Lush flowers in beautiful shades of purple, red, pink, blue and white have made the numerous varieties of the various Clematis species very popular as attractive ornamental climbing plants.Some clematis are distinguished by great diligence.They open their buds for many weeks, tightly covering walls, curtain walls, pergolas, openwork columns and arches for vines with a dense mesh of delightful flowers and leaves.
Clematis also change the appearance of fences.Their long stems grow upwards and horizontally, creating an eye-catching colorful garden border. The most diverse species and varieties bloom from spring to autumn in almost every location. The colorful parade opens in April, Clematis alpina, whose flowers are similar to the eagles.The climber grows well both in sunny places and in not too deep shade.Its delicate shoots covering the openwork column will enrich the arrangement of the spring bed with magnificent hearts, eagles and tulips.
In the May garden, spring magic is spread by the Clematis alpina mountain clematis. Single anemone flowers, white or pink in color, open on stems up to 2 meters long. The vigorous climber will beautifully decorate both the tree trunk and the pergola structure.Also in May, the season of large-flowered hybrid varieties begins.Some of them boast full blooms in spring, but in the second flowering period, i.e. from August, only single flowers develop.The clematis of this group is best suited for semi-shaded positions.
Many varieties, such as the two-color 'Piilu', also feel good and bloom beautifully in containers. It is worth using them to create movable shielding walls.You can plant cushion perennials in the boxes, such as bluebells, Caucasian sedum, and coastal meadows, which will effectively cover the lowest parts of the creeper shoots.
We can achieve picturesque effects by combining clematis with roses. When selecting flowering partners, we do not have to limit ourselves only to climbing rose varieties. A very nice romantic composition is created, for example, by ground cover roses around a clematis entwining with its shoots an openwork column for vines.
Among clematis, it is worth choosing primarily large-flowered hybrids blooming from July to September or small-flowered varieties of Italian clematis Clematis viticella.If we are going to lead a clematis and a climbing rose on one support, let's plant the rose first, giving it two years to root. Only then should we plant the clematis at a distance of at least 1 m from the rose.
Clematis planting step by step
The above example shows the planting of Italian clematis, but the same is done with other clematis, although mountain, alpine and tanguck clematis are sensitive to moisture and should be planted evenly with the ground or even in mounds.
1. Before planting, put the pot in a bucket of water so that the root ball is soaked with water.
2. The planting hole should be twice the diameter of the root ball. If the ground is clayey, put a drainage on the bottom.
3. Carefully loosen the roots.
4. Italian clematis should be planted so that the two sleeping eyes are underground.If the above-ground part freezes, the plants will bounce off the buds underground.
5. The hole is covered with a dedicated planting medium.
6. Press the seedling against the ground.
7. Sprinkle starter fertilizer around the roots.
8. We irrigate the creeper abundantly.
9. The soil within the root ball is mulched with 10 cm thick shredded bark.
10. We tie single shoots to a pole that serves as a support. Planting the clematis is done!
The method and date of pruning depend on the clematis species
Group 1
Early flowering species, such as alpine clematis, do not need to be pruned. Their buds form in the year before flowering. Cutting the shoots in winter leads to the fact that the clematis blooms poorly, but grows vigorously.If the creeper grows too much, immediately after flowering (i.e. around June) cut the unnecessary shoot. It is also a good time to rejuvenate older specimens with a strong cut.
Group 2
Hybrids flowering twice a year bloom in spring on last year's shoots with tied buds, and then a second time in late summer on one-year shoots (developed this year). In order to achieve a balance in the abundance of flowering on both dates, in November or December we shorten all shoots in half. A weak pruning has a positive effect on spring flowering strength, and a strong summer flowering.
Group 3
Species that bloom in summer, such as Italian clematis and unique flowering hybrids, create flower buds on this year's young shoots.Strong pruning in November or December at a height of 20-50 cm above the ground stimulates the clematis to grow intensively in spring.Then the flowering is much more lush. Lack of pruning causes the vines to grow very poorly and bloom poorly.
The flowering date can be artificially delayed. To achieve this effect, 20-30 cm shoots should be cut in half in April / May. After 2-3 weeks the plants will bounce back, starting flowering with some delay.Unique clematis flowering in the second half of summer decorate the garden with fluffy seed heads.
Decorative seed heads
Various species of Clematis and their varieties belong to the group of plants that retain their attractive appearance even after flowering.In the place of the pollinated flowers, round and fluffy infructescences develop, consisting of adjacent small seeds equipped with long, soft and shaggy flagella.The seed heads of the Tangutian Clematis Clemantis tangutica that bloom from July to September, as well as the various varieties of Clematis alpina, which open flowers in spring or early summer, are particularly ornamental.
Our native climbing clematis, Clematis vitalba, also develops pretty infructescences, which often remain on the shoots throughout the winter.The vigorously growing climber sprouts up to 10 m long shoots.It is suitable for large naturalistic gardens where it can quickly cover tree trunks or grow in wild hedges.Stems with fluffy and soft seed heads should also be used in floristic compositions, such as bouquets and reeds. They are a very nice addition to flowers and twigs with colorful fruits.
