintenance is a great idea.
When I spot the Celandine I think of you! It's rough to get out when it grows in the midst of hydrangeas!
Our crew just does the basics, removing the leaves and the big stuff. They cut down the tall grasses, clear the Daylily and Siberian Iris beds, take away loose debris. But I end up trimming the peonies and perennials, and I do all the weeding.
Speaking of Celandine, I saw a ton of it in what's supposed to be a path. Ugh! Do you think I can smother it with cardboard and mulch?
As I age I think I'd love to have someone doing the basics you get done.
The best bet for Celandine (and any other weeds) is to spray with Ortho's Poison Ivy Killer BUT be sure to protect all other plants around the spot where you are spraying or you'll kill anything the spray hits.
Hi Arlene, I know what you meant. I have also been guilty of leaving plants in pots too long😁, I just tease the roots loose before I plant them in the garden.
Marilyn, brrrrr! I would lose it if we got more snow. We got down to 29 degrees last night, the plants came through fine.
I tried the PIK on the variegated vinca (the bane of my existence), the vinca laughed at it, and I used Round Up instead and that has taken care of it, thank goodness. I will be using the PIK behind my fence in the wooded area where all the wild vines tend to grow through into my yard.
Pam, believe it or not, I enjoy weeding. It's my stress reliever when I get home from work. I walk around in my work clothes and shoes, pulling weeds, it's soothes me after a crazy day.
I did tease the roots and the clem grew fine. It was just a warning not to wait too long even though we all get too busy and delay doing the things we should do.
Did you use full strength PIK? It works for me every time.
I like removing weeds, too. It's one evil in the world we can do something about but I do dig each one. We had a guy here last year and he'd just pull the weed but that left the roots behind to grow again so why was I paying him?
No, I diluted the PIK, then painted it onto the vinca. The neighbors probably thought I was crazy, bent over, tush in the air, with a brush in my hand painting the plants, LOL! I'll use it full strength next time, I've still got a lot left.
It's ridiculous when you pay someone to do a job, and they don't do it correctly. My latest gripe is with the guys who mow our lawn. They keep throwing the fallen pine cones and sweet gum balls from the lawn into the garden beds. It doesn't feel good when I kneel on one of them that buried under the line straw, and I can't see it. I finally had to tell them to stop.
Also, the worst was last year when they pruned some of my clematis, without asking me. They cut Pink Champagne ridiculously short, and it took forever for the plant to recover. They've also cut my fully grown Patricia Ann Fretwell at the base with the weed whacker. Thank goodness the plants recovered.
Although I try not to need it often, Roundup is my killer of choice when I must. This may be one of the times. I agree about weeding being calming. It's hard to think about anything else while you're doing it, and there's something very satisfying about creating order.
So far, no disasters, but I make an effort not to put plants in their way. So no spill-over edges on my beds, no daffys naturalizing in the lawn, etc. Doesn't mean they'll never damage anything beyond the odd Daylily in the center beds. But so far, so good.
I wonder if any of my clems will show signs of life this weekend...
Pam, Warren had 2" of snow according to the weather map, some NW towns had 3".....most of mine has melted except for the shady corners! Celandine is nasty, I hacked out 4-5 clumps the other day & have many more to go......too cold & windy to work outside for the next few days, & I'm picking up a new pup on Sat. She's from Arkansas & I've named her MaggieMae. She'll be keeping me busy!
LOL about your landscapers. Mine is actually a great guy, but he pulled a lot of cosmo seedlings thinking they were weeds, and he also trimmed my dusty miller into an odd ball with a chainsaw before I could stop him. Thankfully it's back looking natural again. What's with landscapers and making all plants into circular blobs? =)
Houttuynia is the weed that made me try full strength PIK and it worked. I even tried fire (a torch) but that only killed the above ground growth.
Just the thought of the sweet gum balls under my knees is akin to garden torture! Too many of them make life easier for themselves by tossing pine cones (I use them as mulch under the hydrangeas) as they disregard how we want the property kept neat and clean. I think I'd release them from the job if any of them touched a clematis with ideas on pruning it. We've given these guys warnings from the start about not blowing anything but the driveway and they can't blow cut grass towards any garden. These guys really do listen but not hopeless George.
Pam - your clematises should be starting. Some are more eager than others.
Marilyn - a new puppy! Time to celebrate. Please post photos of the new arrival, Maggie Mae.
Wifey - on other threads we used to laugh about how they feel obligated to create green meatballs out of shrubs. In winter it appears they're covered with melted mozzarella!
There are numerous things people do that defy logic (imo anyway) but I'll never understand why these idiot "gardeners" (term used in the loosest sense possible) think that plants are meant to be hacked and sheared into every conceivable geometric shape known to mankind.
Have these guys never been to a nursery and seen that nothing grows naturally in the shape of a square, rectangle, rhombus etc. ?
Hedges are one thing...but hacking things like daylilies or Phormiums into squares is just stupid in every sense of the word. How can they actually think it looks good ?
Sorry to detract from the original theme of this thread, pirl.
Does anyone have "Little Mermaid" clematis ?
My 2 year old plant from Brushwoods is sending out lots of new growth, so hopefully I'll get a bloom or two this year.
"Ramona" (same age) has ONE bud on it ! LOL
I also have Little Mermaid from Brushwood, that I planted in 2013. It along with Andromeda are the slowest 2 clematis to start growing this year.
Post a photo of yours when it blooms !
I've had good success with Brushwood's clems. They're tricky to grow here but I keep repotting them into larger containers until they're big enough to go in the ground. That usually takes a couple years. They're the only plant I'm "patient" with.
Will send photos of my new baby, Pirl....the shelter volunteer sent an email saying she was carsick, & would need a bath when she got to CT! Oh, dear! The weekend temps will be around 60, so hopefully the clems will respond once more.....Blue Light had lots of new growth before the snow hit.....
Good luck with the new baby, Marilyn!
My clems still look dead as a doornail... But so does nearly everything else, except the Celandine, lol. And no wonder. It's still winter on the ground here, even though the air is mild. Three weeks into April, and around here it's still the end of March. I bet spring lasts about 5 minutes this year ;-)
JD - you and I have discussed the green meatball issue forever but it must be a landscaping thing that all shrubs must be rounded and nothing can be left as nature intended. Here they do the neighbor's rhododendrons and azaleas the same way - all rounded and nothing natural.
I don't have 'Little Mermaid' or 'Ramona'. I bought one with the 'Ramona' label but it's really 'HF Young'. Some clem's do start late or have a bad year (akin to a bad hair day), especially if they suffer a very prolonged, cold spring like 2011 when I only got my first blooms on 'Omoshiro' in July.
We'll look forward to photos of your Easter delivery of Maggie Mae, Marilyn. The issue with the car may be due to nerves and anxiety. You can introduce her to the car by just sitting in it for five or ten minutes at a time, then a drive around the block, etc. Your clem's will bounce back.
All we can do is hope for a slow warming. I'd love 60 to 70 all year long - no higher. I melt in the heat. That Celandine isn't hurt by any weather! Most of my clem's are slow as turtles this year - more like slugs! I've only seen one slug with all the cleaning I've been doing.
Marilyn, congrats on your new pup.
Little Mermaid has started growing, thank goodness, and I'm seeing some green shoots on Andromeda. Pic#3 is Ramona behind peony Sea Shell, and #4 Duchess of Albany, a huge difference in size from LM and Andromeda.
I plant all of my clematis from Brushwood in the ground, when I get them. Dan's plants have always thrived, and bloom a lot of the time the same year, if I've planted them in the spring.
Here's MaggieMae...up on the sofa where my other dogs also lived.....she's very quiet in the house & I was amazed she was wonderful getting a bath.....I'm sure she will need time to adjust, but so far, so good! I noticed a lot of growth on my southside clems today...yay!
Welcome to the gardening world, MaggieMae! So happy you selected a good mom and that you're arrival signaled the clematises to make your mom smile!
It rained here for 2 days, so the clems are doing very well, just have to find some pine straw to keep they bottom cool.
1. John Warren, 2 sunset, 3, we are having a June wedding, when Daniel and Ruutel meet on top of the wire.
My roses are blooming, the new rose Climbing Eden just about to bloom, I hope it is close to the rose I groo up with. It is a lazy day, all I want to do is nap. Etelka
Forgot to wish everybody Happy Easter. Love you all, you all a good company for me.
You are so sweet, Etelka. Happy Easter to you as well.
Your clematises are all looking so happy and healthy while ours up north are just getting leaves.
I can hardly wait for the June wedding when Daniel and Ruutel meet!
I would love a nap but it's a gorgeous day here and I'm just inside on a break from the garden. There always seems to be another job waiting for me.
Happy Easter to all.
Happy Easter....the southern clems are looking wonderful! Something to look forward to....
Happy Easter to all and especially MaggieMae!
Happy Easter everyone!
Picka-boo, I see you, my two HL Young behind the fence Etelka
So pretty, Etelka. I was just playing that game with my 7 month old grandson today!
I have swelling buds on Jackmanii, Veronica's Choice and Nelly Moser so far. Finally, even though there are faint traces of snow here and there, spring is springing in my garden.
Also today, l found out all but one of my pre-orders was dropped from a co-op. I'm only getting Princess Diana, not Sir Trevor Lawrence, and not two Silver Moon which I really want for a shady spot... So I went on a search and found a nursery in Massachusetts, clematisnursery.com, that has Silver Moon in stock and ordered two from them. They have 1, 2, and 3 year plants, I got the biggest for $30. They say it will bloom in a closet, lol. I hope so!
Has anyone here bought from them? I found them through a blog which spoke highly of them, but don't know any more about them.
No. I never have, Pam. I bought my Silver Moon from Wayside many years ago.....it does bloom very nicely in my eastern exposure.....
I haven't heard of them, Pam, but that doesn't mean much. I enjoy trying new companies.
If you ever need more clem's for shade (morning sun) give Nelly Moser a try. She's beautiful, she lights up the shade and drops seeds that do well forming babies.
Wayside used to be so good! Now the prices on some of their clem's are at $30.00 - $40.00 (and higher). For the many clem's I got from them back in the early 90's, the roots did not match the price tag. http://www.waysidegardens.com/search.aspx?ss=clematis%20vines&s=1&Trigger=ac
Here's an eye opening link from Hummingbird Vines in Maine, showing how to plant a clematis. They do very good work on explaining everything!
http://hummingbirdfarm.net/clematis_culture.htm
Etelka, your HL Young is so 'handsome'! This is my prized 'Easter Bouquet' lol. It's so happened that this group of Clems. peak blooms on Easter this year. It's also the 3rd year where clems usually "Leap" after planting. The tags include F. Maria, Empress and The President clematis.
Arlene that is a good post. I am sure it will help a lot of us impatient growers.
Lily, we had thet terrible ice storm, I tought I lost some of the clematis, all of them came back nicer then last year, just to think four years ago I did not know what clematis was, today I have 18 of them and planning to put some in the back yard where after they chopped down my 100 year old oak tree, I suddenly have lots of sun.Etelka Here is my Gipsy Queen on Lady bank rose.
I forgot about Hummingbird Farm, thanks for the reminder. They're a little less expensive, 17.99 instead of $22 for the regular size, assuming they're the same. I upgraded to the 3 year size for an extra $8. I'm tired of waiting for babies to get going, especially since I've learned how to stop killing them with too much kindness. The first few I added way too much manure to the pots, and they choked on it. :-(
But now I've mended my ways. They seem to be doing very well this year, at least so far. :-)))