clematis not blooming either

Ok, I bought a clematis from Home Depot a couple of years ago and it has sprouted every year since but not bloomed. It is also fairly scrawny. Do I need to be more patient or is there something I'm doing wrong? It gets at least 5 or 6 hours of sun a day and I have the roots shaded. Is there a particular kind of soil it prefers, or maybe a fertilizer? TIA!

Do you know the variety of clematis you have? It wouldn't be uncommon for it to take a couple years to bloom. Some are supposed to bloom early, some mid-season, some late season. If it were an early bloomer, it should have bloomed by now. Otherwise, this might be the year it earns its keep. They need a somewhat fertile, well-draining soil. A good deal of organic matter makes a big difference. Don't feed very much, or all you get is lots of foliage. The sun/shaded root conditions are being met, so my guess is the soil you have it in is lacking in some way. You might also look up pruning methods for you particular clematis. I know this has always made a big difference in the overall health of my clematis. I'm sure someone will see your question and have a lot better answers for you too. I'm going to keep my eye on the responses you get. I would like to improve my clematis this year.
Chris

This message was edited May 28, 2008 11:44 PM

Be patient. It's a little early in our area for Clematis to bloom. Everything is a little late this year too.

Of course I do not remember the variety . . . need to start keeping track of those things! I do know it is supposed to have white flowers. I actually went to the plantfiles and looked it up . . . someone used the phrase "1st year sleeps, 2nd year creeps, 3rd year leaps" to describe clematis, so that makes me feel better. I've seen huge gorgeous purple ones on the verge of blooming around here already, but mine doesn't even seem to have buds. So we'll wait and see. The bed it's in needs some serious turning over once the tulips & daffodils die back, so maybe that'll help. Thanks for the responses!

Have you been pruning it at all? I don't grow clematis so I don't know too many specifics, but I know there are 3 different groups that all get pruned differently, definitely the early blooming ones you wouldn't want to prune in the spring before they bloom or else you'll prevent them from blooming. And the fact that it's fairly scrawny suggests that something in its conditions is not quite making it happy--again since I don't grow them I can't help you out too much on what that might be, but I'd definitely investigate your soil conditions and how you're fertilizing & watering.

Yes, I cut it back last fall (cuz that's what my mom does to hers) but no pruning other than that. I guess I'll wait and see what happens this year.

If you cut it back in the fall and it's one of the ones that blooms early in the spring, that could have been it, you may have cut off the branches where the flowers would have formed. Ones that bloom later in the season that wouldn't matter, that's probably why your mom has good luck with hers.

Aaaah, so maybe I'll leave it alone this fall. Darn, why didn't I pay attention to the variety? You live & learn, I guess!

You mentioned that it is supposed to have white flowers. If you have a chance, look up Henryi. That's a common white one, and the only white flowering clematis I've ever seen at Home Depot. If you think that could be it, it may still flower this year for you. It's not time for Henryi to flower yet.
Chris

Chris, you have given me hope. I do believe it is Henryi. I'm so glad I found this web site; I love it!

there are literally hundreds of different Clematis, so try going back to the store and ask the kind they had at the time you bought your, dont hold your breath, but they might know, when I plant any new clematis, I always nip out the growing TIPS only, this helps the plant to make new branches and helps prevent them going spindly and tall, also it is good idea to plant them about 2/3 inches deeper in the planting hole than when they were growing in there little pots, Clematis are very susceptible to stem rot, no one know why, but they can die of just at ground level, so by planting them a bit deeper, this makes sure they recover / sending up new shoots from the roots and you dont loose your plant,
everyone is so right about the rich soil conditions they need so a bucket load of good compost with fish/blood and bone meal will help or a bucket load of well rotted animal manure should enrich the soil, be careful when you dig or hoe around the roots as Clematis dont really like root disturbance either, dont cut it back at all but nip out the growing tips of each stem to help it grow more new stems or you will always have a tall but stringy plant, once you find out the type of plant you have, you can then read up on pruning. good luck. WeeNel.