clematis info

[Jennie in MT]

Anyone know where I can find information on the reliablility of clematis cultivars in my zone?  I am interested in adding several, and hate to mess with ones that will just croak.  The money is bad enough, but wasting the time and energy is worse! LOL

[LeeAnne151]

Many if not most are hardy to zone 4, some to zone 3. Alpinas and macropetalas are mostly zone 3. Viticellas and most of the large flowered cultivars to zone 4.

The ones I know are not hardy are the montanas, armandiis, cartmanniis and the floridas and the texensis.
Nothing evergreen in very hardy.

this site has many articles plus information on different cultivars:
http://www.clematis.com.pl/wms/wmsg.php/1448870.html

Read the article on the Atragene Group, you can also see them listed by frost hardiness. The site has tons of info.

Plant them at least 3" deeper than where they are in the pot, plant at an angle towards the support, cut them back when you plant. Mulch them heavily. Don't prune vines until spring when you see them growing.

when you buy them in person, look for more than one vine in the pot. Don't care about top growth. I'd buy the short one with no flowers and six vines over the tall one covered with flowers and one vine every day.

when buying online, Silver Star Vinery is known for sending plants with huge rootballs which is what you want. You don't want to get tiny little bare roots like from Wayside, they take years to catch up.

[Jennie in MT]

Thanks LeeAnne.  I have some clematis that I have grown for several seasons including Jackmanii , Josephine, and Warsaw Nike.  Adding Dr Ruppel, Comtesse de Bouchaud, and Sweet Autumn this summer.  I went ahead and ordered some from an eBay seller that came recommended (Killian Donahue, Avant-Garde, and Venosa Violacea).  There are still some on my wish list though (aren't there always??).  Bourbon, Sunset, Tangutica, Piilu, Carnaby, Pink Champagne, Proteus, and a good white among others. 
My biggest concern is that I know some cultivars are harder to grow, less floriforous. less vigorous or just generally more difficult/finicky, especially in my harsh winter climate.  The toughest issue for me is that information is hard to come by in relation to clematis and colder climates.  I joined the American Clematis Society, and hope to be able to network with other gardeners in the north to find out which are their picks and pans as far as cultivars are concerned.  It was also helpful to me to get some ideas of what online vendors were reliable with their clematis.
Thanks for the link.  I will definitely check it out!
Jennie

[LeeAnne151]

The most important thing with Clematis is to start them off right which means hard pruning and pinching out the growth tips.

I just whacked half a dozen more down to 12" and they are type II's, little prune. They had few vines and few flowers and were scraggly. The ones I whacked earlier are all responding by putting out more vines and fuller growth. I am pinching them too.

I think that proper pruning means more for vine and flower production than climate or cultivar. However the Atragene group was developed for your climate by hybridizers in Canada and Sweden. The flowers aren't as big but they do have a ton of them.

This is based on about seven or eight years of growing Clematis and not properly pruning the first five years.....

[Jennie in MT]

I am sure you are right on the nose LeeAnne.  I have a lovely Josephine that was just tiny when I got it and I was terrified to prune it at all.  I think as soon as the heat backs off I will do just that l  It is blooming so beautifully right now, but all the growth is at the top. 


Here is what I think is Jackmanii taken in June.  It has filled out some since then but will still get a major pruning this year. The photo does not show the purple and makes it look more blue than it is....


And then there are the NOIDs  These pics don't show their colors very well either.  I am trying to get an ID on them....

This one is several years old and has not gotten very tall but is shaded by a tall rudbeckia.  It is fairly red/purple, but I do not think it is Niobe.  It would have to be something relatively common, as I know I got it at a run-of-the-mill nursery.


This one is very tall and is one of my oldest.  I have lost the tag to it somewhere....  It is definitely more mauve than the pic shows.


Got any ideas??

I am really excited because I have ordered some more clems and am looking at planting them on small trellises throughout my gardens.  Also, a Sweet Autumn to grow up the East side of my green house.

[LeeAnne151]

Niobe is very common and that looks just like it. It isn't a tall grower either.

The other one I don't know.

This is C. alpina 'Helsingborg' not big flowers but great color and lots of them. First bloom after planting last summer.




this is what I did to it and 'Josephine' planted next to it after they finished blooming. I have done it to Henryi, Violet Elizabeth, Twilight, Fireworks, Crystal Fountain, Ramona, Hagley Hybrid, Richard Pennell, Mrs. N. Thompson, Barbara Harrington, Multi Blue, Gillian Blades, Niobe, Bluebird and Charissima. I'll never not hard prune again.

Jackmanii should be hard pruned every early spring. It is a type III which blooms on new growth.

[Jennie in MT]

I got frustrated the year I pruned the jackmanii down.  it is actually planted on the inside of the arbor so it can get some shade on its feet.  when I pruned it, the old growth directed all the new growth to the inside of the arbor.  So, next time I prune it, I will tie the vines to the arbor to encourage them to growth through, rather than have a twisted mass of jackmanii on the wrong side of the arbor as I do now!

[LeeAnne151]

I have to tie all of my Clems, they do not often grow where I want them too. The ones on nylon pea trellis netting do much better climbing on their own than the ones on wood lattice or trellis.

Clematis do not need shaded roots. They need moist roots. Some idiot started the myth of roots in the shade or roots need to be cool when it should have been moist instead!

shady and cool do not always equal moist. Clematis are not drought tolerant. Especially when young.

[Bonnie]

LeeAnne,  do Clematis grow well in containers?   
My concern would be the winter.....


Thanks,
Bonnie

[LeeAnne151]

Yes, there are compact varieties that will work in containers (big ones) but it does reduce hardiness.