Help with Clematis!

I am a beginner gardener (veggies and flowers), and last year I planted an Henri (???) clematis in my front yard. It only got one bloom and then towards fall, all the leaves fell off and I'm assuming it went dormant. We had a hard winter (zone 4), and I'm anxious to know how to tell if the plant survived the winter. I've never tried growing a clematis before (many people in my area have jackaminis with great success, but I wanted something different), and I don't know what to look for as far as spring growth. Help?

New_WI_Gardener,

Do you mean Clematis henryi? If so, it should be hardy to Zone 4. I believe it is listed here in pruning group B; I highly recommend that you read this short article:

http://www.clematisnursery.com/Pruning.aspx

You will be able to tell if it has survived the winter when the buds begin to swell, and later on new shoots will emerge from those buds, and sometimes from the base of the plant. You can also cut into one of the stems and check for green. But I would just wait and see, unless you plant to prune it; time will tell!

Hope that your Clematis makes it,

-Plantenthusiast

So, let me get this straight. . .

So far, my Clematis only has one real shoot. I should prune it back "B" style and encourage more new growth from the base?? Just want to make sure. If that is what I'm supposed to do, I will. Preferably before it gets much warmer. . .

Bec

Hi Bec,

I believe that is correct; did you read the top of the article in the link about pruning young clematis? They have some interesting things to say!

Best of luck,

-Plantenthusiast

"Hello McFly!"

Wow, do I feel like an idiot. =) Yes, I read that part, but I was so intent on the proper pruning directions that I think I flew over it and it didn't sink in!! When I bought mine, it was already one long viney-thing (I didn't realize it should be many). I will prune it tonight and keep at it.

Thanks again!!

Bec

One thing I remember reading about Clematis is that they like 'shady feet' so make sure to have a nice cover of mulch around the base to keep it happy.

Before you prune the Clematis, go out and use you finger nail to gently scrape a tiny bit of the stem and if it's alive, you will see white/green stem under the woody coloured stem,
also look really close at the joints on the stem, at each leaf Axel, you may see tiny little green buds growing, these are the new foliage for this year, they may be hidden behind the tendrils that help the plant to cling to the support, so be gentle with it in case you rub the new buds off, at this stage, I always add some nice rich compost around the root area and add some blood/fish and bone meal to the compost as they like a nice rich soil to form good flowering buds, but dont dig this into the soil very close to the stems in the ground or you could break the tender new stems if there are any, the stems like to be baked by sun but the roots need cool shade and to achieve this, place a flat stone or thick mulch over the roots and wind the stems up and around a support that helps it climb into the warm sun. to prune a new Clematis, just nip out the growing tips till the next few years when it will have made lots more flowering stems, then after you nip out each stem till a few years later you can then cut right into all the stems, as much as about 10/12 inches above the ground, keep it well watered also as they dont like dry soil at the roots. Good luck. WeeNel.