We have bean, brug, Daylily, Hosta, Iris, Rose, and Tomato, divisions, but no clematis. I think a plant as popular as this deserves its own division, and it would be a lot more helpful if you had the pruning group, anther color, fragrance, etc. Instead of just the normal options.
Just a thought.
Clematis division in the database?
True. Up to now, we haven't really had a lot of interest in Clematis (not to say we don't have some avid Clematis growers here, but no one has really expressed an interest in helping build this area of the PDB.)
A couple years ago, I tried to figure out the pruning "classes" of the genus, and I think I stopped when someone said there were supposed to be some universally-accepted classifications coming out....and I don't think I ever heard any more about it (and probably didn't dig too deep after that.)
So, that's the long way of saying, if you're interested, I'd be happy to give you some pointers on what it would take to make it happen...
Paul, I 2nd your request for a Clematis division in the database!
When I ran the Clematis Co-op last Spring, I had a lot of information in my thread. Terry, here is the information about the pruning groups which I copied and pasted from "Clematis on the Web".
Group 1:
This group contains some of the most vigorous clematis. When used to cover large areas, such as walls or fences, no pruning is required. If, however, space is limited some pruning may be necessary. If you do need to prune a Group 1 clematis this should be carried out as soon as flowering has finished. This allows the plant to produce some new growth which will supply the flowers for the following year.
Group 2:
This group contains the early and mid-season large flowered hybrids which usually begin flowering before the end of June. Although no regular pruning is required, you may wish to remove any dead tips from the stems. This will keep the plant looking tidy. In late February or early March, working down from the tips, follow each stem until you come to a pair of live buds. Remove the end of the stem by pruning just above this point.
Group 3:
This group contains all the late flowering species and hybrids. Although these varieties will flower if left unpruned, they will soon become bare at the base and flowers will be produced well above head-height. This is ideal when growing clematis into a tree, but for general use hard pruning is recommended. Each February, prune all stems back to approximately 30cm (12") from ground level, cutting just above an old leaf joint. New growth will soon appear, resulting in a plant which is green from top to bottom and with flowers at a more acceptable height.
Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help out.
Terry, I am interested, and would be happy to be involved in any way that I could be helpful.
Thanks, Shirley1md for your support and information!
To clarify the thread Terry mentioned http://davesgarden.com/t/252357/clematis, I think Terry is talking about 12 classifications, and not necessarily pruning groups per se. If I understand correctly, the three pruning groups are basically: (1) No pruning is necessary
(2) Light pruning to retain proper shape
(3) Hard pruning; cut everything down to around six inches
The question is what extra attributes does everyone think should be included in the entries? Here are a few of the things I came up with:
Fragrance (like we have with the roses)
The three pruning groups
The twelve classifications Terry mentioned
Flower size
And maybe anther color
Anybody that is interested, please voice your opinion.
Paul, thanks again for stepping up to help with this project. I think that with some brainstorming upfront we can end up with highly useful (and well-used) area of the PDB.
Hybridizer might be nice to have, but most important I think is pruning type and flower size. Height is obviously already in PDB. Is reblooming already an option in the PDB??? Brenda
"blooms repeatedly" is an option in the current "bloom time" section.
Thought so, but was too lazy to check. Thx Terry!