Clematis

Clematis 'Etoile Violette' and Barberry 'Orange Rocket'

The clematis have been very beautiful this year. I've learned the trick is patience! Many times I've given up hope on some only to have them rise from the ashes the following year. 

Here are some highlights from this year. At the end of the post, I'll share some growing tips.

Clematis 'Chevalier' and 'Golden Celebration' rose. 'Chevalier', one of the Raymond Evison clematis, wins the award for most blooms (well, maybe a close second to 'Jackmanii Superba').  

I really love the Evison introductions and all the ones I've tried have been successful. Here is another one called 'Samaritan Jo' -

'Samaritan Jo' grows with Jasmine 'Fiona Sunrise' on a post of the pergola

 'Franziska Maria' 

'Arabella' is quickly becoming a favorite. 

'Proteus' was a find at the local Fred Meyer on the discount rack. It has proved to be a winner with huge blooms.

'Madame Julia Correvon' adorns one side of our front gate archway. It is often described as true red although I beg to differ. Like most, it has more of a fuchsia color. So far, the reddest clematis I've found is 'Nubia' which I did not get a chance to photograph.

On the opposite side is 'Jackmanii Superba' which is a spectacular clematis loaded with blooms. The clematis on the mailbox is 'Taiga' and it has grown by leaps and bounds since being planted last year.

'Nelly Moser' growing on the shed. This clematis is often recommended for shady areas. This location gets sun in late morning through early afternoon.

'Nelly Moser' close-up

Clematis durandii growing with 'Sea Foam' rose on our front fence. This is a shrub-type clematis and blooms almost continuously all season.

'Josephine' is planted on our old mailbox which we use in the back garden as a tool bin.

Clematis 'Purpurea' has quickly taken over a trellis in the back garden. It battles it out with an 'Altissimo' rose and the mystery clematis below.

And here is that mystery clematis. I thought I had planted 'Niobe' but this isn't it - or is it? I'm hoping a clematis expert might ID this for me.

Here are some tips I've picked up over the years for growing clematis -

• Prepare the planting hole by digging about 1.5' feet deep and about 1 ft. wide. Add about a gallon of compost, well-aged manure, or any good soil ammendment. Add a handful of alfafa meal or organic rose fertilizer. Mix all of this together in the hole.
• Before removing the plant from the pot, soak it in a large bucket of water. I do this to almost every plant that I bring into the garden. Soak it until the bubbles stop.
• Getting it out of the pot - this may be the hardest part, especially those awful pots with stakes that are stapled to the sides. Whoever came up with that idea needs a firm kick or slap! I've been told that it is easy to snap off the staple but I'm not convinced. I've found that using a flat head screwdriver works best to prize them out. 
• This part hurts but cut back the entire plant to about 1-2 feet. Especially hard if the vine is blooming but your clematis will be happier and get off to a better start because of it.
• For large flowered clematis, plant them a few inches deep. Other types, plant at same level as in the pot.
• They usually need some guidance if you're training them for a trellis or arch but this is a delicate prodecure. Clematis have very fragile stems and break easily. However, don't panic if you break a stem or two - it happens and the plant will be fine.
• The popular saying advises to plant with the roots shaded and the upper vine in the sun. I've never really bothered with that, especially after moving to the Pacific NW, but I always mulch well and if the vine is positioned in an open, sunny area, I will put rocks around the base or plant a low-growing groundcover.
• For most clematis, shear them back after the first flush of bloom. Fertilize again with a liquid rose fertilizer or fish emulsion.
• Leave the bare vines throughout the winter months. In early spring, they can be cut down IF they are varieties that bloom in summer. DO NOT CUT early flowering varieties such as the montana types until after they bloom.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy