Some new ones blooming!!

I got this clematis last spring. It grew to the height it is now and put out several big purple flowers. Then it stopped blooming and the summer heat set in. To make things worse I broke my ankle in July in the midst of 100 degree days and a drought. I was unable to take care of any of my plants and was left at the mercy of my husband to water, poor thing, well.......anyway, it is now trying to put off three blooms. As you can see, it's looks awful but wants to live. Do I prune it after it blooms and put to bed for the winter? Or prune in the spring and how much? JeanneTx has beautiful clematis and I aspire to be like her someday. :)

Another Jeanne in Texas

Jeanne..
Nice to see another fellow Texan here..so sorry about your ankle!! I use to live in Palestine..what a beautiful place it 'tis!!..I would not bother with pruning it again...this year...come next Feb. I would prune it to about 12" from the soil or just above the third leaf axil..scratch in some rose or tomato fertilizer and topdress with some composted cowmanure and water well..you'll be amazed how they love that regime each Feb..
Niobe is so right about Morning Glories..they are prolific and a PAIN here for they try to take over everything..weeding them out is essential...
I bought my clematis "Tie Dye" at GardenCrossings.com very cheaply and they are NOW having a HUGE SALE for those that want to plant clematis this fall...YIPPPEEEEEEEEE...Jeanne

Thanks Jeanne, I will prune it in Feb per your instructions and fertilize as well. I can't wait to see the results. I hate that it had to be neglected so. I have morning glory on my front slope. It's pink. But I also discovered light blue in my front bed behind the crapes. I didn't know it came in blue.

How long ago did you leave Palestine? We got here three years ago from Florida after Hurricane Charlie blew us away. I'm from Amarillo originally.

Have you heard of manure tea? I have a friend that tended to the landscaping of island homes in sw Florida. She gets a large plastic garbage can and fills 1/3 full of cow manure from local pastures. Then fills the can with water and lets it cook until the water is the color of strong tea. Then waters the plants with it. It works very well. I may give that a try next year if I can find the owner of the pasture across the street to get permission to get cow patties.

Jeanne

So, clematis growers, is it best to plant in spring or fall? I have a nice new trellis, which I need to paint with Rustoleum before I set it up. Should I be looking at clematis now, or wait for spring? I'm always concerned with fall sales, because I'm not sure if they are left-overs after the prime planting season is over.

I'm in central IL, zone 5a, if that helps. I'm actually kind of hoping that Spring is ideal, because I have a box of over 100 bulbs from a co-op to plant, as well as a bunch of garlic to plant, and my tomatoes are still exploding with fruit, keeping me canning constantly. Spring should be a little easier. But I want to do what is best for the plants! If Fall is it, I want to get on it! I'm having a really, really hard time making up my mind about which clematis I want to get. I love them all!

Thanks!
Angie

regarding spring vs fall planting in zone 5. i have traditionally had better success with spring planting..but that may be due to the fact that the past years i did a lot of fall clem planting in were when i was less experienced and may not have been planting deeply enough or keeping a relentless fall watering schedule.
not sure. but due to the chalk hill sale and just putting 28 from there and several others from other places, i will find out if that success rate was due to inexperience or if spring really is better for my climate and property.

I guess I will find out the hard way. I made a mistake and looked at the Garden Crossings sale, and totally got carried away. I meant to order two clematis, and ordered 5 instead. Sigh. And now when I go back and look at all the other tabs I had open, I keep second guessing myself and wishing I'd ordered different ones. Wish I could afford to just order them all!

I'm glad there are detailed planting instructions on their website. I want to give them a really good start! It said they would start shipping around Oct. 5 for my zone, so they will be here soon! Do you fertilize when you plant, or is that a bad idea in the fall? I have so much to learn.

My next clematis goal is to get a really dark, deep purple one. I have a lot of pinks, purples, blues, and mauves in my front border, and I think an intense purple would add a nice contrast. I added some white this year, and it really helped set the colors off. Any suggestions for a smaller or mid-sized dark purple?

Bookerc1: Do not fertilize in the Fall. Plant Clematis in well amended soil and top dress with several inches of mulch. I also add bone meal to insure good root development. In early Spring is when you can start fertilizing them.

Purple Clematis suggestions (plus they are currently on sale at Garden Crossings.com:
"Beauty of Worcester" http://www.gardencrossings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/408/index.htm
"Bonanza" http://www.gardencrossings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/415/index.htm
"Climador" http://www.gardencrossings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/253/index.htm
"Galore" http://www.gardencrossings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/416/index.htm
"Kingfisher" http://www.gardencrossings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/1012/index.htm
viticella 'Venosa Violacea" http://www.gardencrossings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/432/index.htm
"Warsaw Nike" http://www.gardencrossings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/83/index.htm

Shirley, thanks for the hyperlink to Gardencrossings. I bought two clematis. The pink flamingo, and blue lights. Is it really ok to plant them in the ground this far into the season in zone 8b? These two can be used as container plants. Would it be alright to put them in pots to over winter in my greenhouse and then plant in spring?

I can see how Booker got carried away. I had no idea there were so many kinds. Yipee.

Yes, Texasgrower, it's fine to plant them in the ground in the Fall especially since you live in gardening zone 8b. I plant the majority of my Clematis in the Fall and I'm in zone 7a. I chose to plant them in my zone during the Fall season because we have more abundant rain fall, drought is not as much a concern, the temps are cooler and therefore the plant is not put through as much stress.

The smaller growing Clematis varieities are perfect for planting in containers. Make sure that your container is 18"to 24" deep and wide enough. Whenever you plant Clematis, you always use well amended soil with contains plenty of humus, cow manure, bone meal to encourage good root development and then top dress with several inches of mulch to help the plant retain moisture. Don't fertilize the plant now....please wait until early Spring.

You have just scratched the "tip of the iceberg" when it comes to all the wonderful and beautiful types of Clematis! Welcome to the wonderful world of Clematis addiction! You can't have just one!

Wow, Texasgrower, get your spot ready, because my clematis already arrived today! I just ordered them two days ago, they said my ship date would be around Oct. 5, and VIOLA, they were here when I got home from work. I need to get that trellis rust-proofed and ready today!

Angie

Shirley, thanks for the links! Each one, I thought, oooh, that's the one! Then I'd click the next one, and think, "No, this one is it!" I think Kingfisher was my favorite. For the moment, anyway. I just got my Gardencrossings order today (already! A week earlier than I expected!), so am kicking myself for not ordering it!

Thanks for the info Shirley. I will plant them in the ground as you have directed. Is there a Clematis Anonymous for the addicts?

I will be ready when they come Angie. Thanks for the heads up on delivery. Looks like the granddaughter and I will be busy getting soil ready.

well Angie, Gardencrossings e-mailed and told me my clematis will be shipped tomorrow. That means they will be here by Sat. They certainly don't let any grass grow under their feet when it comes to delivery.

anybody still watching this thread? What do clematis seeds look like. Mine finally took off and has produced several blooms.

I'm still watching, but don't know the answer! Can't tell you how many times I've wondered what the seeds to different plants look like! I did find a few on-line sources with pictures, but it is very time consuming to search through them.

Come to think of it, I've never heard anyone talk about starting a clematis from seed, or of one self-seeding. Wonder how they propogate them?

Angie

someone sent me a pic of them. They are small roundish seeds with fuzz on them. I don't know how to hyperlink or I'd connect you. But if you go to the clematis forum and look for my thread what does a seed look like or something to that effect, you should be able to find the pic. Let me know if you find it. Jeanne

Brian Collingwood has a great website about growing Clematis from Seeds and shows pics of clematis seeds midway down the page on his site...I personally don't grow clematis from seeds because I am just too impatient to wait 4-5 years for the vines to mature..you'll learn alot from his site...Hope this helps..Jeanne
http://www.bcollingwood.com/Germination.htm

4-5 years? Well, that puts this in a whole new perspctive. I may just cancel this project unless I just want to prove I can do it. I've never been one who feels she needs to prove herself so........... whack, whack. (sound of putting an axe to the idea).

we do get a lot of sweet autumn (ternaflora) seedlings all over the property. i ususally pull them up and pot them for friends, or they get weeded out or mowed over like any other weed. i have planted some and we find they will flourish and bloom after 3 years. have never had any other type grow from seed, even with the 300 varieties here on the property.
wouldn't it be great to grow them from seeds? oh well we can dream!